Leica

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Company

Leica Camera AG is a leading German optical company that has been designing and developing 35 mm cameras since 1913, and manufacturing them in series production since 1925. Leica Camera AG is also responsible for Leica Binocular production, Leica began producing binoculars in 1907. The company, formerly Ernst Leitz GmbH, is now three companies: Leica Camera AG, which produces cameras; Leica Geosystems AG which produces geodetic equipment; and Leica Microsystems GmbH, which produces microscopes.

Leica Camera AG has production plants in Germany and Portugal, the headquarters of Leica Camera AG is situated in Solms, Germany.

History:

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Carl Kellner (Image rights)
  • 1849: the mathematician Carl Kellner founds a company in Wetzlar which produces microscopes
  • 1855: after Kellner's death his widow leads the company
  • 1865: the precision mechanic Ernst Leitz becomes partner
  • 1869: Ernst Leitz becomes chief of the company
  • 1887: the company produces its 10,000th microscope
  • 1913: Oskar Barnack become the head of R&D
  • 1920: after Ernst Leitz's death Ernst Leitz II becomes chief
  • 1923: 25 "Null-Serie" Cameras produced
  • 1924: the company has 1000 employees. Leitz decides to produce the viewfinder camera for 35mm film which Oskar Barnack had constructed in 1913
  • 1925: The new product, the Leica, is launched at the spring fair (Früjahrsmesse) in Leipzig
  • 1926: they produce their first slide projector
  • 1930: The Leica I is reworked for interchangeable instead of fixed lenses
  • 1938: foundation of the Leica school, the later Leica Akademie
  • 1945: After WWII used old Leicas are among the top products traded on Germany's postwar black market
  • 1956: after Ernst Leitz II's death his sons Ernst Leitz III, Ludwig Leitz and Günther Leitz lead the company
  • 1972: a cooperation agreement is signed in June between the Leitz and Minolta companies, that will lead to the joint development of the Leica CL, Leica R3 and Leica R4
  • 1986: the camera making activities of the Leitz company are bundled in the Leica GmbH
  • 1988: the new factory in Solms opens
  • 1996: Leica buys Minox. The Leica GmbH becomes the stock market company Leica Camera AG
  • 2005: Leica Camera AG has lost market shares and starts a rescue plan for economical survival. The expensive digital module for the R8 and R9 analog SLRs is a huge success.
  • 2006: Leica Camera AG tried unsuccessfully to buy 51% of Sinar AG from Jenoptik

35mm film

Fixed lens

  • Leica 0, preseries ("null serie")
  • Leica A (fixed lens)
  • Leica B (only model w/ leaf shutter)

Screw-mount lens

  • Leica C non-standardized (requires lens shims)
  • Leica C standardized = Leica I
  • Leica D = Leica II (first type w/ built-in [[rangefinder (device)|rangefinder])
  • Leica E = Leica Standard = Leica I (improved standardized C)
  • Leica F = Leica III (like II but with slow speeds on frontal dial)
  • Leica G = Leica IIIa (adds 1/1000 speed)
  • Leica IIIb (rfdr. and viewer windows close together)
  • Leica IIIc (die cast body, slightly longer)
  • Leica IIc (die cast body like IIIc, otherwise similar to Leica II)
  • Leica Ic (has two accessory shoes, die cast body similar to IIc but without rangefinder)
  • Leica IIIf (postwar improvements, and some have self-timer lever)
  • Leica IIf (no slow speed dial, but other improvements like IIIf)
  • Leica If (has two accessory shoes, die cast body similar to IIf but without rangefinder)
  • Leica IIIg (change in body configuration to facilitate manufacture)
  • Leica 250 Reporter (has huge film magazines)
  • Leica half-frame (version of IIIc, and was built in Canada)
  • Single Exposure Leica

Note: Capital letter model designations were used in Europe; Roman numerals were at first used in USA, and became universal after the Model G (IIIa). There is often confusion between the sub-letters in lower case used on the Roman numeral designations, and the capital letters used in the earlier screwmount models; they do NOT equate! Apparently there were no Models Ie, IIe, or IIIe. Also the III is not the same as the IIIa. There are many minor variations that did not rate a change in designation.

M-mount lens

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M6

Leica M chronology

SLR

Autofocus

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C2

APS film

Special cameras

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special camera

Aerial cameras

  • Leitz Canada KE-28B

9×12cm microscope cameras

  • Leitz Wetzlar Makam 1x
  • Leitz Microscope Camera

8mm movie cameras

  • Leicina
  • Leicina Super

Instant cameras

  • special purpose camera for making 4 images on one polaroid sheet

Rifle cameras

  • Leica RIFLE — Leica camera mounted on a rifle stock

Digital

Fixed lens

M-mount lens

SLR

Studio camera

Japanese advertisements

The Leica camera was imported into Japan in the early 1930s by Schmidt Shōten. It was advertised by various other retailers, such as Kinjō Shōkai, Asanuma Shashinki-ten or Hattori Tokei-ten.

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Advertisements for the Leica in Asahi Camera.
Left: February 1930 (Kinjō Shōkai). Middle: June 1932 (Kinjō Shōkai). Right: June 1932 (Schmidt Shōten). (Image rights)
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Advertisements for the Leica in Shashin Salon January 1934.
Left: Asanuma Shashinki-ten. Middle: Hattori Tokei-ten. Right: Schmidt Shōten. (Image rights)

Bibliography

Links

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