A Visit to Leica Park: An Inside Look at the Factory and Archives
We were invited to tour Leica’s headquarters in Wetzlar, Germany ahead of the launch of the SL2 mirrorless camera. We used the SL2 and a couple of other Leica cameras to capture the experience.
By Jim Fisher
PCMag was invited to Leica’s headquarters in Wetzlar, Germany to get a first look at its new SL2 full-frame mirrorless camera. In addition to spending time with the camera and a conversation with Leica execs about its development, we toured the camera’s factory, museum, and archives.
Leica, which has been making cameras in Germany since the early 20th century, is most famous for its rangefinder line. The Leica III series was the camera of many a WPA and FSA photographer documenting the Dust Bowl during the New Deal, and the more modern M series captured many iconic images from the latter half of the 1900s, notably during the Vietnam War.
So it was quite the treat to get an inside look at items in the company’s archives, tour its factory and museum, and sit down to talk with executives about its history and future.
Here’s a look at what we saw. Many of the images were captured using Leica gear, including my vintage Leica M3, a digital M Monochrom, and the aforementioned SL2.
Leitz Park
In addition to the main headquarters, visitors to Leitz Park can stay at the Ernst Leitz House hotel and buy a new camera or lens at the Leica Store.
Lobby
The main lobby of the headquarters incorporates curves into its architectural design, matching the exterior of the building.
Small-Scale Production
You won’t see moving conveyor belts or production lines at Leica — cameras and lenses are built on a small scale, by hand, which is one of the many reasons for the brand’s boutique pricing.
Leica Museum
Visitors are able to stroll through Leica’s museum, which houses examples of almost all of the company’s historic products.
Leica M8
One of the cameras on display at the museum is the M8, Leica’s first digital M camera, and my first Leica as well.
Factory Floor
You can peek into the production area from the museum, though it was quiet as we visited during lunchtime.
Digital M
A partially disassembled digital Leica M shows what the camera looks like without its top plate or leatherette wrap.
Leica Archives Guestbook
Leica keeps guest books with notes from visitors over the years in its archives.
Kleinfilmkamera
We were able to see the technical drawings for the first 35mm still camera, designed by Oskar Barnack. Legend has it that there are 36 frames per roll because it matched the length of Barnack’s outstretched arms, which is how he measured lengths of film when loading cartridges in a darkroom.
Leica Standard
Here are some examples of the Leica Standard, a rangefinder that entered production in the late 1920s.
Apollo Monocular
This Leica monocular orbited the moon on an early Apollo mission, and was used to scout a landing location for the Apollo 11 moon landing.
MATE Cutout
Leica no longer produces the 28–35–50mm Medium Angle Tri-Elmar (MATE), in part due to an extremely complicated mechanical design. This cutout version shows the mechanism used to adjust the focal length.
Leica HQ Roof
The archives weren’t the only private area we were able to visit. Shooting images from the roof of the headquarters was a rare treat, even on a rainy day.
In the Studio
We also spent some time working with the Leica SL2 in the company’s photo studio. Here, photographer Chris Nichols is working with model Tom Jung.
The First Leica Photo
We visited the house in Wetzlar that was the subject of the first photo made by Oskar Barnack with his prototype 35mm Leica camera. I framed the shot in portrait orientation, though Barnack went with a landscape frame for his take.
Miniature Marburg
One of my favorite images, shot with the Leica M Monochrom and my 1960s 28mm Elmarit-M lens, is of a miniature version of the Marburg cathedral with the building itself in the background.
The Big M2
I was able to check out an oversized Leica M2, made for marketing purposes, in the archives.
Leica SL2
You can check out our first look at the Leica SL2 if you want to learn more about the camera.
Leica Executives
We sat down with Leica executives to talk about the development of the SL2. Andrea Pacella, director of marketing, and Peter Karbe, chief of optical design, are pictured here. The image was shot with the Noctilux-M lens, which Karbe designed.
Originally published at https://www.pcmag.com on November 14, 2019.
