About Leitz/Leica
Leitz was originally a microscope and scientific optics company. The first series of screwmount Leicas were designed by Oskar Barnackred and have been named Barnack cameras by some. The prototype Ur-Leica was designed in 1918, but mass production did not start until 1925 when the Leica I came out. I have a write-up of the Leica III (1933).
The Leica M3 rangefinder was released in 1954 and represented the end of the Barnack-series of screwmount Leicas. The M-series had an integrated viewfinder/rangefinder with automatically switching projected framelines, coincident and split-image rangefinder, lever wind, hinged rear door, integrated shutterspeed dial, and M-bayonet mount. I have write-ups of the M3 (1954), M2 (1957), MD (1963), and M7 (2002). The Leica CL (1973) is technically not an M-Leica but it uses the M-bayonet mount.
The design of the Leica M has not changed considerably since the M3 of 1954. In 1967, the M4 came out with a crank-rewind instead of a knob rewind. Since then, the M series remained essentially unchanged from the Leica M4 (1968) up to the current M7. The only difference is that the M7 has an electronically controlled shutter and automatic exposure metering. (This leaves out the fiasco of the M5 which was considerably different and considerably unpopular at the time).
Leica's single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras have not been as popular as their rangefinders. I have write-ups of the original Leicaflex SL camera as well as the newer R3 and R6 SLRs and the R-mount lenses.
Leitz... blah blah.... and in 2000, fashion conglomerate Hermes bought 31% of Leica's stock. The only tangible result of this has been the emergence of the Hermes Special Edition Leica MP, dressed in the best coach leather and costing a mere US$8000.
Leicaflex SL/SL2
Overview and Personal Comments
To be frank, Leica was late to come to the SLR market. Although it had the most sophisticated and popular rangefinder on the market, the Leica M3; the Leitz corporation was only slowly becoming aware of the potential single-lens reflex cameras. The first SLR was either the Zeiss Contax S or the Russian START (depending on who you ask), but Japanese camera manufacturers such as Nikon and Asahi Pentax were popularizing the SLR by the early 1960s. In many ways, Japanese companies went towards SLRs because they could not compete against Leica in the rangefinder market. By the time Leica woke-up and realized the SLR threat, most of its Japanese rivals had already come out with second-generation products.
Single-Lens Reflex Wars in the 1950s and 1960s
1951 Ihagee Exacta Interchangeable waist/pentaprism finder
1952 Asahi Asahiflex Waist-level finder single-lenx reflex
1957 Asahi Pentax Pentaprism eye-level finder
1959 Nikon F Interchangeable finder, focusing screen, back, motor-drive, mirror-lock up, etc. etc.
Canon Canonflex Automatic instant-return mirror, diaphragm
Kodak Retina Reflex S
1960 Asahi Pentax S1
1961
1962 Asahi Pentax S1a
1963 Olympus Pen F Half-size SLR, unique mirror system
1964 Leicaflex External CdS meter
Asahi Pentax Spotmatic TTL metering
Canon FX External CdS meter
1965 Canon Pellix Pellical mirror, motordrive, TTL metering
1966 Mamiya Sekor 1000TL Open aperture TTL metering
1967
1968 Leicaflex SL Open-aperture TTL metering, matte focusing screen
Còn tiêp...
(nhờ các bác chỉ làm sào mà post hình trong mục này tí .Thanx)
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