For most time of the last century, the rangefinder has defined the identity of Leika as a camera manufacturer and shaped generations of photographers work. To mark her centenary, Lika again saw this groundbreaking invention and the story of how it replaces photography forever.
A century of leaka innovation
This year, Leica celebrates its 100th anniversaryA milestone as a whole not only for the company but also for photography. Some brands are combined with the history of creating image in the form of leika, whose cameras have shaped photo journalism, documentary function and creative expression for generations.
As part of the centenary celebrations, Leika released a video titled Revolution photography: Development of rangefinderWhere Peter carries the original and permanent importance of the platform, rangefinder system in carbor carb, senior management expert optics and leica camera.
Birth of rangefinder
In the early 20th century, Leika’s leading engineer Oskar Barnack recognized a fundamental problem: photographers focused on their cameras to accurately struggled for the exact judge. At that time, most cameras rely on matte screen and estimate, a process to capture very slow, fleeting, clear moments. The solution of the barnac was podis, an external accessory that used triangularity to measure the distance.
“Rangefinder, in the German ‘Entryngsamesor’, is an optomacheical tool with which you can measure the distance you can measure the distance you want to concentrate,” in a carbey video.
The photographers can focus accurately, by aligning two superamposed images in one. This invention became the backbone of Lika’s philosophy: to make photography fast, more comfortable and more accurate.
From secondary to integration: Lika II
While Fodis focuses, it was not convenient at all. Success came in 1932 with Leika II, which was the first camera to integrate the rangefinder directly into his body. With dual ocular, for a framing and to focus a focus, Leika II allowed photographers to quickly compose and focus without different stages.
In the advertisement you can read ‘automatic focus “. From today’s perspective, it is not autofocus, but at that time it was revolutionary, ”Carpy says.
The innovation of Leica II was not just a lie in speed. It also introduced interchangeable lens through a screw mount. Each lens was engineered with a gear that translated focus movements into the exact rangefinder adjustment for laying groundwork for Leica’s future system cameras.
M-System and Lika M3
The next seismic jump came in 1954 with Lika M3. Here, the dual-ocular system was streamlined in a single visualization that jointly focused in framing and an experience. The M3 also introduced the bayonen M Mount, making the lens more secure. The frame lines for 50 mm, 90 mm and 135 mm lenses appeared within the visualpire, providing photographers with real -time preview of various focal lengths. After about a century of the first experiments of the barnac, the required mechanical principle remains intact.
“Oskar Barnac’s soul is still buried in the M camera,” carie note.
A photographer’s device, not just a camera
Rangefinders always require learning state. Unlike modern mirrorless systems, where the final image is previewed immediately, Leica M users should imagine the field and depth of the composition in their brain before releasing the shutter.
“In principle it is always a challenge to use an M in theory,” says Karb. “But once you learn it, I think you will never want to do anything different.”
He compares the experience of writing with a fountain pen. This may sound difficult and strange at the first time, but once mastered, it is rewarded with another nature and depth. The unique ability of the rangefinder to show more than the final frame also gives photographers an edge in time, allowing them to estimate that when subjects enter or exit when the subject will enter or exit.
Why rangefinder still matters
In the era of today’s autofocus and live digital preview, the rangefinder may look like an anocronism. Nevertheless, the permanent M-system of Leica proves its relevance. For many photographers, it is the pure relationship between the eye, brain and image, a touch process that demands both technical skills and artistic vision.
As Leica 100 year marksThe rangefinder is more than a piece of photographic history. It is a living tool, yet inspires photographers to slow down, looks different, and capture Snapshot, “Momentfanham”, which Oskar Barnack had imagined about a century ago.
