Movies have the power to transport us to other places. After all, who hasn’t watched Call Me By Your Name and immediately wanted to spend a summer in Italy, or started comparing flight prices to Paris after comfort-watching Amélie for the thousandth time?
And the beauty of modern technology is that we now have instant access to films (and therefore wanderlust), wherever in the world we happen to be. But watching Netflix on your phone while rubbing shoulders with fellow commuters on the bus cannot compare to the immersive experience of the big screen.
German optics giant Leica has recently added to its home-accessories range with the Cine Play 1, a revolutionary portable projector designed to create a cinematic experience “here, there and everywhere”.
Those unfamiliar with the name Leica will no doubt recognise some of the iconic photographs it has been responsible for. Its cameras are the Rolls-Royce of the photography industry; renowned for their state-of-the-art technology and timeless form-follows-function design, inspired by the Bauhaus movement. It’s little wonder that celebrity amateur snappers Brad Pitt, Leonard Cohen and Lenny Kravitz have all been spotted with a Leica slung around their necks. And legendary names like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliott Erwitt and Bruce Gilden produced era-defining street photography using their trusty Leicas.
Outside of cameras, Leica has made subtle yet impressive strides in optics-based products; everything from binoculars to eyewear, watches and smartphones to home cinemas. Each creation combines Leica’s technical prowess with its signature sleek, vintage-modern aesthetics.
The Leica Cine Play 1 is in a league of its own but arrives at a significant time for the UK’s burgeoning home-theatre industry, which is currently valued at around £520m and expected to reach the £1bn mark by 2033.
Compact and portable, the Cine Play 1 can be used at home or even outdoors, meaning you can create the romance of a drive-in movie theatre or watch your favourite flick under the stars. And don’t worry about having to squint at a grainy picture and endure tinny sound, as the device automatically adjusts and focuses the image from a 65-inch screen to a whopping 300 inches. It can also connect to an array of devices and home-entertainment systems, making impromptu movie nights a breeze.
And for the aesthetes out there, the beauty of the new Cine Play 1 is that it is just that: an object of beauty. The projector is subtle, elegant and feels at once retro yet thoroughly modern. It’s another quiet milestone from the brand that truly captures the imagination.
From £2,950 – leica-camera.com
Gemma Billington is a London-based writer and editor
