vintage 1950 germany e leitz wetzlar microscope

#Vintage 1950 germany e leitz wetzlar microscope series

The final print can be downloaded to a smartphone using WiFi and the Leitz Park App. It is then moved on by touch-screen to further trays for stop, fix and print, which are in red to indicate the use of a safelight. It is difficult to explain fully here, but it involves selecting an image ‘negative’ which is exposed to ‘electronic paper’ in the dark, indicated by a grey display.

#Vintage 1950 germany e leitz wetzlar microscope series

Here is another one featuring ‘The Golden Triangle’.Īnother area that caught my attention was the series of electronic displays for teaching darkroom techniques. The frames can rotate and are bilingual with German on one side and English on the other. These include concepts such as the ‘Golden Ratio’ or ‘Goldener Schnitt’ as it is known in German. The first display is about ‘perception’ concepts and features, among other things, with frames pointing towards an outside window. Nonetheless, there is however more than enough there to interest the veteran Leica enthusiast. The museum is aimed at a general audience with many of the displays being educational rather than strictly related to Leica or Leitz. There are, of course, lifts for those who might need to use them. The main museum attractions are at the top of a very impressive ‘feature’ staircase. The ground floor also contains a museum shop and the Wetzlar Leica Store. I was particularly taken with this wonderful photo of a photographer from Afghanistan. This featured an exhibition of the work of Steve McCurry. Inside the building, which I had visited before during the LHSA visit in 2018, there was a large photographic gallery on the ground floor.

The opening ceremony was led by Karin Rehn Kaufmann, Art Director and Head of the Leica Galleriesĭr Andreas Kaufmann, Chairman of Leica’s Supervisory Board, gave a description of the development of Leitz Park and demonstrated the size comparison between a modern Leitz smartphone and the 0 Series Leica of Oskar Barnack, of which more later.Īt the entrance to the museum was this giant Leica M3, made of sand, which made one wonder about what might be inside.

My favourite was this one, which shows an unlikely combination. These were the work of a German photographer, the late Hans-Peter Seufert, whose favourite camera was a Leica. This time I was delighted to find that the woods contained photos of some of my boyhood motor racing heroes, including this one of Graham Hill. However, the photography aspect even extends into the woods behind the HQ which form part of Leitz Park. To a certain extent, the location already contained museum-worthy items, particularly in the main building foyer and the area around the factory, which houses many great photographs and displays of vintage Leicas and other cameras, which have featured in my previous article about Wetzlar. Regular readers here won’t be surprised to hear that my involvement was as a keen amateur enthusiast. I had been invited by the Leitz Auction, based in Vienna, but, as ever, I paid my own costs on the trip. Last week, on September 30, Leica Camera AG opened the Ernst Leitz Museum on the headquarters campus, Leitz Park, in the beautiful old town of Wetzlar in Hessen.Īs far as I could determine, I was the only native English-speaking writer on Leica matters present at the opening.

The creation of a superb new museum to celebrate the vibrant history of the marque is a fitting celebration of the 100-plus years of constant innovation and support for the world of photography.