Prologue – A Brief History of Photography

Click here to watch Max's video.

Leica Camera with Leather Camera Neck Strap


The first camera obscura used a pinhole in a tent to project an image from outside the tent into the darkened area. The 17th century saw the advent of a portable camera and basic lenses.

Photography, as we know it today, began in the late 1830s in France. Daguerreotypes, emulsion plates, and dry plates are all early experiments with photography that lead to what we know as cameras today. Photography only became accessible to the public after the creation of the Kodak camera in the 1880s, before which it was reserved for professionals. Pictures had to be sent back to the factories for the film to be developed, much like modern disposable cameras.

Antique cameras can provide outstanding results. If you’re a photography enthusiast and enjoy using vintage cameras to experiment with your style, you’ll know how important it is to regularly clean and maintain your camera. Vintage cameras come along with numerous different lenses, all of which serve different functions.

Today, our host is going to be restoring an 85-year-old vintage Leica camera. Using his expertise, our host identifies and repairs an antique Leica camera that was manufactured in the 1930s. These cameras can be used through adaptors on the latest digital M models to provide you with the shot of a lifetime.

Leica is a name that’s synonymous with the birth of rangefinder cameras and 35mm photography. It became a serious photographic format courtesy of the German firm, E. Leitz of Wetzlar, the parent company of Leica. Becoming wildly popular after the end of World War II, the Leica camera is an iconic figurine in the line of vintage cameras worldwide.

Many photojournalists began to use 35mm cameras to capture candids of reality rather than staged photographs to bring the reality of war to life. This style of capturing decisive moments completely transformed the face of photography forever.

Collectors know that most antique cameras are more often than not damaged. They’ve been handled roughly and withstood the test of time, which is why they’re bound to be malfunctioning. That’s exactly why it’s necessary to repair them in order to get them to start functioning properly. Watch as our host restores and cleans an iconic 1935 Leica camera that’s survived the war, enriched with history, and used to document iconic landmarks and moments all across Europe in the past century.


Click here to see Max pair a Racer Leather Camera Neck Strap with his 85 year old restored Leica (11:12min).