Vintage Leica Cameras

Leica, the brand that pioneered 35mm cameras, originated from the Optics Institute, which was founded in Wetzlar, Germany, by Carl Kellner to improve upon microscope technology. Mechanic and instrument maker Ernst Leitz I took over the company in 1869 and renamed it after himself. Leitz optical engineer and mechanic Oskar Barnack was also an amateur photographer around the turn of the century. Because he had asthma, Barnack found the cameras of the day heavy and unwieldy, so he felt compelled to create a lighter, more portable camera. He came up with the idea to expose a small (24 x 36 mm) area of film to make a negative, and then developing a larger positive image in a dark room. Each roll of 35 mm film allowed for 36 exposures. Barnack finished his still 35mm film camera in March 1914. Known as the Ur-Leica—"Leica" was a shortened version of "Leitz Camera"—Barnack's metal-bodied invention had a collapsible lens and focal plane shutter. It was the first camera with measures to prevent double exposure, combining film winding and shutter cocking. Ernst Leitz II, who took over the company after his father passed away in 1920, put Barnack's camera into limited production as the Leica O Series in 1923. Introduced at the Leipzig Spring Fair, the Leica I, with a built-in lens, was first produced in 1925. Leicas were improved with interchangeable lenses and threaded mounts in 1930. By 1932, the company had produced 100,000 cameras, including Leica IIs, which came with built-in rangefinders. That same year, the company introduced the Leica III, which included slow shutter speeds. In 1934, the Leica 250 Reporter was introduced; this camera used 10mm film with 250 exposures per roll. In 1954, Leitz debuted the Leica M3, which came with a bayonet-like lens mount known as the Leica M mount and combined the rangefinder and viewfinder. Starting in 1964, the company offered single-lens reflex cameras, including the Leicaflex line and the Leica R series. R3 through R7 were made as a collaboration with Minolta, but the company, now called Leica, created the R8s and R9s on its own. The company was considered a leader in the camera industry during the mid- to late 20th century, and several famous photographers employed its cameras, including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliott Erwitt, Robert Frank, Bruce Gilden, Bruce Davidson, Inge Morath, Martine Franck, and Sebastião Salgado. Leicas are especially sought by collectors today because even old ones, when serviced, can still work perfectly. Leicas made before May 1945 will have the initials D.R.P., for "Deutsches Reichpatent," a mark meaning it was patented in Germany. After World War II, the cameras bore the D.B.P. mark for "Deutsches Bundespatent."