The Forgotten Leica
Leica M1 (KOOCT), serial number 956752, made in 1959
with
Cosina Voigtländer Color Skopar 21 mm f4, made in 2015
At a first glance, you might mistake this camera body for a M2. In fact the M1 is a de-scoped M2, with the rangefinder, self-timer and frame selector omitted. The now useless cut-out for the second rangefinder window has been covered with a plate engraved with the camera type.
They made almost 10,000 of these between 1959 and 1964. They made ten times as many M2s and 25 times as many M3s. They even made 40,000 model IIIg Barnacks.
I guess the intent was to offer a "low-cost" (by Leica standards) entry level model. I suppose the M1 could have been upgraded to an M2 (when the owner had saved up some more lolly?).
That doesn't make much sense to me. A Leica customer would buy a Leica precisely because of the precise rangefinder. A castrated camera would be relegated to use with slow wide angle lenses, where guessing the range would be good enough. But if that's all the owner wants to do, and if the price is a concern, would that kind of person buy a Leica in the first place? Hardly, I should think.
I put on the 21mm Color Skopar for now, but I think I will get a Summaron 35mm f/2.8 in due course and leave it on this body permanently. I won't even need the goggled version because the M1's viewfinder features 35 and 50 mm framelines. The Color Skopar is an excellent lens but it just doesn't have the required aesthetics, although it arguably is a perfect match for this camera, much more so than a faster lens with a longer focal length.
Why did I get this camera despite its rather obvious limited usefulness? Because it was offered in near-mint condition (far better than any M3 I ever saw) and because it has some rarity value. The early models have a rewind release button instead of the better known lever that you expect on thread mount, M2 and M3 bodies, and my relatively modest bid on Fleabay unexpectedly came out on top.
I don't think this baby was used much. I imagine that almost 60 years ago, some Leica-man must have purchased her for his wife, or perhaps his much younger female companion. If so, the gift apparently wasn't much appreciated. I hope she dumped him for being too cheap to buy her a real M.
All I can say is "Ta, Leica-Man, whoever you were." Because now that camera is mine and she's still in great shape. And I'm halfways through the first roll of PAN-F.
I have created a Flickr group for photos shot with and of this rare camera: --> Click
The Forgotten Leica
Leica M1 (KOOCT), serial number 956752, made in 1959
with
Cosina Voigtländer Color Skopar 21 mm f4, made in 2015
At a first glance, you might mistake this camera body for a M2. In fact the M1 is a de-scoped M2, with the rangefinder, self-timer and frame selector omitted. The now useless cut-out for the second rangefinder window has been covered with a plate engraved with the camera type.
They made almost 10,000 of these between 1959 and 1964. They made ten times as many M2s and 25 times as many M3s. They even made 40,000 model IIIg Barnacks.
I guess the intent was to offer a "low-cost" (by Leica standards) entry level model. I suppose the M1 could have been upgraded to an M2 (when the owner had saved up some more lolly?).
That doesn't make much sense to me. A Leica customer would buy a Leica precisely because of the precise rangefinder. A castrated camera would be relegated to use with slow wide angle lenses, where guessing the range would be good enough. But if that's all the owner wants to do, and if the price is a concern, would that kind of person buy a Leica in the first place? Hardly, I should think.
I put on the 21mm Color Skopar for now, but I think I will get a Summaron 35mm f/2.8 in due course and leave it on this body permanently. I won't even need the goggled version because the M1's viewfinder features 35 and 50 mm framelines. The Color Skopar is an excellent lens but it just doesn't have the required aesthetics, although it arguably is a perfect match for this camera, much more so than a faster lens with a longer focal length.
Why did I get this camera despite its rather obvious limited usefulness? Because it was offered in near-mint condition (far better than any M3 I ever saw) and because it has some rarity value. The early models have a rewind release button instead of the better known lever that you expect on thread mount, M2 and M3 bodies, and my relatively modest bid on Fleabay unexpectedly came out on top.
I don't think this baby was used much. I imagine that almost 60 years ago, some Leica-man must have purchased her for his wife, or perhaps his much younger female companion. If so, the gift apparently wasn't much appreciated. I hope she dumped him for being too cheap to buy her a real M.
All I can say is "Ta, Leica-Man, whoever you were." Because now that camera is mine and she's still in great shape. And I'm halfways through the first roll of PAN-F.
I have created a Flickr group for photos shot with and of this rare camera: --> Click