Many Leica enthusiasts are
familiar with the pre-production models of the Leica, the Nullserie, which were
made in 1923, two years prior to marketing of the first Leica, the Leica 1 ore
Model A, which was officially introduced at the Leipzig Spring Fair in 1925.
Many photographs do exist of
these two models and the differences are clearly visible. But how did these two cameras differ
internally?
It was common practice to
make detailed drawings of the design of cameras which, of course, included
these two models as well. Unfortunately
these were never published by the company and thus very few have ever seen
them.
Fortunately, the well-known
Leica (and Ferrari) historian Ginanni Rogliatti obtained permission from the
Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH, as Leica used to be called, in to publish a reprinted
series of these drawings in 1980. These
came in the original size and were limited to a total of 1000. They were numbered and signed individually by
Gianni Rogliatti.
I am the lucky owner of set
number 11 and am happy to share them on these pages. Unfortunately Sig. Rogliatty signed them with
a fountain pen with the result that his signature on the three prints has faded
substantially over the last 35 years.
Only a faint version of his signature is still visible.
The first drawing is dated
June 13, 1923 and shows one of the Nullserie designs. Supposedly 30 of these cameras were made, but
it is assumed that some of them were nonfunctioning. The actual number of working cameras is
believed to be no more than 20 cameras.
It is also thought that during the production of these cameras several
changes were made. One of these changes
is quite visible on photographs which show the camera with an early folding
viewfinder which had to be used with the camera about one foot distance from
the eye. Later models had a standard
viewfinder as did the later Leica 1. The
Rogliatti drawing shows the Nullserie camera with the folding finder.
The other two drawings are of
the Leica 1 or Model A, with one of them dated May 8, 1924. The other one has no date. In spite of the very obvious outward
differences between the Nullserie and the Leica 1, it is surprising to see that
internally the differences are rather minor.
All the controls for film wind and rewind as well as the shutter speed
adjustments are in the same position and are of a very similar design. This is also the case with the focal plane
shutter as well as the film wind mechanism.
Leica 1
Leica 1 Top
I have the framed drawing
hanging in my office right by my desk.
Even after all these years of owning them, I never get tired of looking
at them and comparing the inner workings of these cameras which were to change
photography as no other camera, before or after, ever did.
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To comment or to read comments please scroll past the ads below.
All ads present items of interest to Leica owners.
Inventive Camera Bags for All of Your Gear
For more information on KOMARU and for orders go to: www.taos-photographic.com
For more information and pre orders go to: www.lenstab.com
Leica Akademie Chicago
with Craig Semetko - August 2015
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Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
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