Looking for the story of Leica

A Leica camera became a stranger's ID card.

For Leica fans, Leica is not only an ideal tool to recall wonderful moments; But a heartfelt admiration and yearning. Many photographers and outstanding celebrities; Use it to stay in every accurate and perfect picture. Mr. agobert Lindlau, a German TV presenter and photographer who uses Leica cameras, commented on the users of Leica cameras in this way: they are all people with special abilities, they will never forget anything, and the scenery, things and faces they see can be remembered for a long time. There is always a picture in your mind and the world in your eyes. For these people, the camera is not a recorder used to shoot things around; But to show the photos he saw. In such a photo, the magic of a moment solidified the "memory of feeling".

Of course, only a few people can become the top photographers in the world. They use Leica's best technical functions to complete their immortal works. There are thousands of photographers who cannot live without Leica; More reliable is Leica's indestructible and solid body. In this regard, the Leica family also has many beautiful and moving stories.

The most amazing thing is the thrilling experience of American aerial photographer Mark Meyer. At that time, the photographer was shooting another plane with Leica -flex SL2 MOT on a high-altitude fighter plane over 8,000 meters. Unexpectedly, because the two planes were too close, the plane suddenly lost control and crashed into the plane being photographed. Although photographers and pilots still have time to parachute to survive, his Leica camera is not so lucky. It fell straight into the desert of California from an altitude of more than 8000 meters, but it was still not found after many searches. It was not until a year later, when the US Navy was standing here for a drill, an officer found a camera buried in the desert. Fortunately, the door of the fuselage could not be opened because of damage, so he sent it to a professional camera shop for film processing and development. As a result, the synovium lying in the hot desert for a year was unscathed because the fuselage was well sealed. When he saw the plane on the negative, the shopkeeper remembered the report he had read about the plane crash and looked for a camera. Finally found and returned to the original owner. Now this desk calendar is shocking and dangerous, and it is still intact.

The Myth Camera is kept in the Leica Museum.

Eric Valli, a photographer for The French Herald, also had a narrow escape. This test is the Leica Summilux-R 1.4/80 lens, and the test site is in the high mountain area of Nepal. At that time, in order to take pictures of a group of wild bees, the photographer climbed a cliff of more than 80 meters with a rope. Near the summit; He hung himself in the air to change the lens, and the 670-gram large aperture lens accidentally fell off and fell into a deep valley. He had completely given up hope when he heard the harsh sound of the camera colliding with the rock. When he returned to the cliff to find the lens, he found that the glass inside was not damaged except the metal ring outside. But also can control the shooting. It was not until I shot a complete set of works with it that I sent it to Leica for inspection when I returned to Europe. Found an invisible deviation in the center of the lens. The overall quality has no effect. It is worth mentioning that this group of works completed by this photographer with this lens also won the "World News Agency" Nature Photography Award in the Dutch Photography Competition.

Miracles like this seem to be everywhere in Leica. When shooting a skydiving scene in the Arctic, Leica returned home in an extreme environment of MINUS 90 degrees. These records created by Leica tell us at least one thing; Leica cameras are born for life and are absolutely professional. Therefore, its value is extraordinary. If you want to own a Leica 135 camera, then you have to pay.

If Leica camera is the ideal equipment for professional photographers, then for those photographers, Leica camera will always bring you some unexpected surprises and touches. A story happened to a young man in China. This eccentric young man has been fascinated by Leica cameras since he was a teenager, but it was only an ideal at that time. Who knows that this ideal will become stronger and stronger, and finally inflation will become his goal. Finally, one day, he bought a Leica camera with the money he had worked hard to save for many years. Then his second wish is to travel to Europe. When he arrived in Luxembourg, he was penniless. In European and American countries, cash is rarely used, which is the inevitable result of the improvement of bank credit system. So in these countries, if you want to withdraw a little larger cash, you have to go through strict inspection. When he walked into a bank to withdraw money, the receptionist behind the counter asked him to show his identification, so the young man took off the Leica camera hanging on his chest and put it on the counter. I was about to take out my passport from the inside pocket of my coat when I saw it. The lady in Luxembourg smiled and knocked on the counter glass, pointing to the Leica camera and said to him; "Here is your passport." He successfully took out the cash, but it moved him for a long time.

58 and Hongqi 20 are "Leica" of China, which was born in the era of "Red Flag Culture".

Since 1930s, imitations of Leica cameras have appeared, and many countries are scrambling to imitate high-quality Leica cameras. 1933; The FedEx camera in the former Soviet Union vividly copied Leica, which was also the first foreign company to produce a camera similar to Leica. Then, Canon of Japan also launched Leica's imitation Hans Canon. This is a 35mm camera with an ejection viewfinder and a Nicole lens. Since then, Canon, which has a solid foundation in Seiki Optics Research Institute, has produced a series of Leica mussels with good performance based on Leica. In addition, Nikon and Zokin of the former Soviet Union copied Leica. And promoted the rapid development of Nikon and Canon camera companies.

What I want to mention here is the imitation of Leica cameras in China. They are Shanghai 58 Series and Hongqi 20. Prior to this, there were Leica cameras in Beijing, such as 1956 Dalai brand and Xiangshan brand experimental machine, but they failed to form a production scale. Shanghai 58- 1 is a classic copied by China Leica; It is also a successful work imitated by Leica, and its output is very limited, so it has become a collection. Hongqi 20 is a famous imitation of Leica M-class products, and its specific historical background makes it greatly appreciated in the market.

Today, China's Leica imitation camera has become a collector's guest, together with the madness and pain left by its birth, it is carefully displayed in the showcase. Every generation of Leica products of Sloms will continue to influence the dreams of Leica fans, just like an old gentleman who has collected Leica cameras for many years in China. He always gets out of bed in the middle of the night, takes out his Leica camera, gently presses the shutter, and falls asleep peacefully after hearing the recognizable click of metal parts in the dark. Just like a photojournalist in China, when passing through the "road to death" in the Middle East, he remembered to tie his wife firmly to the car seat and held the Leica M6 camera tightly in his hand. Whenever he feels nervous and afraid, he is always used to catching Leica who will accompany him through life and death. The story of closing Leica is often exciting, and its charm and spirituality have become the dreams of many people.