A full frame digital camera is the aspiration of many photographers, but I expect most do not know the history of “full frame” which can be traced back to the work of a very clever German chap called Oskar Barnack.
“Full frame” refers to the size of the sensor which matches the size of 35mm film. As the world moved to digital photography, it made sense for camera manufacturers to offer models withe same size sensor as the film in their increasingly obsolete cameras, so they could continue to flog the same lenses on the new models. So the full frame digital has its history in 35mm, which in turn is the bastard love child of cine film.
There were various sizes of cine film developed in the early days of the industry; but it was the 35mm size which came to dominate. The film stock was produced by George Eastman of Kodak fame and William Dickson, working for Thomas Edison, developed the cine cameras. Such was the success of 35mm cine film, there was soon miles of the stuff lying around just waiting for some bright spark to think up another use for it. So it didn’t take too long for people to start building stills cameras based around the format. Although patents were issued as early as 1905, it wasn’t until 1913 that the first commercially produced 35mm camera became available, the Tourist Multiple:
Not everyone wanted a suitcase with a lens on it and it sold less than 100 units. Plus, it only shot half frame images, and the world would have to wait another year for the first ever full frame camera, the Simplex:
About 27 of these were produced of which six still exist and if you have one you could sell it and buy a house.
Around the same time, Oskar Barnack, working for Leitz produced his first attempt at a 35mm camera, the UR-Leica:
Unlike previous 35mm cameras, it was small and actually looked like it had been manufactured rather than thrown together in a shed in the dark using drift wood. Unfortunately, Barnack’s promising start was put on hold while lots of people had a war, but then in 1921-23 he produced the 0 Series prototypes:
Between 25 and 31 of these were produced of which 12 survive. The one above was sold in 2012 for 2.16 million Euros, making it the most expensive camera ever sold. And it doesn’t even have a selfie feature…
Finally, in 1925, came the world’s first mass production 35mm camera, the Leica I (or Leica A):
Ninety years on, it’s easy not to appreciate just how advanced this camera was for its time. Gone were the rather bizarre operating procedures of the Leica prototype and other cameras. With the Leica I, you wound on the film, set the shutter speed and aperture, squinted through the little viewfinder and pressed the gorgeous little shutter button. Just what you would do today; only slower. The camera was constructed in black-painted brass with nickel fittings and Oskar no doubt thought to himself “in ninety years time the paint will be rubbing off to show the brass and this will look fucking cool”; except he would think it in German.
Stuck on the front of this mini-masterpiece was a lens designed by Max Berek who also worked at Leitz and it set the standard for the quality of Leica lenses that continues today. The combined skills of Barack and Berek resulted in a small camera that could take wonderful photos; just what the world was waiting for.
The Leica I sold well and turned Leitz into a serious camera manufacturer that dominated news, street and reportage photography for many years. It also established the 35mm format as the standard for photography for the future.
So I decided I had to add one to the Spike museum:
It’s a 1931 Model C. Compared to the 1925 model, the silver “hockey stick” plate on the front has gone, and the camera has been standardised to allow interchangeable lenses (the earlier production required camera and lens to be matched in the factory). It’s paintwork may be worn; but it feels as silky smooth to operate as it must have done when it rolled off the production line eighty four years ago. Read that again, EIGHTY FOUR YEARS! I bet your granny hasn’t aged as well as this.
One of the features of the early Leica was that it came with a warranty card which entitled the owner to return it Leitz for an upgrade at any point in the future; which is why you will find Leica IIICs of the 1950s which are actually upgrades of a Leica I made more than twenty years previously. This is not a business model that would be sustainable today. Closer inspection of my Leica I shows that it was originally a Leica 1 Model A (you can see the screws that were used for holding on the “hockey stick” to the left of the lens). The original owner returned it to Leica who converted it to a Model C sometime in the early 1930s. This means that I could stick other lenses on it, but I probably won’t, because the original nickel Elmar looks just right and seems to be in good condition.
Although future Leica models included a rangefinder (and most still do), the Leica I offered it as optional extra, and it took the form of a periscope affair that sat in the accessory shoe:
It’s a strange device, but is actually easier to use than the built-in tiny rangefinder in my IIIC.
Can’t wait to put a film through it; but first it is off to Bangkok for a CLA (Clean, Lubricate and Adjust) from AVCamera. They have just returned my IIIC which now operates even more smoothly and is “just as it was when it left the factory” according to the very knowledgeable shop owner, who hoards more Leicas than is sensible. It also sports a very faint whiff of light machine oil which is powerfully seductive for a man of my inclinations.
Once the Leica I is ready for shooting I will wander around the streets looking for owners of full frame digital cameras, and will demand a donation in support of the camera without which their piece of plastic crap would probably never have existed.
Comments 🔗
2015-03-15| Ray saysExcellent research old chap. Very good read.
2015-03-15| rjmorgans saysLovely article and pics
2015-03-15| Grant saysLook what he’s done now Parry, more attic trash, his poor wife must be beside herself… Was the designer of the rangefinder in U boats in WW1? Nice catch old chap, well done, good history and lovely patina.
2015-03-16| Spike saysIf Wikipedia is to be believed, the inventor of the rangefinder was Bradley A. Fiske and he was too senior and too old to muck around in submarines by the time the first world war came along. In case you were wondering, and I am sure you weren’t, the first rangefinder camera was the Kodak Autographic Special in 1916. A couple of thousand baht will buy you one on eBay but I don’t think I have any space left.
2015-03-16| Andrew says" in 90 Jahre Zeit, die Farbe wird abreiben , um die Messing zeigen, und das wird ficken cool aussehen! " Oskar thought… ( according to Google ) of course Babylon begs to disagree - " In neunzig Jahren mal der Lack wird abreiben um die Erz und das Aussehen fucking cool " ( those lazy bastards there can’t be bothered to work…)
2015-03-19| Monty says