Leica Camera AG is a German company that designs and assembles its own photography systems including cameras, lenses, flashes and accessories. It is most famous for its line of compact rangefinder cameras, mostly using 35mm film run sideways, a format Leica pioneered. Its latest digital compact rangefinder with interchangeable lens mount, the M9, was introduced in 2009 and uses a digital sensor that matches the classic film frame size. The M9 has been widely hailed as not only the best rangefinder camera, but perhaps the best overall handholdable, interchangeable lens camera ever for many types of photography.
Why use a rangefinder camera?
First, let’s discuss the difference between a rangefinder and an SLR. Then, we’ll be able to understand the trade-offs between them.
The range is a measurement of distance between two items. A rangefinder is a tool used to measure distance. It might work on any relevant principle. For example, the equipment NASA uses to measure how far space craft have traveled is a type of rangefinder system. Radar and sonar systems are rangefinders, with radar being “radio detection and ranging.”
An optical rangefinder is simply an optical tool to identify distance, by providing a control that can be moved, and two images that overlap and fuse into one image when the control is set to the distance to what one observes through the rangefinder. This is a tool that can be fast and easy to use, as long as there is enough light for the operator to see the contrast between the two images. Not only do the images appear to line up, but lines crossing the subject appear continuous rather than broken apart when the rangefinder is set to the correct distance.
In a camera, a rangefinder is a tool to set the focus of the lens. The Leica genius is the combination of a rangefinder and viewfinder into a single, all-in-one assembly, with the introduction of the M3 in 1954. This single ingenious device lets the photographer view the subject and set the focus. A mechanical lever connects the focus adjustment of the lens to the alignment of the rangefinder. The photographer does not look through the lens, but instead, looks through the rangefinder/viewfinder to take a picture.
This is quite a contrast from the Single Lens Reflex camera. In an SLR, light arriving from the lens reaches a mirror set at an angle. This mirror bounces the light to the top of the camera, where a five-sided prism assembly further bounces and reverses the image so that it appears right side up and left to right through a viewfinder on the back of the camera. The photographer looks through the lens to position the camera and lens. Focus adjustments might be done by a split image rangefinder element inside the prism assembly, by an automatic focus mechanism, or by some other means. To take a picture, the mirror has to be swung up out of the way, blacking out the viewfinder. The picture is taken, then the mirror has to swing back into viewing position for the photographer to see through the lens before the next shot.
With an SLR camera, the view through the viewfinder shows exactly what comes through the lens. If a long or short lens is used, and the lens diaphragm is opened or closed, the photographer sees these changes exactly as the final image will look when the picture is taken. (Not precisely exactly: some viewfinders have a view a few percent larger or smaller than the final image, including a little less or a little more of the view through the lens than will be in the final photograph. Also, any focusing aids and information displays put into the viewfinder will not show in the photograph.)
Let’s look at the advantages of any rangefinder, then the advantages of a Leica rangefinder.
A rangefinder does not have a mirror or pentaprism or focusing aids inside the camera where the lens attaches. This means the lens can get deeper inside the camera body without hitting anything. In turn, this lets lens design be more compact for the same optical quality, compared to an SLR lens. This also makes it possible for the entire camera body to be more compact than an otherwise equivalent SLR. A small, lightweight, compact camera, with small, lightweight, compact lenses and accessories, is easier to take along, to carry and make use of all day.
The view through the rangefinder/viewfinder never blacks out. As a result, the photographer can continuously look through the finder, see how the situation is changing, and adjust the position and timing of the picture in a fluid way. If the finder has around 100% magnification, then it can be comfortable to have both eyes open while taking pictures.
With no mirror to swing out of the way, the response time to take a picture is faster than with an SLR. With no moving mirror, there is no chance of the shock and vibration that can cause blur in some SLR shots, especially handheld at long exposure times. Since there is no mirror, there is no need for a mirror lock-up function to prevent the mirror’s unwanted vibrations. There is also no noise from the mirror’s flip-up and flip-down to distract anyone.
If a lens used on the rangefinder camera does not collect very much light, this does not affect the photographer’s view through the finder. The finder is as bright and clear as ever no matter what lens is used.
In addition to these advantages of any rangefinder camera, Leica designs are famous for some additional features. The cameras and lenses are thoughtfully designed, carefully built and tested, often using expensive specialized techniques. They are generally very durable, easy to learn how to operate, simple in operation, and elegant. The importance of this is difficult to overemphasize, given how competing cameras tend to have complex layers of sub-menus and computerized options that demand that the photography either understand or ignore a huge mass of choices.
Leica rangefinders invite a spontaneous style of photography because they are so easy to take along and quickly use. There is a history of compatibility spanning decades, with World War II era lenses able to attach to the latest cameras, operate flawlessly and make superb pictures. Leica cameras and lense have been used by some of the greatest photographers of all time to make some of the greatest photographs of all time, unique and very artistic expressions of personal visions of special moments in time and place.
Because of these qualities, Leicas tend to attract avid enthusiasts.
They also are sold in small quantities at high prices, adding a sense of exclusivity which partially overlaps with the photographic appeal and partly is the appeal of any luxury item unaffordable to the masses. If Leica found a way to sell its cameras for $99 by the millions, with no loss of quality, it would then be very easy to see who loved them as tools of artistic expression and who loved them as status symbols. There is presently little risk of such a schism happening, as Leica’s current camera line-up is also priced in the thousands of dollars.
Now there are some disadvantages to rangefinders, compared to SLR’s.
First, it’s impossible to see exactly the image that the lens will capture. Lines in the Leica finder show approximately where the edge of the image will be. By comparison, an SLR finder shows exactly what comes through the lens. This means less imagination is needed by the photographer to decide what image is desired. Not only the field of view, but also the brightness, color rendition, depth of field and other qualities of the lens can only be discovered by taking the picture and then viewing it. With large lenses, any rangefinder’s viewfinder can be blocked by the lens; and the finder becomes less accurate at showing exactly which part of the environment will be included in the image. Close-up work is also difficult, without an ability to preview what is in the frame and in focus. The rangefinder’s view of the surrounding scene can be a distraction, compared to the SLR finder’s presentation of just the image area floating amid black borders.
In addition, SLR’s generally provide autofocus systems. It is not impossible to add an autofocus sensor to a rangefinder camera, and motors or gears to rangefinder lenses, but so far Leica’s own autofocus system is only in its larger SLR camera. Both cameras and lenses might have to be larger and heavier to include the extra technology, which would compromise the compact/lightweight portion of their appeal.
The majority of the rangefinder’s disadvantages compared to an SLR would be overcome by the simple addition of a Live View feature to the Leica rangefinder line. With the ability to use the display screen on the back of the camera to preview the image at the sensor, through the lens, then the brightness, field of view, exact positioning, depth of field, color response, closeness to macro subjects, alignment of distant subjects, etc. could all be previewed before taking a picture. This would be a shift from holding the camera close to one’s eye so the finder meets the eye, to holding the camera so that the entire screen on the back can be seen. However, it would provide almost all the benefits of an SLR while still providing a compact, lightweight camera that can still be operated in classic rangefinder technique. With live view also available to display on external screens, the Leica rangefinder could be used in studio settings with the entire image shown on a large separate screen.
Leica’s current top of the line rangefinder already has a digital sensor to capture the image, a display on the back of the camera to review already captured photographs, and a video output jack. Because live view has so many uses and overcomes most of the rangefinder’s drawbacks, I strongly suspect that Leica designers and engineers may well be working on a next-generation rangefinder camera that includes live view functionality, or an upgrade to the current camera’s internal software, if possible, to enable live view.
I don’t know if it’s technically possible to include autofocus within the classic Leica lens mount, retaining the compact, portable, user-friendly nature of the camera and lens size and weight. It would be possible to add software or additional computer circuitry inside the camera to provide focus assistance to the photographer.
additional topics to be covered:
about Leica:
- Leica’s history and place in photography
- the M9
- “the leica man” essay
- M9 lenses
- the s2 series
- Leica’s assembly and test process
- Leica’s business situation