Leica is 100 Years Old

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Mike Farley
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Leica is 100 Years Old

Postby Mike Farley » Sat 24 May 2014, 09:17

This year marks the centenary of the invention of the first Leica camera*, the Ur**, which revolutionised photography and introduced the 35 mm frame, which is still the basis for many cameras, even in today's digital age.

The BBC has made a short video featuring many iconic images made with Leicas and a commentary by long time user Tom Stoddart.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27516384

An interesting fact which I only discovered a few days ago is that Leica camera does not own the rights to the famous red Leica dot. A few years ago, the original Ernst Leitz company was split into three separately owned entities, microscopes, geosystems and optics (cameras and binoculars). It is the geosystem division which owns the rights to the red dot and the camera company has to licence it. That must be the reason why the cameras are so expensive***. ;)

* Leica camera is actually something of a tortology. The camera was created by Oskar Barnack**** who worked for Ernst Leitz, which until then was solely a microscope manufacturer. The name is actually a shortening of Leitz camera. Had the the Germanic form of camera which starts with a "K" been used, it should have been LeiKa (in German, nouns start with a capital letter), but for marketing reasons the company opted for Leica.

** Leica still has the Ur, which it keeps hidden away deep in a secure vault and few people get to see it, with a replica being used for public display. For many collectors it is the holy grail of cameras and In the extremely unlikely event that it was ever put up for sale would fetch millions.

*** The lenses do not have the red dot, so there must be another reason to explain their high cost. :)

**** Oskar Barnack originally made the Ur for himself as he wanted something lightweight which he could take with him when walking. Barnack went on to refine the camera through several iterations before the first commercial model, the Leica 1, was introduced in 1925. It would have been sooner, had not WW1 intervened.
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Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)
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Nina
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Re: Leica is 100 Years Old

Postby Nina » Sat 24 May 2014, 13:43

You will be surprised that I read this interesting story to the end. :D
Did you mean tautology? Tortology sounds like it should mean cake science and is making me hungry right now. :)
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Nina

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Mike Farley
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Joined: Tue 11 Sep 2012, 16:38
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Re: Leica is 100 Years Old

Postby Mike Farley » Sat 24 May 2014, 19:46

Nina wrote:You will be surprised that I read this interesting story to the end. :D


Wow, I am impressed. As I was writing it, I thought "Is this too many words?". ;)

Nina wrote:Did you mean tautology? Tortology sounds like it should mean cake science and is making me hungry right now. :)


Well done, Nina, I wondered if you would spot that. :)

Actually, I might have been thinking about cake as well. :D
Regards

Mike Farley
(Visit my website and blog - www.mikefarley.net)

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