Leica

Founded by Ernst Leitz in 1924. The name Leica is derived from the first three letters of his surname (Leitz) and the first two of the word camera: lei-ca.

The first 35mm film Leica prototypes were built by Oskar Barnack at Ernst Leitz Optische Werke, Wetzlar, in 1913. Intended as a compact camera for landscape photography, particularly during mountain hikes, the Leica was the first practical 35 mm camera that used standard cinema 35 mm film. The Leica transports the film horizontally, extending the frame size to 24×36mm with a 2:3 aspect ratio, instead of the 18×24 mm with a 3:4 aspect ratio of cinema cameras which transport the film vertically.

The Leica had several model iterations, and in 1923 Barnack convinced his boss, Ernst Leitz II, to make a pre-production series of 31 cameras for the factory and outside photographers to test. Though the prototypes received a mixed reception, Ernst Leitz decided in 1924 to produce the camera. It was an immediate success when introduced at the 1925 Leipzig Spring Fair as the Leica I (for Leitz camera). The focal plane shutter had a range from 1/20 to 1/500 second, in addition to a Z for Zeit (time) position.

Featured

Leica II 1935

1 July 2020

Leica ll 35mm rangefinder film camera made in 1935 with Elmar 3,5/50 lens

Leitz Minolta CL, 1972

by Yoshi Takei on 14 October 2020

Leitz Minolta CL rangefinder film camera 1973

Leica CL vs Minolta CLE

Side by Side

by Yoshi Takei on 10 October 2020

Leica CL vs Minolta CLE 1974 film rangefinder cameras

Leica III Tessar 8/28mm 1933

by Oscar Fisher on 14 July 2020

Leica III Tessar 8/28mm 1933

Leica II 1935

Chic & Cheerful @ 85

by G. I. Nikolo on 1 July 2020

Leica ll 35mm rangefinder film camera made in 1935 with Elmar 3,5/50 lens

Leica IIIc Sharkskin 1950

Summarit 1,5/50

by G. I. Nikolo on 1 July 2020

Leica IIIc 1950 with Summarit 1,5/50mm

Leica IIIc 1941

Wartime “stepper” rangefinder

by G. I. Nikolo on 30 June 2020

Leica lllc wartime 35mm rangefinder film camera 1941 — lllf conversion

Leica R7 cutaway 1993

by Jordan Nicolas on 20 May 2020

Leica R7 SLR film camera cutaway 1993

Leica Tri-Elmar-M 4/28-35-50mm Asph. “Cutaway” 1997

by Jordan Nicolas on 19 May 2020

Leica Tri-Elmar-M 4/28-35-50mm Asph. “Cutaway” 1997

Leica 0-Series prototype 1921

by Max Bergman on 18 May 2020

Leica 0-Series transitional prototype, 1921

Color landscapes: FujiFilm C200, Russar MR-2

Leica l rangefinder camera

by G. I. Nikolo on 9 November 2019

FujiFilm Fujicolor C200 Landscape with Russar MR-2