While most of us will probably never own an M-series Leica, we all owe the camera a nod of gratitude. The Leica 1 (released in 1925) was the first stills camera to use 35mm film, and while the small, near silent camera was invented for landscape photography, it was soon being used by the likes of Henri Cartier-Bresson to define documentary photography and the “decisive moment”.
Key to the Leica’s success is the pure simplicity of its design. On the top plate is the shutter speed dial, while on the lens are aperture and focusing rings along with distance and depth-of-field scales; at a glance a photographer can quickly check the exposure and focus settings, and everything else is about the moment. In 1954 Leica added a built-in rangefinder and a bayonet lens mount to the camera, along with the M-prefix, but to this day, Leica rangefinder cameras maintain the same minimalist design.
Leica’s latest camera, the M11 is no different. At first glance the M11 could
