This year, Leica turns 100. The “Leitz”, the first camera for 35mm film, was brought to market back in 1914 by Oskar Barnack. Just what is it it that makes Leicas so special in the eyes of so many great photographers, and does this justify the often insane costs of ownership? One hundred years is a long time for any company to be around, but for Leica, with it’s engineering excellence, attention to detail and insanely high standards of craftsmanship, comes as no real surprise. The company has out lived a couple of World Wars, several economic depressions and many economic recessions, and largely dealt well and an insane amount of technological advancement that would cause serious issues for most companies producing a highly specialized piece of engineering.

What Makes A Leica So Special?

There is an over riding principal that underpins almost every Leica camera of the last 100 years, and certainly the M rangefinder design. That principal is best summarized by Barnack’s philosophy of ‘small negative – big picture’, which was the basis for the Leitz…..

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