The First Camera to Become a Philanthropic Statement
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- 2 min read
Imagine if Jony Ive, Apple's legendary designer, made a camera. Well, he already has. But only one.
Few collaborations in modern photographic history feel as culturally significant as the moment that Apple's design guru, Jony Ive, teamed up with fellow industrial designer Marc Newson to turn their attention to designing a Leica camera. In one of the latest releases from the Leica archive, there's a rare glimpse of the Leica M (Red): a camera designed not merely as an object of desire but as a philanthropic statement.
Created to support (Red) - the foundation established to combat AIDS in Africa - the camera represents a convergence of design, heritage and humanitarian purpose. It is a reminder that photography, at its best, does not just document the world, but can actively help change it.
The crisp white and off-grey two-tone styling is both clinical and warm, and markedly futuristic. It's classic Ive. The hard industrial edges of the Leica M240 platform have been softened and rounded, transforming the familiar geometry of a rangefinder into something that feels sculpted rather than assembled.
It is still unmistakably a Leica, but it sports the design language of Apple’s golden age - smooth transitions, uninterrupted surfaces and a design ethos built around restraint.
Yet, for all its aesthetic purity, this was never simply about design. When the Leica M (Red) went under the hammer in 2013, it achieved a staggering $1.8 million at U2 frontman Bono's charity auction in support of The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. That figure alone elevates it beyond collectible status and into cultural artifact territory.
It became one of the most valuable cameras ever sold - not because of megapixels or specifications, but because of what it represented.