Leica Lux Grip is a $330 MagSafe iPhone camera grip

AppleInsider

Leica has just announced the Leica Lux Grip, a MagSafe-compatible phone grip designed to work with its app -- and it has the pricing you'd expect from Leica.

Image Credit: Leica

When it comes to digital cameras, Leica is known for being a premium, if not outright luxury, brand. That's why it shouldn't be terribly surprising that the company has released a luxury Mag-Safe phone grip that costs more than the average person spends on a point-and-shoot camera.

The Lux Grip is designed primarily for the iPhone photographers and photography enthusiasts with money to burn. It adds a mechanical two-stage shutter button, a precise setting dial, and two individually assignable FN buttons.

It also weighs 130 grams, only 70 shy of the iPhone 16 Pro, adding a fair bit of bulk. Leica also demonstrates that the grip can be used as an iPhone stand, though we're not sure if you'd want to risk scuffing up something that costs that much.

On the plus side, the Lux Grip works for both left- and right-handed folks, which is a bigger deal than some might realize. It also features a tripod thread in the base.

Essentially, the Lux Grip turns your iPhone into a slightly more effective point-and-shoot. Considering Leica's line of compact cameras starts at $1,595 and jumps to $6,895, it is, if nothing else, a cheaper option.

Leica says the Leica Lux Grip battery life lasts for 1,000 photos, and it charges via USB-C in about two hours. It connects to your iPhone via Bluetooth.

The big selling point of the grip is its compatibility with the Leica Lux app. And, customers who register their Leica Lux Grip with the Leica website get a free year of Leica Lux Pro, which is usually priced at $69.99.

Currently, the Leica Lux Grip isn't available for purchase in the U.S., as the U.S. store page tells customers to enter their email to be alerted of when the product is in stock. When it does become available, U.S.-based customers can expect to fork over $329.

If you happen to be in Europe, you can purchase it now for 300.00 euros, and the price includes VAT.

While there are a plethora of $20-$70 alternatives on Amazon, we'd like to point out that these all function like a standard Bluetooth trigger. None of them include a dial or secondary function buttons.

Still, phone grips make shooting with an iPhone much easier, and the investment might be worth it.

The Kiwifotos MagSafe phone grip is priced a bit higher than the average phone grip but comes very highly rated. You can pick one up for $25.99.

We like the ShiftCam SnapGrip, which is a MagSafe-compatible camera grip that also features a built-in Qi power bank. It'll run you about $70.



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rob53

Gold plated garbage. There are other phone grips that will work as good or better for a fraction of the price. Leica was a great name in camera equipment but we're talking about a phone grip, not a great lens or camera.

charlesn

Some really interesting innovation here in its lefty/righty compatibility and bringing some old school mechanical controls to phone photography. I like this direction. But even assuming you're okay with its typical Leica-like price point, Leica puts two more obstacles in your path that I find more even more significant than the price: 

First, the grip is fully compatible ONLY with Leica's own Lux camera app--that's a lot to ask in a world where phone photographers who'd even consider a grip like this settled on their preferred camera app long ago--and it isn't Leica Lux. 

Second, after your free year of Leica Lux Pro, you have to continue a monthly subscription to use all the features of which the grip is capable. That's insane when the price of the hardware is set this high. Also, I don't know about you, but I am totally burned out on the subscriptions-for-everything business model. I understand why it's desirable, but I only look to eliminate subscriptions where I can these days, not add new ones. 

edited February 6

dutchlord

Dead On Arrival