“Distinguished by an exquisite design and premium quality materials in order to echo the ethos of the Leica brand.”

— Leica Fotografie International Magazine

SUB13 is the brainchild of artist Matt Draper. A personal project, nine years in the making, driven by Draper's desire to fuse the Leica rangefinder with his underwater practice, forcing the design of his own fully functional underwater housing. As Draper's vision gained momentum, it evolved into SUB13, an industrial design studio founded alongside engineer Matt Hipsley, now extending to creatives and collectors alike.

  • SUB13 is derived from 'Subversive,' reflecting our approach, and 'Submarine,' honouring DOER Marine, founded by Dr Sylvia Earle as Deep Ocean Exploration and Research. Their ongoing contributions continue to play an important role through independent testing of our prototypes.

    With an unwavering pursuit of perfection, Draper and Hipsley spare no detail, personally investing their time and expertise. Our small team, including Matt, Matt, Toby, and Kate, manages all design, engineering, machining, and assembly.

    SUB13 Production Runs include underwater housings for Leica M and Leica Q cameras and have supported distinguished artists such as Leica Oskar Barnack Award winner Narelle Autio, while remaining central to Matt Draper’s work, driving our ongoing refinement and evolution.

FEATURED BUILD

New York, Defined

Designed exclusively for Leica Store and Gallery New York, this SUB13 Leica M11 housing features a custom logo designed for the gallery. Each one of one build is tied to a city and an animal, but for New York we kept returning to the same truth. Nothing feels more New York than New York itself.

The final design centres on NYC, refined and elevated through a subtle detail. The letter C is formed through a great white shark jaw, laser engraved with precision and paint filled entirely by hand, a finish that holds up at macro level.

Presented during Matt Draper’s exhibition, Within One Breath, this one of one build remains on display at Leica Store and Gallery New York.