Each interchangeable-lens camera starts out as a 3.5-pound brick of aluminum. After the unibody design is milled by a machine, it’s finished by hand. While the Leica T doesn’t take a century to hand-polish, it does take a very long time: 45 minutes per camera, according to the company. After the entire process is complete, that 3.5-pound hunk of metal is reduced to a sturdy 3.35-ounce frame. The unused aluminum is melted back down and reused for subsequent T-series cameras.
