Tribute to the mother of all 35 mm camera's
Tribute to the mother of all 35 mm camera's Even a M8 look similar
Viseum Wetzlar. Germany.
Because of my training in optics, I admire this craftsmanship very much!!
((Dutch:
Als je ziet met wat voor nauwkeurigheid Leica al begin vorige eeuw de eerste kleinbeeld camera's kon maken dan heb je daar veel respect voor. Zelf heb ik een opleiding Optica gevolgd en daardoor wordt de bewondering voor het geweldige vakmanschap alleen maar groter!))
The first 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 trips, 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 24×36 mm, with a 2:3 aspect ratio, instead of the 18×24 mm that cinema cameras use, as they transport the film vertically.
The Leica went through several 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.
Barnack conceived the Leica as a small camera that produced a small negative. To make big photos by enlargement, (the "small negative, large picture" concept) required that the camera have high quality lenses that could create sharp negatives. Barnack tried a Zeiss Tessar on his early protoype camera, but because the Tessar was designed for the 18x24mm cine format, it inadequately covered the Leica's 24x36mm negative. Barnack resorted to a Leitz Summar lens for the protoype, but to achieve resolution necessary for satisfactory enlargement, the 24x36mm format needed a lens designed specially for it. The first Leica lens was a 50 mm f/3.5 design based on the Cooke triplet of 1893, adapted by Max Berek at Leitz. The lens had five elements in three groups—the third group being three cemented elements—and was initially called the Leitz Anastigmat. Unlike other triplets, the Leitz Anastigmat had the diaphragm between the first and second elements. When the Leica launched, this lens was renamed the ELMAX, for E Leitz and MAX Berek. By 1925, the Leitz laboratories had produced glasses with improved optical properties, and Professor Berek designed an improved version of the ELMAX called the ELMAR that had four elements in three groups. The third group was simplified to two cemented elements, which was easier and cheaper to make.[1] Professor Berek had two dogs, Hektor and Rex. The first of these, Hektor, gave his name to a series of Leica lenses, and the name of the second appeared in the SummaREX. (Wikipedia)
10B_3360XPCN-BWNK
Tribute to the mother of all 35 mm camera's
Tribute to the mother of all 35 mm camera's Even a M8 look similar
Viseum Wetzlar. Germany.
Because of my training in optics, I admire this craftsmanship very much!!
((Dutch:
Als je ziet met wat voor nauwkeurigheid Leica al begin vorige eeuw de eerste kleinbeeld camera's kon maken dan heb je daar veel respect voor. Zelf heb ik een opleiding Optica gevolgd en daardoor wordt de bewondering voor het geweldige vakmanschap alleen maar groter!))
The first 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 trips, 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 24×36 mm, with a 2:3 aspect ratio, instead of the 18×24 mm that cinema cameras use, as they transport the film vertically.
The Leica went through several 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.
Barnack conceived the Leica as a small camera that produced a small negative. To make big photos by enlargement, (the "small negative, large picture" concept) required that the camera have high quality lenses that could create sharp negatives. Barnack tried a Zeiss Tessar on his early protoype camera, but because the Tessar was designed for the 18x24mm cine format, it inadequately covered the Leica's 24x36mm negative. Barnack resorted to a Leitz Summar lens for the protoype, but to achieve resolution necessary for satisfactory enlargement, the 24x36mm format needed a lens designed specially for it. The first Leica lens was a 50 mm f/3.5 design based on the Cooke triplet of 1893, adapted by Max Berek at Leitz. The lens had five elements in three groups—the third group being three cemented elements—and was initially called the Leitz Anastigmat. Unlike other triplets, the Leitz Anastigmat had the diaphragm between the first and second elements. When the Leica launched, this lens was renamed the ELMAX, for E Leitz and MAX Berek. By 1925, the Leitz laboratories had produced glasses with improved optical properties, and Professor Berek designed an improved version of the ELMAX called the ELMAR that had four elements in three groups. The third group was simplified to two cemented elements, which was easier and cheaper to make.[1] Professor Berek had two dogs, Hektor and Rex. The first of these, Hektor, gave his name to a series of Leica lenses, and the name of the second appeared in the SummaREX. (Wikipedia)
10B_3360XPCN-BWNK