A ‘new’ Leica M6 courtesy of Leica Camera, AG
Toronto. The famous little Leica and 35mm film have a long and storied history. The evolution of the current Leica Camera group from the old E Leitz organization is nicely covered by Dennis Laney in his 1992 “Leica Collectors Guide“.
Moving to Toronto in the late 1970s, I found Leica in Toronto was called Wild-Leitz – Leitz and Wild Heerbrug had formed a partnership. A few years later Wild Heerbrug, the Swiss microscope and optical instrument maker absorbed the Leitz organization. The camera and other consumer products were moved to a separate organization and later became totally independent from Wild Heerbrug.
When the balance of Wild Heerbrug was merged with Cambridge Instruments [CI] in England, CI renamed itself as Leica, PLC. The small Leica Camera Group continued to make precision cameras and lenses, choosing quality over quantity.
When digital technology replaced traditional cameras and film, the group slowly moved to digital products and even better lenses at ever higher prices. To expand market share – and keep the old machines operating – the group reproduced the old film cameras and new lenses at significantly higher prices from the original price when first introduced.
Latest in the line of film cameras is Leica’s first small size Leica with built-in exposure reading, the Leica M6. As one executive at the group said, “In our factories, you can still see old machines dedicated to film cameras in operation. But in 2015, we thought about throwing everything away because we were only producing 500 film cameras per year. But there has been a nice rebound since then and, in 2023, we will produce nearly 5,000 M6 and MP analogue devices.”
Our president Clint Hryhorijiw reminded me of the Leica Camera Group’s decision to reintroduce film Leicas in these articles from Kosmo Foto and Photrio. Both sources suggest other makers may plunge into film once again. A similar announcement on the M6 was made directly by Leica Camera AG (the group).
A big thanks goes to Clint for noticing this epic announcement. If you visit any of our events, you can pick up a film camera, perhaps even a Leica. Mind you, the newer lenses are very attractive (to those with the cash). And film? Well “it ain’t dead yet” just ask any film enthusiast.
