Editing Leica Camera (section)

== History ==
{{Missing information|section|first 40 years of company history|date=February 2024}}[[File:Leica M9 front resized.jpg|thumb|The [[Leica M9]]]]
[[File:1913 Oskar Barnack Wetzlar Eisenmarkt.jpg|thumb|First image taken from the Ur-Leica by Oskar Barnack 1913, Eisenmarkt, Wetzlar, Germany]]

From the year 1907 to the 1950s, the buildings that formed Leica factory were built on Ernst Leitz Street in [[Wetzlar]], and remained until 1986, when the factory was moved to the city of [[Solms]]. The Wetzlar factory was located on the opposite side of the administrative building of 1957 and formed a special urban architecture; it is upstream from the slope of Kalsmunt and forms a structurally attractive graduation from the skyscrapers to the ruins of Kalsmunt Castle.

In the last decades of the 19th century, Ernst Leitz moved its production facilities to the slopes of Kalsmunt with sufficient residential buildings and workshops on the Laufdorfer Weg.

At the turn of the century, the production of optical devices expanded so much that it originated the first skyscrapers in the city of Wetzlar. The oldest part of this row of tall buildings is now hidden by a new building at the Schützenstraße. The first plans of the architect Jean Schmidt in 1907 show a brick building on a stone base, which was covered by a sloping roof and a slate roof. However, in the same year, it was decided to use the new construction of concrete skeletons and a simpler façade design. The four-story building is divided into six groups of windows, each of which has three windows. Narrow wall patterns and lightly embedded parapets summarize the three lowest floors. The fourth floor is visually separated from the lower part of the building by a very distant cornice. On either side of the central building there was a hip roof with high ceilings. The mansard's floor expanded as production and workers also increased. Only a few years later, Leitz again demanded the construction of a tall building. After the planning of Jean Schmidt, contractor Robert Schneider built a four-story building in 1911.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.industriekultur-mittelhessen.de/orte-und-objekte/wetzlar-stadt-%C3%BCbersicht/wetzlar-optische-werke-ernst-leitz-leica/|title=Wetzlar, Optische Werke Ernst Leitz (Leica)|website=Route der Industriekultur Mittelhessen|language=de-DE|access-date=December 7, 2017|archive-date=September 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927224541/https://www.industriekultur-mittelhessen.de/orte-und-objekte/wetzlar-stadt-%C3%BCbersicht/wetzlar-optische-werke-ernst-leitz-leica/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The basement building was made of reinforced concrete with brick stairs. Again, the original plan, which provided a horizontal structure of the building through the cornucopia, was abandoned in favor of a simpler façade design. In the ten-axis building, similar to the oldest skyscraper, the lower levels are grouped by pilasters. The space between the two skyscrapers (which originally had been provided with subsequent buildings) had to be closed by another building in the early 1930s. Once again, it was Jean Schmidt, who prepared the plans for a first seven-story skyscraper. The still existing façade drawings show the columns with arches on the ground floor and that are fitted between a long strip of windows with excessive pilasters. The general design shows a mixture of very graphic elements and remains of curved [[Modernism|Modernist]] forms that recall the buildings by [[Joseph Maria Olbrich]] at [[Mathildenhöhe]] of Darmstadt.

In 1936, the architect presented a completely revised plan. The plan was now made up of eight floors for Leica production. The building was built with a concrete construction modeled from the production halls of [[Opel]] in [[Rüsselsheim am Main|Rüsselsheim]], Zeiss in Jena and Wernerwerk in [[Berlin]]. It was possible to access all the floors through two stairs.

The government of the city and the district finally approved a construction of eight floors with a loggia-like ninth floor, that later was closed. Due to the urban landscape that characterized the size of the building, the planning of the district government was initially rejected because of a simple and unsatisfactory exterior design. Even so, the building was built in 1938 between the two oldest skyscrapers. In 1950, west of the skyscraper of 1911, a skyscraper of similar construction with nine floors was added.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://denkxweb.denkmalpflege-hessen.de/25201/|title=DenkXweb – Detailansicht|website=denkxweb.denkmalpflege-hessen.de|access-date=December 7, 2017}}</ref>

=== Before WWII ===
[[file:1930s Leica advert in Time magazine.jpg|thumb|left|upright|An advert in Time magazine for Leica's new Summar lens, March 5, 1934]]
[[file:2015-08-13 - Leica I, 1927 - lange Fassung mit Musik.webm|thumb|Leica I, 1927 (video)]]
[[file:Thambar.jpg|thumb|Very rare Leica soft-focus Thambar lens from the 1930s with original leather case. In front, left to right: Rear cap, special dot filter, lens shade, front cap]]
[[file:Ur Leica.jpg|thumb|Ur-Leica ("original Leica"), from 1914]]
[[file:LEI0060 186 Leica I Sn.5193 1927 Originalzustand Front-2 FS-15.jpg|thumb|Leica I, 1927]]
[[file:LEI0060 186 Leica I Sn.5193 1927 Originalzustand Top liegend-FS 5581.jpg|thumb|Leica I, from 1927, with collapsible Leitz Elmar 1:3,5 F=5&nbsp;cm lens]]
[[file:Ur-Leica IMG 0259.JPG|thumb|Reproduction of the Leica Prototype, 1913, 1:3,5]]

The first 35&nbsp;mm film Leica prototypes were built by [[Oskar Barnack]] at Ernst Leitz Optische Werke, [[Wetzlar]], in 1913. Some say the original Leica was intended as a [[compact camera]] for [[landscape photography]], particularly during mountain hikes, but other sources indicate the camera was intended for test exposures with 35mm motion picture film.<ref>Wade, John. [https://www.shutterbug.com/content/leica-i-camera-change-photography The Leica I: The Camera that Changed Photography.] Shutterbug, Jul 13, 2015.</ref> The Leica was the first practical [[135 film|35 mm]] camera that used standard cinema [[35mm movie film|35 mm film]]. The Leica transports the film horizontally, extending the frame size to 24×36mm with a 2:3 [[aspect ratio (image)|aspect ratio]], instead of the 18×24&nbsp;mm of cinema cameras, which transport the film vertically.

The Leica had several model iterations, and in 1923, Barnack convinced his boss, [[Ernst Leitz II]], to make a preproduction series of 31 cameras for the factory and outside photographers to test. Though the prototypes received 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 (photography)#Focal-plane shutter|shutter]] has 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 large photos by enlargement, (the "small negative, large picture" concept) requires that the camera have high quality lenses that could create well-defined negatives. Barnack tried a Zeiss [[Tessar]] on his early prototype camera, but because the Tessar was designed for the 18×24&nbsp;mm cine format, it inadequately covered the Leica's 24×36mm negative. Barnack resorted to a Leitz Mikro-Summar 1:4.5/42&nbsp;mm lens for the prototype, but to achieve resolution necessary for satisfactory enlargement, the 24x36 mm format needed a lens designed specially for it. The first Leica [[Photographic lens|lens]] was a 50&nbsp;mm {{f/|3.5}} design based on the [[Cooke triplet]] of 1893, adapted by Max Berek at Leitz. The lens has five elements in three groups—the third group being three cemented elements—and was initially named the Leitz Anastigmat. Unlike other triplets, the Leitz Anastigmat has the diaphragm between the first and second elements. When the Leica was first vended, 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 named 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.<ref>Die Leica. 1933 No. 6. "Was ist eigentlich "Elmar"?</ref> 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.<ref>''Leica: The First Sixty Years''. Gianni Rogliatti. Hove Collectors Books, 1985. {{ISBN|1-874707-02-2}}</ref>

In 1930, the ''Leica I Schraubgewinde'' was first produced. It had an exchangeable lens system based on a 39mm diameter screw thread, often referred to as the Leica Thread Mount or [[M39 lens mount|LTM]]. In addition to the 50&nbsp;mm [[normal lens]], a 35&nbsp;mm [[wide-angle lens|wide angle]] and a 135&nbsp;mm [[telephoto lens]] were initially available. During the mid-1930s, a legendary [[soft-focus]] lens, the Thambar 90&nbsp;mm {{f/|2.2}} was designed, and made in small numbers between 1935 and 1949, no more than 3000 units. It is now a rare collector's item.<ref>[http://www.shutterbug.com/content/leitz-thambar-90mm-f22brwhy-it-considered-legendary-portrait-lens The Leitz Thambar 90 mm {{f/|2.2}} Why Is It Considered A Legendary Portrait Lens?] By Roger W. Hicks, [[Shutterbug (company)|Shutterbug]] Posted: April 1, 2005</ref> In 2017, a new version was produced, costing $6,495. A lens from the original series can fetch between $3,000 and $8,000, depending on condition.<ref>"[http://www.overgaard.dk/leica-90mm-Summarit-M-f-25.html Technical data on the Leitz Thambar f/2.2]", Thorsten Overgaard.</ref>

The [[Leica II]] was first produced in 1932, with a built in [[Rangefinder camera|rangefinder]] coupled to the lens focusing mechanism. This model has a separate viewfinder (showing a reduced image) and [[Rangefinder camera|rangefinder]]. In 1932, the flange to filmplane was standardised to 28.8mm, first implemented on Leica model C, and the [[Leica Standard]] the next year.<ref>Leica Collectors Guide, Dennis Delaney, Hove Collectors Books, Hove 1992, {{ISBN|1-874707-00-6}}</ref>

The [[Leica III]] added slow shutter speeds down to 1 second, and the model IIIa added the 1/1000 second shutter speed. The IIIa is the last model made before Barnack's death, and therefore the last model for which he was wholly responsible. Leitz continued to refine the original design through to 1957. The final version, the IIIg, includes a large viewfinder with several framelines. These models all have a functional combination of circular dials and square windows.

Early Leica cameras bear the initials D.R.P., which stands for Deutsches Reichspatent, the name for German patents before May 1945. This is probably a reference to German patent No. 384071 "Rollfilmkamera" granted to Ernst Leitz, Optische Werke in Wetzlar, on November 3, 1923.

The company had always had progressive labor policies which encouraged the retention of skilled workers, many of whom were Jewish. [[Ernst Leitz II]], who began managing the company in 1920, responded to the election of [[Hitler]] in 1933 by helping Jews to leave Germany, by "assigning" hundreds (even if they were not actually employees) to overseas sales offices where they were helped to find jobs. The effort intensified after [[Kristallnacht]] in 1938, until the borders were closed in September 1939. The extent of what came to be known as the "[[Leica Freedom Train]]" only became public after his death, well after the war.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

=== After WWII ===
[[file:LeicaIIIf-600.jpg|thumb|Leica IIIf (1950), one of the last screw-mount Leicas, with 50mm/f1.5 Summarit]]
[[file:Leica M3 chrome Singlestroke with Leica-Meter M und Elmar f=5cm 2,8 M39.jpg|thumb|Leica M3 chrome Singlestroke (1958) with Leica-Meter M, Booster and collapsible Elmar f=5cm 1:2,8 M39 lens with adapter]]
[[file:Leica MP (2003) and Leica M3 (1954).jpg|thumb|Leica's MP of 2003 and M3 of 1954]]
[[file:Leica M.jpg|thumb|Modern Leica M series]]

After the war, Leitz continued to produce the late versions of the Leica II and the Leica III through the 1950s. However, in 1954, Leitz introduced the [[Leica M3]], with the new [[Leica M mount]], a bayonet-like [[lens mount]]. The new camera also combined the rangefinder and viewfinder into one large, bright viewfinder with a brighter double image in the center. This system also introduced a system of [[parallax]] compensation and a new rubberized, reliable, focal-plane shutter. Leica continues to refine this model (the latest versions being the MP and MA, both of which have framelines for 28, 35, 50, 75, 90, and 135&nbsp;mm lenses, which show automatically upon mounting).

In 1952, Günther Leitz decided to establish Ernst Leitz Canada at [[Midland, Ontario]].

Post-war models bear the initials DBP, standing for Deutsches Bundespatent (Federal German Patent), instead of the DRP (Deutsches Reich patent) found on pre-war models. A number of camera companies have built models based on the Leica rangefinder design. These include the [[Leotax]], [[Nicca]] and early [[Canon (company)|Canon]] models in [[Japan]], the [[Kardon]] in [[United States|USA]], the [[Reid and Sigrist|Reid]] in England and the [[FED (camera)|FED]] and [[Zorki]] in the [[Soviet Union|USSR]].

In the 1970s, [[Walter Mandler]] introduced [[computer aided design]] in optical engineering. {{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

Until at least the mid-1950s, Leitz offered factory upgrades of earlier Leica cameras to the current model's specifications. The upgraded cameras retained their original serial number.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cameraquest.com/ltmnum.htm |title=Leica Screw Mount Serial #'s Sorted by Number |last=Gandy |first=Stephen |date=October 18, 2008 |website=Stephen Gandy's CameraQuest}}</ref><ref>"[http://www.overgaard.dk/leica-90mm-Summarit-M-f-25.html Upgrading your Leica]", Thorsten Overgaard.</ref>

[[file:r4-sl2-600.jpg|thumb|The Leica R4 (1980) and Leica SL2 MOT (1974)]]
[[file:visoII-600.jpg|thumb|The Leica Visoflex II (1960)]]
[[file:visoII-IIIf-600.jpg|thumb|Leica's answer to the SLR: a Leica Visoflex II on Leica IIIf]]

From 1964, Leica produced a series of [[Single-lens reflex camera|single-lens reflex]] cameras, beginning with the [[Leicaflex]], followed by the Leicaflex SL, the [[Leicaflex SL2]], and then the [[Leica R|R]] series from R3 to R7, made in collaboration with the [[Minolta Corporation]]. The [[Leica R8]] was entirely designed and manufactured by Leica. The final model was the [[Leica R9]], which could be fitted with the Digital Module back. Leica was slow to produce an auto-exposure model, and never made a Leica R model that included auto-focusing. In 2009 the R-series was discontinued, citing new camera developments that had caused a massive loss of Leica sales.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090601184305/http://us.leica-camera.com/news/news/1/6379.html Leica cease production of R9 and R lenses] March 25, 2009</ref>

Conceptually intermediate between the Rangefinder Leicas and the SLR Leicas was the [[Leica Visoflex System]], a mirror reflex box that attached to the lens mount of Leica rangefinders (separate versions were made for the screwmount and M series bodies) and accepted lenses made especially for the Visoflex System. Rather than using the camera's rangefinder, focusing was via a groundglass screen. A coupling released both mirror and shutter to make the exposure. Camera rangefinders are inherently limited in their ability to accurately focus long focal-length lenses; the mirror reflex box permitted much longer length lenses. Throughout its history, Leitz has been responsible for numerous optical innovations, such as aspherical production lenses, multicoated lenses, and rare earth lenses.

The earliest Leica reflex housing was the PLOOT (Leitz's five letter code for its products), announced in 1935, along with the 200&nbsp;mm {{f/|4.5}} Telyt Lens. This date is significant because it places Leica among the 35&nbsp;mm SLR pioneers. Until the 1964 introduction of the Leicaflex, the PLOOT and Visoflex were Leica's only SLR offerings. A redesigned PLOOT was introduced by Leica in 1951 as the Visoflex I. This was followed by a much more compact Visoflex II in 1960 (which was the only Visoflex version available in both LTM screwmount and M-bayonet), and the Visoflex III with instant-return mirror in 1964. Leica lenses for the Visoflex system included focal lengths of 65, 180 (rare), 200, 280, 400, 560, and 800mm. In addition, the optical groups of many rangefinder lenses could be removed and attached to the Visoflex via a system of adapters. The Visoflex system was discontinued in 1984.
The leica M6, the top model in the company's M 35mm rangefinder camera line at the time, served as the model for this one.

Leica offered a wide range of accessories. For instance, LTM (screwmount) lenses could be used on M cameras via an adapter. Similarly, Visoflex lenses could be used on the Leicaflex and R cameras with an adapter. Furthermore, certain LTM and M rangefinder lenses featured removable optical groups that could mount via adapters on the Visoflex system, thus making them usable as rangefinder or SLR lenses for Visoflex-equipped Screwmount and M rangefinder cameras, as well as being usable on Leicaflex and R cameras. Leica also offered focusing systems, such as the Focorapid and Televit, that could replace certain lenses' helicoid mounts for sports and natural-life telephotography.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

=== 'Leitz' to 'Leica' ===
[[File:HongKongInternationalAirportLeicaStore.jpg|thumb|Leica store at [[Hong Kong International Airport]], 2018]]

In 1986, the Leitz company changed its name to Leica (LEItz CAmera), due to the fame of the Leica tradename. At this time, Leica relocated its factory from [[Wetzlar]] (Germany) to the nearby town of [[Solms]] (Germany). In 1996, Leica Camera separated from the Leica Group and became a publicly owned company. In 1998, the Leica group was divided into two independent units: [[Leica Microsystems]] and [[Leica Geosystems]].

On 1 October 2012, Leica Camera AG was delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange after Lisa Germany Holding GmbH acquired the remaining minority shares stock resulting in the company being owned privately.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://evertiq.de/news/12056 | title = Hauptaktionär übernimmt alle Anteile der Leica Camera AG | date = October 3, 2012 | publisher = Das Evertiq News Network | access-date = December 5, 2016 }}</ref>

On 26 November 2013, Leica Camera AG announced the purchase of [[Sinar|Sinar Photography AG]], Zurich, the Swiss manufacturer of view cameras.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://us.leica-camera.com/Company/Press-Centre/Press-Releases/2013/Press-Release-2013-11-26_Leica_Camera_takes_over_Sinar | title = Leica Camera AG takes over Sinar Photography AG, the Swiss manufacturer of view cameras | date = November 26, 2013 | publisher = Leica Camera AG | access-date = December 5, 2016 | archive-date = October 1, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201001011833/https://us.leica-camera.com/Company/Press-Centre/Press-Releases/2013/Press-Release-2013-11-26_Leica_Camera_takes_over_Sinar | url-status = dead }}</ref>

In May 2014, Leica Camera AG finished building a new factory at Leitz Park 1 in the new industrial part of Wetzlar and relocated back to the city where it started.<ref>[http://overgaard.dk/the-story-behind-that-picture-0119_gb.html "Visiting The New Leica Campus in Wetzlar"], Thorsten Overgaard.</ref>

In April 2019, a television commercial for Leica titled "[[The Hunt (advertisement)|The Hunt]]" was released online. The commercial depicts [[Photojournalism|photojournalists]] in war-torn and politically unstable environments; one of whom takes a photograph of the [[Tank Man]] during the [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests]]. Following censorship of the Leica brand on [[Sina Weibo]], Leica revoked the commercial and sought to distance themselves from it, claiming the company did not sanction its production.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/19/camera-firm-leica-distances-itself-from-tiananmen-square-advert |title=Camera firm distances itself from Tiananmen Square advert |first=Emma |last=Graham-Harrison |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=19 April 2019 |access-date=27 April 2019}}</ref>

In September 2022, Leica announced Cine 1, a laser projector, for release in 2023. The model is Leica's return to digital projectors, which the company produced under the Pradovit brand.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ricker |first1=Thomas |last2=Porter |first2=Jon |title=Leica is now making a Cine 1 laser projector that sits just inches from the wall |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/1/23332775/leica-cine-1-ust-projector-price-specs-date |website=The Verge |date=1 September 2022 |access-date=1 September 2022}}</ref>