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42-499: The Leica M9 is a full-frame digital rangefinder camera from Leica Camera AG . It was introduced in September 2009. It uses an 18.5-megapixel Kodak image sensor and is compatible with almost all M mount lenses. The M9 uses an 18.5-megapixel Kodak (KAF-18500) CCD image sensor that was developed specifically for the camera. The M9 boasts frameline pairs for 28/90, 35/135 and 50/75 and it supports most M-mount lenses—with only

84-474: A 121-degree angle of view; only recently have equivalent SLR lenses become available, though optically inferior. The absence of a mirror also means that rangefinder lenses have the potential to be significantly smaller than equivalent lenses for SLRs as they need not accommodate mirror swing. This ability to have high quality lenses and camera bodies in a compact form made Leica cameras and other rangefinders particularly appealing to photojournalists. Since there

126-474: A different shape to those with other cameras, with openings cut out of them to increase the visible area. The rangefinder design is not readily adapted for use with zoom lenses , which have a continuously variable field of view. The only true zoom lens for rangefinder cameras is the Contax G2 Carl Zeiss 35–70 mm Vario-Sonnar T* Lens with built-in zoom viewfinder. A very few lenses, such as

168-620: A few older models not suitable due to protruding elements of the lens into the camera body. The M9 was introduced by Leica on 9 September 2009, in New York City. The launch (which also introduced the Leica X1 and Leica S2 models) included a live video webcast, and featured a guest appearance by the musician Seal . In 2011, Leica verified a malfunction that may prevent the camera from saving images to certain SanDisk cards and issued

210-574: A firmware update in July 2012, that made "further improvements of SD-Card compatibility". In 2010, Leica released the Leica M9 Titanium camera body (a variant of the M9), which was designed by Walter de Silva . The body and supplied lens (a Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH FLE) are both built from solid titanium . The Leica M9-P camera body was announced in 2011; it was not intended as a replacement for

252-399: A focal length slightly longer than a normal lens ); use of a much different focal length would result in a viewfinder with a different magnification than the open eye, making fusion of the images impossible. There is also the difference of the eye-level since the eye looking in the viewfinder actually sees the frame from slightly below the other eye. This means that the final image perceived by

294-424: A rangefinder camera is offset from the picture-taking lens so that the image viewed is not exactly what will be recorded on the film; this parallax error is negligible at large subject distances but becomes significant as the distance decreases. For extreme close-up photography, the rangefinder camera is awkward to use, as the viewfinder no longer points at the subject. More advanced rangefinder cameras project into

336-868: A revival of rangefinder cameras. Aside from the Leica M series, rangefinder models from this period include the Konica Hexar RF , Cosina , who makes the Voigtländer Bessa T/R/R2/R3/R4 (the last three are made in both manual or aperture automatic version, which use respectly the "m" or "a" sign in model), and the Hasselblad Xpan/Xpan 2. Zeiss had a new model called the Zeiss Ikon, also made by Cosina but now discontinued, while Nikon has also produced expensive limited editions of its S3 and SP rangefinders to satisfy

378-506: Is no moving mirror, as used in SLRs, there is no momentary blackout of the subject being photographed. Rangefinder viewfinders usually have a field of view slightly greater than the lens in use. This allows the photographer to be able to see what is going on outside of the frame, and therefore better anticipate the action, at the expense of a smaller image. In addition, with viewfinders with magnifications larger than 0.8x (e.g. some Leica cameras,

420-551: Is not customary to speak of this functionality as a rangefinder. The first rangefinders, sometimes called "telemeters", appeared in the twentieth century; the first rangefinder camera to be marketed was the 3A Kodak Autographic Special of 1916; the rangefinder was coupled. Not itself a rangefinder camera, the Leica I of 1925 had popularized the use of accessory rangefinders. The Leica II and Zeiss Contax I, both of 1932, were great successes as 35 mm rangefinder cameras, while on

462-412: Is too large or obtrusive. However, today mirrorless digital cameras are capable of excellent low light performance, are much smaller and completely silent. The absence of a mirror allows the rear element of lenses to project deep into the camera body, making high-quality wide-angle lenses easier to design. The Voigtländer 12 mm lens is the widest-angle rectilinear lens in general production, with

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504-619: The Contax G . Digital imaging technology was applied to rangefinder cameras for the first time in 2004, with the introduction of the Epson R-D1 , the first ever digital rangefinder camera. The RD-1 was a collaboration between Epson and Cosina . The R-D1 and later R-D1s use Leica M-mount lenses, or earlier Leica screw mount lenses with an adapter. After the discontinuation of the R-D1, only Leica M digital rangefinders were in production until

546-540: The Epson RD-1/s , Canon 7 , Nikon S, and in particular the Voigtländer Bessa R3A and R3M with their 1:1 magnification), photographers can keep both eyes open and effectively see a floating viewfinder frame superimposed on their real world view. This kind of two-eyed viewing is also possible with an SLR, using a lens focal length that results in a net viewfinder magnification close to 1.0 (usually

588-502: The Leica M (Typ 240) digital rangefinder, which adds live preview, video recording and focusing assistance, the Leica M Monochrom , which is similar to the Leica M9 but shoots solely in black and white , the Leica M Edition 60 which is similar to the M (Typ 240) but omits a rear display panel as a homage to film cameras, and the M10 and M11 without video recording. The viewfinder of

630-536: The Leica Standard , also introduced in 1932, the rangefinder was omitted. The Contax II (1936) integrated the rangefinder in the center of the viewfinder. Rangefinder cameras were common from the 1930s to the 1970s, but the more advanced models lost ground to single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras. Rangefinder cameras have been made in all sizes and all film formats over the years, from 35 mm through medium format (rollfilm) to large-format press cameras. Until

672-485: The depth of field for a given aperture, which is not possible with a rangefinder design. To compensate for this, rangefinder users often use zone focusing , which is especially applicable to the rapid-fire approach to street photography. Larger lenses may block a portion of the view seen through the viewfinder, potentially a significant proportion. A side effect of this is that lens designers are forced to use smaller designs. Lens hoods used for rangefinder cameras may have

714-443: The 1940s from spare parts using Leica III body shells and equipped them with Wollensak lenses. Standard cameras imported from Germany later were also sold with Wollensak lenses. As with all early Leica cameras, Ernst Leitz, Wetzlar offered upgrading customers' cameras when new features were introduced during the course of product development, and it was even possible to upgrade to other models as well. This practice in consequence makes

756-433: The 1960s many fixed-lens 35 mm rangefinder cameras for the amateur market were produced by several manufacturers, mainly Japanese, including Canon , Fujica , Konica , Mamiya , Minolta , Olympus , Petri Camera , Ricoh , and Yashica . Distributors such as Vivitar and Revue often sold rebranded versions of these cameras. While designed to be compact like the Leica, they were much less expensive. Many of them, such as

798-512: The IIIa of 1935, though the Leica III would continue in parallel production for several years. All these models use the standardised lens mount with distance from film plane to lens flange fixed to 28.8 mm, a Leitz standard. This feature was first seen on late Leica I model C cameras in 1931, and all Leica II, Model D from 1932, identified by a "0" (zero) stamped on the lens mount flange at

840-612: The Konica M-Hexanon Dual or Leica Tri-Elmar, let the user select among two or three focal lengths; the viewfinder must be designed to work with all focal lengths of any lens used. The rangefinder may become misaligned, leading to incorrect focusing. Rangefinder cameras are often quieter, particularly with leaf shutters , and smaller than competing SLR models. These qualities once made rangefinders more attractive for theater photography, some portrait photography, candid and street photography , and any application where an SLR

882-797: The Leica thread mount. (From late 1951 they were completely compatible; the 7 and 7s had a bayonet mount for the 50 mm f/0.95 lens in addition to the thread mount for other lenses.) Launched in 1940, The Kodak 35 Rangefinder was the first 35 mm camera made by the Eastman Kodak Company. Other such cameras include the Casca ( Steinheil , West Germany, 1948), Detrola 400 (USA, 1940–41), Ektra ( Kodak , USA, 1941–8), Foca ( OPL , France, 1947–63), Foton ( Bell & Howell , USA, 1948), Opema II ( Meopta , Czechoslovakia, 1955–60), Perfex (USA, 1938–49), Robot Royal (Robot-Berning, West Germany, 1955–76), and Witness ( Ilford , Britain, 1953). In

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924-548: The M9), and replaced it with the company's name etched on the top of the M9-P. The Leica M-E camera body was announced in September 2012. It is similar to the M9 and M9-P cameras, but is missing the frame-line selection lever (a mechanism which allows the photographer to assess the field of view of lenses with different focal lengths without having to mount them), and the USB port. This is

966-411: The M9, however, as the two camera bodies were sold concurrently. Leica added a scratch-resistant sapphire LCD cover on the M9-P, and the steel grey paint option was replaced with a classic chrome cover. The black paint option is still available. The M9-P also replaces the body covering with vulcanite , as used on earlier M cameras. Leica removed the red circular logo on the front of the camera (as found on

1008-530: The Minolta 7sII and the Vivitar 35ES, were fitted with high-speed, extremely high quality optics. Though eventually replaced in the market with newer compact autofocus cameras , many of these older rangefinders continue to operate, having outlived most of their newer (and less well-constructed) successors. Starting with a camera made by the small Japanese company Yasuhara in the 1990s, there has been something of

1050-653: The Soviet Kiev ), Nikon S-series cameras from 1951 to 1962 (with design inspired by the Contax and function by the Leica), and Leica M-series cameras. The Nikon rangefinder cameras were "discovered" in 1950 by Life magazine photographer David Douglas Duncan , who covered the Korean War . Canon manufactured several models from the 1930s until the 1960s; models from 1946 onwards were more or less compatible with

1092-606: The United States the dependable and cheap Argus (especially the ubiquitous C-3 "Brick" ) was far and away the most popular 35 mm rangefinder, with millions sold. Interchangeable-lens rangefinder cameras with focal-plane shutters are greatly outnumbered by fixed-lens leaf-shutter rangefinder cameras. The most popular design in the 1950s were folding designs like the Kodak Retina and the Zeiss Contessa. In

1134-402: The cheapest model in the Leica M range. Digital types: M = Professional | ME = Entry level | MM = Monochrom | MD = No display MR = Increased resolution   CCD sensor   |   CMOS sensor   | Video capabilities Rangefinder camera Most varieties of rangefinder show two images of the same subject, one of which moves when a calibrated wheel is turned; when

1176-510: The decade, the camera had been perfected and full-scale production was established. The Leica Standard was introduced as a basic model by Ernst Leitz, Wetzlar in October 1932. The camera began production in the same year as the Leica II with a coupled rangefinder. The Leica III with lower shutter speeds was introduced in 1933; this model would later have the faster speed of 1/1000 sec with

1218-695: The demands of collectors and aficionados. Cameras from the former Soviet Union—the Zorki and FED , based on the screwmount Leica, and the Kiev —are plentiful in the used market. Medium-format rangefinder cameras continued to be produced until 2014. Recent models included the Mamiya 6 and 7I/7II, the Bronica RF645 and the Fuji G, GF, GS, GW and GSW series. In 1994, Contax introduced an autofocus rangefinder camera,

1260-481: The effects they create need to be viewed directly. Leica Standard The Leica Standard, Model E was the fourth version of the original 35 mm Leica camera to be launched from Ernst Leitz in Wetzlar , Germany . The concept was conceived by their employee Oskar Barnack in 1913. Production of the camera began in 1925 but it was not until the end of the decade that it was perfected and full-scale production

1302-847: The introduction of two additional rangefinders in late 2018: Both the Pixii and the Zenit M are true mechanical rangefinders, and they employ the Leica M mount, affording compatibility with current lens lines from Voigtlander , Zeiss , and Leica themselves. Leica released its first digital rangefinder camera, the Leica M8 , in 2006. The M8 and R-D1 are expensive compared to more common digital SLRs , and lack several features that are common with modern digital cameras, such as autofocus, live preview, movie recording, and face detection. They have no real telephoto lenses available beyond 135 mm focal length and very limited macro ability. Later, Leica released

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1344-409: The lens". This eliminates parallax errors at any subject distance, thus allowing for macro photography . It also removes the need to have separate viewfinders for different lens focal lengths. In particular, this allows for extreme telephoto lenses which would otherwise be very hard to focus and compose with a rangefinder. Furthermore, the through-the-lens view allows the viewfinder to directly display

1386-1130: The mid-1950s most were generally fitted to more expensive models of cameras. Folding bellows rollfilm cameras, such as the Balda Super Baldax or Mess Baldix, the Kodak Retina II, IIa, IIc, IIIc, and IIIC cameras and the Hans Porst Hapo 66e (a cheaper version of the Balda Mess Baldix), were often fitted with rangefinders. The best-known rangefinder cameras take 35 mm film , use focal plane shutters , and have interchangeable lenses. These are Leica screwmount (also known as M39) cameras developed for lens manufacturer Ernst Leitz Wetzlar by Oskar Barnack (which gave rise to very many imitations and derivatives), Contax cameras manufactured for Carl Zeiss Optics by camera subsidiary Zeiss-Ikon and, after Germany's defeat in World War II, produced again and then developed as

1428-465: The production was finished in chrome, and from 1940, the Standard was available in chrome finish only. Not many were made each year after 1940, except that 461 cameras were made in 1947. The Standard camera was replaced in 1949 by the viewfinder-less Leica Ic as the basic camera in the Leica line. Those made after 1945 share body casting with the contemporary models prepared for slow speeds. A disc covers

1470-436: The rangefinder was incorporated into the viewfinder. More modern designs have rangefinders coupled to the focusing mechanism so that the lens is focused correctly when the rangefinder images fuse; compare with the focusing screen in non- autofocus SLRs . Almost all digital cameras , and most later film cameras, measure distance using electroacoustic or electronic means and focus automatically ( autofocus ); however, it

1512-454: The spot occupied by the slow speed dial found on the other Leica models. The Standard in its basic version is not a rangefinder camera. However, the black enamelled FOKOS short base rangefinder was made available from the start, as well as a higher ever-ready case accommodating it. The measured subject distance using the rangefinder must be set on the lens' distance scale manually. Some Standard cameras were assembled at Leitz New York during

1554-559: The top, to indicate the implementation of the standard, a practice that was continued for some time. It is found on early Leica Standards as well. On the back of these models there is a hole covered by a black plug, presumably for back focus calibration. The original lens for the Leica Standard when introduced was the Leitz Elmar 1:3.5 F=50mm in a collapsible nickel-plated focusing mount with infinity catch. The Leica Standard

1596-419: The two images coincide and fuse into one, the distance can be read off the wheel. Older, non-coupled rangefinder cameras display the focusing distance and require the photographer to transfer the value to the lens focus ring; cameras without built-in rangefinders could have an external rangefinder fitted into the accessory shoe . Earlier cameras of this type had separate viewfinder and rangefinder windows; later

1638-483: The viewer will not be totally even, but rather leaning on one side. This issue can be avoided by shooting in vertical (i.e. portrait) orientation, shooting style and framing allowing. If filters that absorb much light or change the colour of the image are used, it is difficult to compose, view, and focus on an SLR, but the image through a rangefinder viewfinder is unaffected. On the other hand, some filters, such as graduated filters and polarizers, are best used with SLRs as

1680-403: The viewfinder a brightline frame that moves as the lens is focused, correcting parallax error down to the minimum distance at which the rangefinder functions. The angle of view of a given lens also changes with distance, and the brightline frames in the finders of a few cameras automatically adjust for this as well. In contrast, the viewfinder pathway of an SLR transmits an image directly "through

1722-603: Was at first made only in black enamel finish, with nickel-plated lens barrel and camera controls. The only improvement over its predecessor, the Leica I model C, was the smaller-diameter extendible rewind knob. The accessory shoe on the top plate sits exactly above the lens mount for fitting either a rangefinder or an accessory viewfinder. The serial numbering began at 101.001 and continued consecutively to 106.000. These cameras were made between October 1932 and early 1934. By this time, production of chrome-finished Standard cameras had started in small numbers. After 1936, however, most of

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1764-408: Was established. The Leica Standard, Model E was the fourth version of the original 35 mm Leica camera to be launched from Ernst Leitz in Wetzlar , Germany . The concept was conceived by their employee Oskar Barnack in 1913 at which time two prototypes were built. However, it was not until 1924 that Leitz decided to go ahead with the concept and production began the following year. By the end of

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