Leica I

The Leica I went on sale at the Leipzig Spring Fair in 1925, and the world of photography was never the same. Ernst Leitz II had made a bet that still photographs taken on 35mm cine film could be enlarged to exhibition quality, and the Leica I proved him right. The camera was compact enough to fit in a coat pocket, quiet enough to use in a theater or courtroom, and capable enough to produce images that rivaled much larger equipment.

For anyone new to Leica: this is the camera that invented the category. Before 1925, "serious" photography meant large glass plates or medium-format film, a tripod, and deliberate, planned shots. The Leica I made photography spontaneous. Photojournalism as we know it — Henri Cartier-Bresson, Erich Salomon, Alfred Eisenstaedt — all trace back to this little camera. Early models had a fixed lens; later variants introduced interchangeable lenses. The Leica I sold in the thousands and proved the market existed. Everything Leica has made since is a direct descendant.