Have you ever owned or tried a Leica? Me, I’ve held a few and shot a couple, and I did videos on them, but one thing is for sure, we have all heard the name. Being a part of the analog photography community, it’s impossible not to come across an owner, or a photo in the Instagram feed shot by a Leica. It’s considered the top tier of camera ownership, mostly because after you buy one you can’t afford anything else. How do you think Leitz represented themselves in Leica ads?

Let’s be honest for a moment, there is a …pretentiousness associated with Leica owners. Not everyone of course, but it’s a prestige that few get to experience for sure and honestly, some of it is earned. Leica has been one of the few companies left to continue to service 35mm cameras, and even reissue one of their models: The Leica M6. Many of us don’t have an extra $5700 US lying around to afford one but I guess it’s better than nothing?

It should come as no surprise that Leica advertising is very, shall we say, on brand, and self aware of their reputation, even going back almost sixty years, which is just what we’re going to do.

Leica Rangefinder Ads

To kick things off let’s look at the Leitz bread and butter: the rangefinder ads.

While these ads don’t promote any particular rangefinder model, a close examination of the image shows it’s a Leica M3.

This first ad tells you straight up that their cameras are better than the human eye, a bold claim for sure, especially in 1965. “the eyes don’t have it!” it begins, “The Leica does. Positive focus is the photographer’s starting point. It’s a Leica strong point. Distances the unaided eye can’t measure, the Leica’s rangefinder can. Its responsive long-based rangefinder gives superfine focusing accuracy… another good reason distinguished photojournalists the world over use Leicas to capture events that happen only once. They can’t take chances. Neither can you when it comes to your investment in fine photography. Let your franchised Leica dealer show you why Leica’s supremacy for high-speed precision focusing is unchallenged. Examine its precision linkage mechanisms. Note its range-viewfinder’s impeccable image quality at all light levels. Then, you’ll see for yourself that, when it comes to pinpoint focusing, the eyes don’t have it… but the Leica does.”

Pretty straight forward here, the ad says it will be a superior extension of the human eye, and touches on its precision mechanics.

The “ends” of Leica

Here’s another similar Ad from the next month, inviting you to “the creative end of a Leica.”

“It could be a new beginning for you. No matter how long you’ve been behind a camera, your first look through a Leica viewfinder is a new experience. You’re in touch with yourself. Something of an artist. You find out what kind of photographer you can be. You realize the importance of working with tools of unquestioned excellence. Leica’s quiet precision mechanism and fine optics bring you nearer your goal, pictures only you see. See your Franchised Leica Dealer now. Then find new photographic meaning through the creative end of a Leica.”

Yes, the age old “this camera will make you more creative” nonsense. How many times have we all bought a new camera thinking it will solve our creative rut, only to discover our photos just as bland as before we opened our wallets?

Continuing the motif of Leica’s different sides, we get this June advertisement, promoting “the silent side of Leica”

“Serious photographers who must work unnoticed rely on Leica because they know its shutter’s quiet operation will never disturb history (family or world) while they record it. Because Leicas remain inconspicuous, Leicamen can go silently about their business recording important events on film. Just as important, they trust Leica’s unusual reliability. They know its precise mechanism is designed to work under the most demanding conditions. See for yourself. Visit a Franchised Leica Dealer. Examine the Leica carefully, try it and listen to how Leicas have served photographers for 40 years… quietly.”

See, now this is effective in its delivery. It’s a quiet camera, and a reliable one. I also wondered if people still called themselves leicamen.

Probably my favourite of the rangefinder ads is this one, published in November.

“The precision side of Leica is the side you never see —the inside. That’s where 725 parts work together—smoothly, silently, flawlessly —with coordination that makes watchmakers nod in approval. Precision has been bred into the Leica for 40 years by men who have learned its ways from those who make the renowned Leitz microscopes. Result: a camera that is affable and easygoing on the outside, but intricate, tough and disciplined within. The Leica attends to the important technical details of picturemaking. You concentrate on the picture itself. Even under the most brutal picture-taking conditions, the Leica owner takes crisp, evenly exposed pictures for granted because 40 years of unexcelled manufacturing excellence have put precision inside the Leica.”

Using the analogy of clockwork precision and optics of their microscopes was very effective in illustrating their point here. I always love seeing the inside of cameras as well.

Leica SLRs

Leitz was not just about Leica rangefinders either. By the mid 1960s the SLR market was carving out its own piece of the pie and they wanted in on it. Enter the Leicaflex. Not nearly as popular as their line of rangefinders but still worth looking at if you’re in the market, which they claim is “the only reflex that’s built like a Leica”

This first ad basically just leaves it at that. Here’s another one that basically says the same thing, but also calls it the new standard in 35mm reflex cameras. By the way, you may already know but in case you don’t, a reflex camera is just another name for an SLR.

The next ad I found does start the same but gives a bit more this time.

“LEICAFLEX. the new standard in 35mm reflex cameras. Into Leicaflex go 851 parts. Every one contributes. Any more would complicate. All are so precisely engineered and assembled …they seemingly act as one to produce superb photographs. Leicaflex is the kind of precision instrument you’d expect from Leitz, where tolerances are measured in thousandths, and photographic leadership in years. Visit your Franchised Leica Dealer. See the difference Leica quality makes.”

I love this: any more than 851 parts would complicate things. What a weird claim.

The last ad for the leicaflex I want to show you goes into much more detail. The catchphrases from previous ads are still there, but a solid amount of information is also provided.

“It took a lot of time to perfect this reflex “35” because we intended to improve the breed, not just add to it.”

I chuckled when I first read “breed”. I don’t even know how to take that. Horse breed, dog breed? If Leica was a dog breed what would it be?

“851 parts that you can count on to withstand the punishment and abuse of serious picture making is the result: just what you’ve been waiting for… a “35” reflex with Leica Quality. The Leicaflex has all the features you need. It hasn’t any of the frills you don’t. Its ruggedness is a heritage from the Leica, as is its precision. These are the qualities that separate the ordinary reflex from the superb one. See this unusual 35mm reflex camera at your Franchised Leica Dealer soon. Examine the Leicaflex and see what a difference superb craftsmanship makes in these features: Brilliant viewing screen with microprism focusing spot. Patented, antivibration instant-return mirror. Built-in, coupled, supersensitive CdS exposure meter. Shutter speeds and exposure indicators visible within viewfinder. Automatic-reopen diaphragm. Newly designed, uniquely quiet focal-plane shutter with speeds to 1/2000 sec. Unexcelled complement of interchangeable automatic diaphragm lenses (50mm Summicron®R f/2, 35mm, 90mm and 135mm Elmarit R f/2.8’s). Electronic flash synchronization at 1/ 100 sec. Single-stroke film advance lever.”

The four lenses mentioned at the end of the ad are displayed, with the 50mm Summicron R f2 on the camera body, and I presume the 35mm, the 90mm, and the 135mm Elmarit R f2.8

Leica Slide Projector

In 1965, once you were done shooting your rolls of Kodachrome on your Leica M3 or Leicaflex, you’d show all your friends and family your photos on a genuine Leitz Pradovit N-24.

“The newest Model N-24 puts 1/3 greater brightness on the screen than other low voltage and most line-voltage projectors. Corner-to-corner sharpness is built into the N-24. The entire balanced optical system (not just the high-speed lenses) matches the quality found in the Leica camera. And, its cooler operating low-voltage lamp reduces out-of-focus popping to a minimum. Also, you get a bright, sharp image at the touch of a button. You can refocus and change slides (forward or backward) from 14 feet away. Have your Franchised Leica Dealer demonstrate the Pradovit N-24, the 12 volt N-12 or the auditorium-powered FA-500. You’ll agree that Pradovit is the first choice and the last word in slide projectors.”

I Leica Alot

These were fun to read and maybe one day I’ll own a Leica but for now I’m shooting with what’s important: Light.

This article was adapted from a YouTube video I made in 2024