The Leicaflex

The Leicaflex is the elder statesman of SLRs. Built by Leica in the 1960s as they realized that the market was shifting from rangefinders, the segment they pioneered with the M-series, to SLRs.

It has the same feel as other Leica cameras- machined and built to the highest mechanical standard. It is sleeker than SLRs from other manufacturers from that era, and it just oozes quality. And while it has more aesthetic value, it also feels like underneath there’s over-engineered functionality too. It isn’t a poser, it’s the real deal.

This particular camera was purchased by my grandfather, and passed down to my mother- and, I don’t doubt that it will continue for many generations more: assuming that there’s still 35mm film in a hundred years.

I shoot on a daily basis with a Canon 5D Mark II: it’s well built. But, I don’t get that feeling from it. It might last a decade, give or take. But the Leicaflex, it feels like it could easily outlast me, and anything I could ever throw at it.

Precise, elegant, and functional- there’s a lot that current cameras can learn from Leica’s design philosophies at their best.

About the shoot

The Leicaflex is elegant and timeless- and, the very natural, somewhat cliche choice to light is is on black with dramatic lighting.

So- that’s exactly what Duncan and Ian did- we setup the Leicaflex on a black seamless backdrop, and used hotshoe flashes with a few light modifiers to keep the light tight in the back, and flattering in front.