It’s March 1, 1925, and the public is getting its first look at the Leica I on Stand 194 / 195 at the Leipzig Spring Fair in Germany. What isn’t clear to anyone in attendance is that this a camera that will change photography forever.
This moment had been a long time in the making. Oskar Barnack developed a Leica I prototype just a year after designing the Ur-Leica in 1913, in his role as precision mechanic and head of the testing department at optical instrument manufacture Ernst Leitz Optische Werke, the company that today is Leica.
Eleven years later, with the company’s operations having been disrupted by the Second World War, the Leica I, kitted out with a Leica Anastigmat 50mm f/3.5 lens was revealed. This was a truly compact and lightweight 35mm analog camera, about which Leica says, “For the first time, it was possible to take pictures of real life – capturing the decisive moment.”
The idea of the ‘decisive moment’ could equally be applied to the camera’s development. Ernst Leitz II, the head of the company, famously said, “I hereby decide: we will take the risk”. That risk was to mass-produce the Leica I – the first readily available 35mm Leica camera – and it paid off.
The Leica I made photography a regular part of everyday life for more people. It birthed reportage, documentary, and street photography, and it did so not just because of its design, but because it was in the hands of ordinary people. Its impact was significant at the time, and its influence is still felt today.
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Popularizing 35mm
Take a look at camera design, and the way we take photos 100 years after the Leica I was first revealed, and things aren’t all that different.
Sure, most people have moved onto smartphone and digital photography (even though film photography has enjoyed a mini revival), but the 35mm format is still hugely popular.
The Leica I popularized 35mm analog photography, with Canon, Nikon, Olympus and others following suit for several decades with 35mm SLRs, and that format has been adopted for the best digital cameras today. ‘Full-frame’ DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, even Leica’s latest digital rangefinders such as the M11, all feature a sensor that measures 24 x 36mm, the same dimensions as a single frame of 35mm film like that used in the Leica I – and images from today’s cameras have a similar feel.
Many seasoned photographers still gravitate to full-frame, and a picture made with a Leica I wouldn’t look out of place today.
Our readers are certainly fans of full-frame. We asked ‘which is your favorite sensor format’ on our WhatsApp channel (do give it a follow for daily tech stories), and full-frame was the overwhelming favorite, receiving 13x more votes than any other sensor format (you can see the votes, above).
But what about camera design? It feels like we’re coming full circle in 2025, with the likes of the Nikon Zf taking design cues from 35mm analog cameras half a century or more old, not to mention a long line of Leica M-mount rangefinders spanning seven decades.
Many seasoned photographers still gravitate to full-frame, and a picture made with a Leica I wouldn’t look out of place today.
Standing the test of time
By mass-producing the Leica I, a compact and lightweight 35mm camera, Leica revolutionized photography and put cameras in the hands of the people, enabling them to document their everyday lives.
On the one hand, the Leica company of today feels like a far cry from those early days. Sure, it’s actively making new cameras, but they’re so expensive that the famed red-dot feels like an exclusive club for the rich and famous, and a winning lottery ticket-purchase for everyone else.
However, in the context of today’s camera market, sticking to its design guns is proving to be another savvy business move by Leica, which reportedly made record revenue in 2023 / 24.
Why try and blend in with the DSLR / mirrorless camera crowd? Without changing the basic design much, and by implementing minimalist menus and modern touch interfaces, Leica has carved out a niche – its manual-control rangefinder cameras are in a league of their own, as are their price tags.
I’ve had plenty of hands-on time with Leica rangefinder cameras through my job, and can appreciate the unique photography experience they offer. Like most people, however, I’ll probably never get to call a Leica camera my own.
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