Four reasons to buy a Leica rangefinder and two reasons not to

One of the all-time greats: The Leica M3. The entire Leica rangefinder line up to the newest digital is an outgrowth of this camera.

Words+Photos: Mike Blanchard

Let’s play a little good-cop bad-cop with the Leica rangefinder. These legendary cameras are going the way of vintage Porsche and Rolex: straight up in value. Let’s take a quick, clear-eyed look at the plusses and minuses of the legend.

Tradition

Tradition has nothing to do with whether a camera is any good. But for many photographers the tradition of Leica is as big a part of the experience as any other aspect of owning one.

As is well-known, the Leica rangefinder was first invented by Oskar Barnack as a method to test exposure settings for movie cameras in the age before light meters. Barnack realized that his small camera could be refined and expanded into something much more than a way to test exposure.

Barnack took his invention to the Ernst Leitz company and sold them on the concept. After a period of development and testing, Leitz began selling the camera under the Leica trade name.

The Leica was not the first 35mm camera, but it was the camera that helped make 35mm the most popular film size of the 20th century.

It is hard now to fully grasp what a revolution the 35mm camera was in the age of sheet- and medium-format roll films. Since the inception of photography virtually all professional quality cameras had used sheet film. Professional photographers were quick to grasp the usefulness of a quality miniature camera.

The golden age of photography in the 20th Century was reflected in picture magazines like Life, Time, Stern, Paris Match and many others. Photographers whose work appeared in these publications became celebrities followed by camera nuts for years, and the cameras these photographers used became objects of desire. At the top of the list was the Leica.

1931 Leica model C. This was their first model with a removable lens and the last standard, non-medical body without a rangefinder.

For fans of famous photographers like Cartier-Bresson, Elliot Erwitt, Capa, Andre Kertesz, David Douglas Duncan and many others, a Leica rangefinder is a touchstone to their hero. Like owning a vintage Porsche because Stirling Moss drove one. You want to share the experience; you have something in common.

There is the technical aspect as well. I know people who use vintage Leica because they love that era of technology and feel they are a part of that past when using their camera. Even using a new Leica, one feels a link to the past. You could argue that at least half of the history of post-war photojournalism is the history of the Leica rangefinder.

Leica has entered the public consciousness as “the” camera. I once had a passerby ask me if my Rolleiflex was a Leica. Never mind that they look nothing alike. In the public’s mind a good camera is a Leica.

The person with a Leica around their neck can be sure of admiring glances and comments from the general public.

The Bodies

Leica bodies are a joy to hold and use. They fit the hand and have the unmistakable feel of a precision device simply sitting in your hand. They have a solid smoothness of operation that very few other camera makes can match. M bodies up to the M5 are all metal and marvels of German design and craftsmanship. They last for years. They might need a clean and adjust from time to time, but a Leica is an investment that will serve you well your whole life.

The bodies are tough, some models more than others, but on the whole a tough bunch. You don’t make the reputation Leica has without a product that can deliver the goods no matter what. Professional photographers have no time for equipment that fails, and Leica has held up.

One of the things users (especially street photographers) like about Leica rangefinders is how compact and quiet they are in operation. Because they don’t have a moving mirror, when you release the shutter they are quiet. You just hear the snick of the shutter. The lack of mirror box means the cameras are generally smaller than an SLR.

This was more true with the Barnack screw-mount cameras, which are remarkably compact with a pleasing weight to them. As Leitz developed the M series, the bodies got slightly larger (peaking out with the M5) but they are still compact and handy.

A Leica Rangefinder is a financial investment. Especially the early M series black bodies, which have appreciated significantly in value. Screw-mount bodies are still reasonable, and with few exceptions, like early models and grey Luftwaffe models, they have not gone up much in price.

Rare first-model, rigid 50mm 1:2 Summicron in chrome. For many years the Summicron has been the standard against which all others are measured … even other Leitz lenses.

The lenses

As fun as cameras are, lenses are more important than bodies. Leica lenses are badged under the Leitz name. As befits an optical company, Leitz backed up the revolutionary cameras with fantastic lenses.

The lens that started it all off was the Elmar 5cm f3.5. In a bit of irony, this (arguably) most famous of all Leitz lenses is in fact a version of a Zeiss Tessar.

Since its introduction in 1953 the Leitz Summicron has been the standard against which all other lenses are judged. It was followed by the even faster Summilux lenses. The Noctilux lenses are currently Leitz’ premier lens group.

There are two general types of Leitz lens: screw mount and bayonet mount. Early lenses up to 1953 use a thread mount. With the introduction of the M3 in 1953, Leica switched to a bayonet mount to attach to the camera body. Leica cleverly made an adaptor so that the earlier screw-mount lenses could be used on the newer M bayonet-mount cameras. This made it so that users could economically use the new camera system with their tried and true lenses.

The rangefinder camera design is somewhat limited with respect to long lenses. However, they are especially suited to wide-angle, normal and short telephoto lenses. The most popular lenses for rangefinders are the 28mm, 35mm and 50mm focal lengths. They can be used quickly and are small enough to keep the camera inconspicuous.

The long and the short of it is that, despite what some may say, there are virtually no bad Leitz lenses. Some of them may now have fuzzy reputations, but in their time they were as good as you could get. Even today, by modern standards, they all have something unique and special.

The system

A major advancement in photography was the concept of the system. Before Leica manufacturers generally made cameras as a stand-alone thing. Maybe there was a lens shade or flash unit, but that was about it. Leica conceived of a bewildering array of gadgets that allowed the cameras to meet the needs of any photographic situation. Finders, timers, rangefinders, film trimmer, strobes, winders, lenses, lens hoods, copying equipment, enlarging equipment, medical equipment, on and on and on.

These accessories were all coded with a cryptic name, and collectors and users are well-versed in the arcana of these codes.

Given the broad scope of the accessories, they are avidly collected by the Leica faithful, with whole collections being purchased to get one rare lens shade or finder. Variations of plating on the lenses and accessories can be quite rare and expensive. Nickel, black, chrome, grey, gold are all finish options that multiply the possibilities for the well-heeled collector.

Two reasons not to buy a Leica rangefinder

Technical issues

The rangefinder camera is not the easiest camera to use. While it can be used by anybody at a basic level, it is a camera type that requires some understanding to get the most out of. It is helpful to understand depth of field and to know what a given lens will do at every F stop.

There are two main technical reasons why an SLR-style camera is a better choice for the vast majority of users than a rangefinder. To be fair, they apply to all rangefinders.

The camera that almost put the nail in Leica and showed the photography world what an SLR could really be: The Nikon F. Simple and tough as bricks, Nikon film SLRs took the photo world by storm in the ‘60s.

One: With a rangefinder you don’t look through the lens. No matter what, you are not seeing what the lens sees. This can be an issue with any lens, but it is most problematic when using the long telephotos, lenses wider than 28mm and macro lenses. An SLR camera is a much better choice when using these types of lenses. For many photographers, the ability to see what the lens sees is the most significant reason to choose an SLR.

Because you are looking through the lens on an SLR you can see the depth of field. And you can use the depth of field preview button to see the depth of field when using the smaller apertures.

Two: When looking through the viewfinder of a Leica rangefinder you will see a set of nested rectangles defined by bright lines. These show what the lens is covering. The small rectangle in the center shows what a 100mm lens is seeing. The medium rectangle shows what a 50mm lens is seeing and the larger box shows what a 35mm lens sees. It is complicated just describing it.

You have the easiest time with the 50mm lines. But you have to purposefully look to the edges of the finder to be able to see the coverage for the wide-angle lenses. It is a flat, sort of impersonal way to frame the picture.

On an SLR-style camera, no matter what lens is on it, the viewfinder size stays the same and fills the finder from edge to edge. You easily see exactly what the lens is seeing and you are enchanted by the novelty of looking through a wide-angle or long telephoto lens.

When using anything other than a 50mm lens on a rangefinder, many photographers find an accessory viewfinder helpful because, as noted, it can be difficult to see the frame lines in the camera viewfinder. The viewfinder gives a better picture of how the lens is seeing the subject.

To use a viewfinder you either pre-set focus using depth of field or focus using the rangefinder and then frame using the accessory viewfinder. With an SLR there are no complications like this.

Also, loading the film on the classic Leica M rangefinders is a pain. On the screw-mount Leicas it is tricky and finicky. Many a photo has been lost because the film didn’t catch on the old IIIf.

Cost and Culture

Leica is marketed as a luxury item, and the products are expensive. You could literally buy property for the price of a new Leica outfit. As with any other luxury product, there are people who buy Leica simply because it is expensive and exclusive regardless of its actual value as a camera. The camera is a cult item, an object of jewelry like a fancy watch intended to telegraph the owner’s social status.

Social media is awash in the cult of Leica, with acolytes attacking any suggestion that Leica is not the be-all-end-all of photography. The very fact that Leica has become this lux item is off-putting and slightly offensive. When I see a lizard-skinned gold Leica on some social media platform, my first reaction is “There’s a wanker,” not “Oh, I’d like to see his photos.” But hey, there is no accounting for taste, as they say.

The popular vintage Leica bodies, like a first issue black MP, have become so expensive that it would be an absolute miracle to see one on the street. This for a model that was made for the journeyman pro. A group of folks not known for their wealth.

We are told Leica is the paragon of accuracy and precision, but in fact Leica cameras do not offer anything exclusive. Argue all you want, but there are any number of cameras new or old that can take as good a photo, and often for very little money. Many camera brands produce lenses that are just as sharp, and some of them sharper, than Leitz lenses.

Canon made a fine line of professional rangefinders with many advanced features. This rare black ‘58 Vi-T is mounted with the fast 50mm F 1.2 lens. Canon lenses have always been of high quality and significant rivals to the Leitz products. Because they use the same screw mount as early Leica, they are easily mounted on Leica bodies. This advanced rangefinder uses a trigger winder and a system that optically changes the viewfinder to match the lens.

If you want a rangefinder, there are very good alternatives both new and vintage from Voigtlander, Contax, Canon and Nikon (to name but a small selection of what’s available). All of them offer cameras with exceptional lens options

For years Leica advertising has said that if you buy a Leica you will be a better photographer. This is, of course, complete advertising BS. The most important part of photography is your eye and your mind, not the camera or lens.

I know this may be hard to take for the die-hard Leica nut, but it is fact: A camera is a tool, nothing more. The goal is a good photograph. If you don’t have a good eye, no camera can make up for it. Having a nice tool is a joy and a pleasure to use. But by itself it is just a tool.