📷 You can get the Leica Monochrom on Amazon: help.tc/buyleica 📷

Tony:Look how beautiful the Leica Q is,specially in the grey. Chelsea:it matches your hair. Tony:absolutely no response. We laughed Chelsea,a lot.

Btw. one interesting point which I think you missed is that the whole reason the first Leica camera was invented, was to check film stock... back then the emulsion of the film was not always 100% the same and the labeling not too reliable. So in order to get an idea what the true sensitivity of the film is, they would shoot a couple of frames with the 'Ur-Leica' this why it is such a basic camera... It was not intended as photographic tool... Regards from Germany

Not sure how they missed the following pun in discussing the origin of the name Leica.. Leitz Camera (action).

Leica teamed up with HuaWei; Hasselblad teamed up with Lenovo; Ziess teamed up with Xiaomi; and all these Chinese smart phones are using sensors from Sony...

I really like your channel. You keep it simple. I used to use my dads 1957 voigtlander Vito B. Now I have a Leica CL.

Wow, great video! The part where you explained they wouldn't take credit for saving people really opened my eyes to the good in humanity. We should all learn from this, be considerate and together make our world a better place. Thumbs up!

you know Tony and Chelsea during the 70's through to the 80's I owned at various times, a Leica M2, M3 and two M4's....the issue of re-aligning the range finder being a common problem never arose in any of my cameras....and having worked in the photo industry for a number of years and managing camera stores I personally can't even remember sending a Leica in for this re-alignment issue you speak of. I'm not saying this can't happen but the way you speak of this issue ...you make it sound like it was a common issue. I also it find it a bit of a miss that you didn't mention the introduction of the Ernst Leitz Canada, ELCAN,a facility started in 1952 in Midland, Ontario....making lenses, scientific equipment and the Lecia M42. This facility and the town where it was housed became the home to one of Leitz's famous designers....Walter Mandler who later became a Canadian citizen. Walter Mandler was en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Mandler#Mandler_lenses the head designer of many of Leitz's famous lenses. Regards, I have watched most of your videos.

I'm enjoying this series of camera company histories. Looking forward to the history of others such as Hasselblad. Thank you!

Hey guys, thanks so much for doing that. I grew up next to the Leica company and all of my family worked for them, my grandpas and my Dad. But I have never heard about the Jewish support. So Canadians teach me about my home towns history. Thank you so much.

Thank you Northrups. Great series about Camera manufactures histories.

Did not know the history of Leitz helping the Jews. So refreshing. Thanks Chelsea and Tony for doing this series. I'm enjoying learning the history of these great companies.

Hi, that was a nice podcast about the camera company in my home town with some info that was even new for me :) There were a few things missing though. One thing is that Leica almost died because they missed the transition to digital. They were bought by an US investor and teamed up with Panasonic to get the digital technologiy. Another thing is that Leica was always very good in building lenses, maybe even better then making cameras. The high price is a result of very low tolerances which translate into quality. With cameras it may be a bit different though. And you didn't mention the interesting ways Leica goes with their newer cameras, like Monochrome sensor or digital camera without a display. The last thing I would like to point out is that Zeiss already partnered with Nokia some years ago to develop lenses for their smartphones, and they still work in that area. Leica was not the first company to do that, but they are smart that they went this route now and may have a big advantage in future. Thanks und vielen Dank for the nice podcasts you post here on KZfaq :)

Dear Tony and Chelsea, that was a good review but some very important things where missing. The iconic and very important ( for the company ) Leica M9 And the fact that Leica was insolvent and Mr. Andreas Kaufmann bought and bailed out Leica in 2013, invested over 30 Million € from his own money into this company, just for the love of Photography and Leica. He created a research center for history and art to find all the iconic cameras around the globe. without him the Ur-Leica would be lost like the factory itself.

Thank you. I have been on the fence about buying a Leica Q2 and your story about how Leitz saved Jews during WWII pushed me over the edge.

I Leica this video 😂

I love the historical series videos that you guys have made. Great job!

Another fun show guys! Really digging the history lessons as they relate to major camera companies. If you ever get an unsatiable hankering to shoot a "Leica", the Leica CL is pretty affordable and the the 40/2 Summicron-c is a very nice lens. The CL was a joint venture w/ Minolta but I have to say that the camera is very nice. Happy to loan you mine if you want to do a Leica video again. For that matter I'd also offer up my Topcon Super D which is actually the first camera to offer ttl metering. It's a tank with a stunning 58/1.4 lens. Thanks again for the great content!

I purchased a Leica M-3 "double" throw lever advance in 1961. The best ever! Sold it years ago and regret that a thousand times.

Another great video. Thanks Tony, Chelsea and Squarespace....and Justin too.

I love how you guys really do your research before the podcast. I liked the German history part.

As a Pentax user, I got my Leica C-lux. Insane zoom and excellent image quality. When I do not have my DSLRs, I have my Leica and my Ricoh GRii in my belt! Having living, in and out of Japan for many years, I would say that these are the best of both worlds. Japanese and German quality together.

Finally about LEICA!! loved this episode..

Thanks for this story. I am a history nerd and really enjoy your shows about the history of companies and products.

They couldn't have avoided Leica factories in bombing raids because bombs were no where that accurate at the time. You were lucky if you actually bombed the correct city, It's impossible to aim for or avoid individual buildings regardless of how big it is.

A friend of mine invited me to his daughter’s wedding and I took my M6 along just to capture a few personal pictures. I told the wedding photographer that I just wanted some personal pictures and that I would stay out of their way. They were using modern digital cameras. I just wanted to explain to my other friends about the wedding. Every time that I tried to take a picture the wedding photographer came and stood in front of me. It made me feel so sad for the wedding photographer that I quit taking pictures. It was a beautiful wedding and I am the only one that has seen the pictures. Every once in a while I look through the pictures it brings a smile to my face. I am hanging on to my M6 and I use it every now and then; the M6 takes wonderful pictures and it is a joy to use.

I love it when some standard is traced back to something totally meaningless like the 3:2 format. Some of the first trains were made with a track spacing of 4 foot, 8 1/2 inches simply because the mines around the area happened to use that size. It ended up being the worldwide standard still used today on most trains, subways, etc.

_YESSSS_ Not a chance i'm getting a Leica anytime soon, but it's still great to get learn a bit of the brand's history with your comments here and there. Way nicer than just reading about it. Thanks guys!!

Love this series! Would love even more to see a history of Olympus!!

Great stuff. Enjoying the series

Absolutely love these podcasts!

To the part of WW2 bombings on the Leica headquarters, Leica wasnt a primary target for bombings in WW2 because about 1-2 Kilometers (about a mile) there was a factory called Buderus who melted stainless steel, another very big company in Germany. They were the primary target for bombings in Wetzlar, Germany. To this day there are thousands of bombs under the ground of this factory and still being defused. I happend to live in this town for studying at university.

People talk about an M3 or M6 for a grand like it's super prohibitive when people go out and buy a 5dmkIV on release, when it's going to be obsolete in a decade. Yeah, they're expensive but they literally last forever.

Finally!!! I was waiting so long for video on Leica history!

I REALLY love the way Tony says "bye" haha. It's just so ... short and to the point... bye. 37:48

Can't wait to see Olympus history :)

I love you two! Keep going! *MORE HISTORY VIDS!!!* These have been quite interesting (I've seen all of them now). It's great to see Chelsea's lovely face and hear her sweet voice. You two are a great couple! I love Tony's technical knowledge too!

I love my Leica Q and my Leica M10

I appreciate these history video's. I know it's a lot of work to put together

Loved this,well done,this stuff needs to be told.

Thank you for always putting up great content🙏

I don't have a problem with Leica rebranding Panasonic cameras... because unlike Hasselblad's attempt to rebrand Sony cameras, Leica does not go crazy with the pricing ( Unlike Hassy, which tried to sell an RX100 version 1 with a wooden grip for $2000... at the same time RX100 II could be had for $750 new)... The Leica version of a Panasonic camera is usually only a few hundred dollars more than the Panasonic version and usually comes with a better warranty to make up some of the difference. ... and With the M, SL, TL, Q, and S, Leica still shows its own in-house camera design and build chops.

Thanks for doing these camera company histories, very enjoyable..... :)

A really informative and enjoyable video.

I live in germany right next to Wetzlar/Solms where Leica was born and produce nowdays. I knew much about the history of the brand but this video was sooooo interesting :) Love your work

Love the history! Great podcast.

Enjoyable as always. Cant mention everything of course but it would have been nice to mention LFI- Leica Photografie International magazine which has been doing quality photojournalism for decades. Also might have been nice to mention that the current 'M' mount can fit onto Leica cameras from the 50s. Overall great job, thanks.

Hi, very interesting, for me there was some interesting revelations; I had never heard about the Leica Freedom Train. There are a few milestones and/or bumps you have missed. Leitz took up a cooperation with Minolta and Minolta produced a lot of the epic cameras for Leitz like the Leica R3 (also same body as the Minolta XE), the Leica R4 is manufactured by Minolta (same body as the Minolta XD). Also the compact Leica, the Leica CL, was made by Minolta. The two companies cooperated on several lens designs too, some lenses developed by Minolta was produced and sold as Leica lenses, a couple of zooms but also a few fixed lenses. Minolta certainly learned a lot from Leica/Leitz but also Leitz got the fabulous Acute Matte viewfinder glass from Minolta (which also Hasselblad bought from Minolta). To be true, if you look in old Minolta lens brochures; Minolta sold Leica/Leitz lenses with Minolta SR bayonet mount back in the days, so the cooperation worked both ways. Just like the cooperation between Leica and Panasonic today; wouldn't we all want to know all the details... You also missed that after the M4 came the M5 which most didn't like because although it had all the metering and features but was a departure form the classic shape, the M6 was a comeback to the classic M4 shape that everyone loved.

A little after 33:30 Tony says that Leica T is a fixed lens camera. Wrong. Leica T is a digital mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. The 2006 digital Leica M8 rangefinder was actually the first digital mirrorless camera and had APS-H Kodak image sensor. Two years before Olympus with Panasonic introduced their micro four thirds mirrorless cameras. The 2009 digital Leica M9 rangefinder was actually the first full frame digital mirrorless camera and had full frame Kodak image sensor. Four years before Sony introduced its a7 series of full frame mirrorless cameras. Most people don't know that. However firstly the body of the digital Leica M8/LeicaM9 was unbelievable expensive and with an equally expensive Leica lens, the total price was unaffordable even by professionals. The Digital Leica M8/M9 was a rangefinder camera which means a manual focus camera. So in practice Olympus/Panasonic and Sony are the pioneers of the mirrorless revolution. Leica T APS-C 2014 and Leica SL Full frame 2015 are true mirrorless cameras . Leica joined the mirrorless revolution after all other major camera manufacturers.

You can change lenses on the Leica T. You said it has a fixed lens. The T system is now renamed TL system.

Really enjoyed watching this video, thanks! The M6 is one of the most beautiful things ever made and I'm proud to own one - the only Leica I ever wanted up until the Monochrom, which I can't afford. :(

Leica History + history on the beginning of cameras. And how war impacted photography really interesting video!! this was a really good video thanks!!!

Leitz Camera action

I love you guys and the way you talk :) Thank you for your videos :)

One of my life's goal is to buy a camera body that matches Tony's hair.

Thanks for all the wonderful content you guys! Your my favorite, I hope to get to meet you both someday❤❤❤

I really like this history lessons :) could you do some pentax history next, would be awesome!

thanks a lot you guys for doing this vid, just last week i was doing a leica doco search, hardly anything

Leica is well known for its quality, sharp lenses and durability. Amazing history. Own a Leica M3 single stroke edition and have Leitz and one Voigtlander 50mm Nokton lens for it. The way Leica cameras handle is smooth, precise and unique. Almost every user of Leica understands this. Yes, pricey gear but Leica used by photo journalists, reporters and major magazines for years before the successes of Nikon, Canon & Pentax. Amazing gear. 👏

I've been watching your all your history video(Nikon, Canon, Leica, etc..). Love to see if you do Olympus history video :D. Anyway, congrats on your 1M subscriber count!

Before working with Panasonic, Leica also worked with Minolta, which was not mentioned in the podcast.

This is great!

the design and engineering of the Panasonic lens branded as Leica is made by Leica , the quality measures are imposed by Leica, the Quality control procedures are again imposed by Leica, but the manufacturing is Panasonic. Basically its Leica, you can't say about an Iphone that is is actually a Foxconn just because is made by Foxconn.

Thanks for this history lesson. I'm most intrigued to discover that Leica essentially invented the "Digital Daguerreotype"! That scanning camera is a really amazing piece of kit! I recall early QVGA - often monochrome digital cameras of that era. They were quite ambitious - if somewhat aspirationally ahead of the available tech of the time. I can't get enough of this stuff. 😊 Thanks again.

These history of videos are so fun! Have you guys considered doing one on Zeiss?

wonderful review of Leica !

Brilliant loved this thanx 📷📷❤️📷❤️

This series of podcast is great! Do yo have any plans for making a history of minolta/sony video?

Loved it.

Great talk! I wonder if you guys did one for Panasonic?

Tony and Chelsea: you can get an M3 for less than the price of a Sigma Art lens for Canon and a vintage 50mm 'cron for about the same price. Or a Leica CL with a great Leica 40mm for less than the Art lens. Or a really vintage Leica pre M for $250. And the thing about the M3 was that the rangefinder was coupled. The T is a system camera, now called TL, not a fixed lens. Leitz' daughter was supposedly arrested for aiding Jews to cross into Switzerland. And Leitz resisted joining the party for as long as possible. Enjoyed this podcast very much. And no, I can't afford a digital Leica either but sure want a digital M. Maybe when the M10 comes out, the cost of the M9 and M240 will become within my reach. They're wonderful. +chelseanorthrup

i love how you light this podcast

Could we get a video on the history of Soviet/Russian cameras?

I really like these history videos as well! Have you done one on Hasselblad yet? Do you plan to?

'My' M4 was built in 1968. It was my dad's. It still works and I love it. Yeah, I inherited his photo-gene. Thanks dad! (taking pics in heaven since 2014).

Love the historical profiles. 3:2 ratio - genius. The Leica Freedom Train was master-minded by Leitz's daughter, Elsie Kuhn-Leitz who was imprisoned by the Gestapo.

@35:55 Hasselblad also tried to get into the phone game with the Hasselblad True Zoom for the Moto Z. It adds 10x optical zoom, but seems more of a novelty than a big shift in smartphone camera evolution.

I think you are missing the main point on the Visoflex attachment. A leica rangefinder viewer is not very wel suited for longer lenses (or macro lenses for that matter), the image / rectangle just becomes to small + the rangefinder is not accurate enough beyond 135mm. Ergo the visoflex, wich allowed the development and usage of longer lenses, like the Telyt series etc. In real life the Visoflex works very wel by the way, certainly when compared to the reflex camera's of that era.

Hawaii P9 is really a nice camera phone. You can do manual focus and in body post process pictures for focus and f-stops... amazing technology.

Hi thank you for a great effert to cover the Leica story. But this episode has several fact bloopers and missing essential info. First Camera with interchangable lens and introducing widely used mount M39 Leica Thread Mount is Leica 1 C 1930. The Leica II D 1932 is their first Camera with a coupled rangefinder. Important Camera same year 1932 is the Leica Standard modell 1 E (not rangefinder) wich Leica set standard flange distance to 28.8 mm between focal plane and back of the lins. Before the Camera and lens has to be adjusted to each other to fit flange distance. 1933 it all summs up by introducing Leica modell III F, rangefinder with M39 LTM and standard flange. Maybe more about the M Lens mount and new features in rangerfinder viewer introduced with Leica M3 Important 1973 Leica established a partnership with Minolta there their first product was the compact Leica CL as well Minolta release rangefinder Minolta CL both with Leica M lens mount. The popular SLR Model R3 to R7 are based on Minolta popular SLR XD series. The R8 is their own design and construction. Worth mention is the partnership with Panasonic and micro four third lenses sold as Panasonic original. Also they let Panasonic have Leica basic SLR design character on their cameras - Looking at the new GH5 it is a copy of Leica SLR R8 and Lumix is an anagram for Leica. That I personallly think maybe is Leicas biggest mistake in branding and advertising strategy. I think they should by out lumix camera concept and brand from Panasonic and sell them under Leica Lumix brand as top of the line MFT mirrorless cameras. Another Fact blooper was about that Leicaflex SL was the first SLR with integrated TTL exposure meter. The first SLR with TTL is Topcon RE Super of 1963 followed by Pentax Spotmatic 1964, by Cannon PELLIX 1965, by Nikon F Photomic T and Nikomat FT 1965, Minolta SRT-101, Canon FTQL and Olympus PEN FT SLR at 1966 etc. Worth mention on Leica M series is the M9 2009 with full frame sensor. The M (240) 2012, The lean M-D without LCD screen. The latest M10 2017 - ok this one wasn't launched. But otherwise a great video keep up! Regards PS Leica is anagram for Ernst "Lei"tz "ca"mera

Chelsea looks like an elf in this vid :O

this is great!! always wondered why Leica was a "cork-sniffer" camera. would love to see the history of Pentax, if you guys are ever up for it :)

A very well balanced review of the history of Leica.

I absolutely love camera history and up to this point this study seems to have been relegated to books. Thanks for this recent series - I have listened to them as podcasts on long car trips and they have been informative and have helped pass the miles by.

It needs to be clarified which company, Nikon or Asahi Pentax, made the leap to single lens reflex. I think Pentax may have experimented with the SLR earlier. All of this is fascinating history.

I was watching and waiting to hear about Leica lenses being made in Canada, no luck, that's okay, a great video.

Awesome video guys, Could/would you guys do a review of the Huawei P9 or the new Huawei Mate 9 thats just coming out? I would love to hear your thoughts on it. :)

It would be awesome if you guys made a similar podcast video on Polaroid and Edwin Land and the state of instant photography today

At 36:00 is worth mentioning that Hasselblad has also released a camera to a smartphone the Hasselblad True Zoom as a Moto Snap.

I do not have a lot of money....most do not. However, Leica is so much a part of photography history , that I saved for some time and purchased a 2nd hand M6 and 2nd hand 50/2 Summicron and 35/2 Asph lens. There is such a feeling of quality to the ""Red Dot" marque. The rangefinde focussing system is very accurate and the film shots have a certain quality . but yes, they are sought by photo snobs and those with more $'s than camera abilities!

Thank you tony & Chelsea, very informative video, I always love to learn the history of cameras, tony you are right, that you don't shoot landscape with a Leica.

Nice show. Several points: With experience, manually focussing an M can be done quickly and reliably. While not the main focus (pun intended) of my own photography, I've shot wildlife for many years with an M, including a shot of a fox kit with a kill that I submitted to your show months ago and which you commented positively on. No, you can't shoot off 10fps and hope you "nailed" a shot, but your "hit" ratio will go up exponentially over a Nikon/Canon et al. The M(240) has a vastly improved and more stable ranger finder focussing system requiring no maintenance over several years of hard use from any M shooter I know. The addition of a small EVF for the M (made by Minolta) allowing focussing directly from the sensor image enabled more consistent results in low light situations and also with non-M lenses (particularly with R lenses). But the single most important reason people shoot Leica is the glass. Perhaps in a future episode you might examine the qualities of such incredible lenses as a Noctilux 0.95 or Telyt-R APO 280mm f/4?

Leitz actually still exists as a different company making highly precise optical CMM machines for industry. We have 2 of them at work, they're massive and cost a fortune but have the same red circular "leica" style logo on top, except it says Leitz instead. Amazing company.

Interesting video. I love my Leica M.

I was able to track down one of the Leitz Freedom Train Leicas. I accidentally purchased it without knowing the history until later. Was able to track down the batch number, based off of the type of leica that was sent to NY. Leica sent me the log entry with the serial number and signature of Leitz on that serial number. Leitz was forced to become a Nazi in 1942 or else lose his factory. His daughter was arrested and brutally interrogated by the Gestapo in 44. He loses the factor, then things get brutally difficult for the Holocaust victims who were assigned to that factory. I'm not sure about Ike, but Bradley and Patton were huge fans of Leica. You can go to the Patton Museum of leadership in KY, and see his Leica IIIA. Kiev cameras are the same molds/design at Zeiss Contax IIA. This is the Russian "clear out"

Make Pentacon history pls. Praktica cameras were the very best of Eastern block. And it has also been my first SLR. They introduced the M42 mount. And quite a lot of people still use old Pentacon branded lenses on modern DSLR. It has definitely been an important part of camera history.

Love your history podcasts. Camera manufacturers sure do have quite a story to tell. Are you planning by any chance to do Minolta/Sony podcast?

Did y'all skip over the M9 or am I missing a part? O.o

Hallo Tony & Chelsea :)) I m following you here on youtube and watching your videos speeches its grat... So my question is would you make video for Lumix GH5 when arrives like you did for Lumux GH4 1 hour long ?? It wil help many people how to use settings and all that stuff ... Promise me? Sory my english try my best :))

Dear Chelsea and Tony, It'd be great if you can do a review on Leica V-Lux Typ 114. I've learned a lot from your reviews. Thank you!