Leica I' 35mm camera

Designed by Oskar Barnack and made by the German firm Leitz from the mid-1920s, the Leica uses 24 × 36 mm movie film instead of 18 × 24 film. The 1.6-metre length of film it contains enables thirty-six photographs to be taken without reloading. The camera’s very small size means users can have it constantly on them, and its shutter mechanism can take photographs in rapid succession. The Leica had so many advantages that in 1935 contemporaries asked themselves why it was not used more: ‘We have seen how long it has taken for it to establish itself in our country. Here we have seen it used by amateurs for two to three years at most, above all by Japanese people. Why?’ Yet the Leica was adopted en masse by demanding professional and amateur photographers, and Leitz has continued expanding its benchmark range, successfully negotiating the transition to digital photography.