Leica M1
35 mm rangefinder camera by Leica AG
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Leica M1 is a 35 mm camera by Leica Camera AG, introduced in 1959. The M1 has a parallax-corrected viewfinder with frames for 35 and 50mm permanently displayed. It was designed for scientific and military use. 9650 units were produced between 1959 and 1964.[1][2]
 Leica M1 body | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Maker | Leica Camera |
| Type | 35 mm camera |
| Lens | |
| Lens mount | Leica M-mount |
| Focusing | |
| Focus | manual |
| Exposure/metering | |
| Exposure | manual |
| Flash | |
| Flash | none; connectors for external flashgun |
| General | |
| Dimensions | 138×77×33.5 mm (5.43×3.03×1.32 in) |
| Weight | 545 g (19 oz) |
| Made in | Germany |
208 of the units were produced for the german army in multiple batches. They are olive as opposed to the standard edition and include the word "Bundeseigentum" (ger: federal property) on the back of the body.[1][2]
The M1, which followed the original M3 and later M2, was the lowest-cost and simplest Leica M body, a simplified M2 without a rangefinder. It was intended to be used for technical work together with the ground-glass focussing Visoflex, a mirror reflex housing that turns a Leica M into a single-lens reflex camera.[3]
Several similar models were made simultaneously with later M-series Leicas:
- The Leica MD, a simplified M2
- The Leica MDa, a simplified M4
- The Leica MD-2, a simplified M4-2
