The "watch and wait" Leica

The Leica was voted “the top gadget of all time” by eBay and Stuff magazine in the UK last year, surpassing the iPod, Sony Walkman and Game Boy. This traditionally 35 mm camera seemed to be headed for extinction however and was only salvaged when the digital version, the M8, was created and hit the market. This shift was inevitable, as our society is rapidly progressing in a digital direction. We live in a world where speed and efficiency are highly valued.

Interestingly enough though, before this “digital era” it seems that the Leica could be considered the equivalent of the today’s point and shoot digital camera for the early and mid 20th century period. Being light and portable, this model enabled photographers to shoot rapidly and often unnoticed. It was a user friendly, film camera that made it possible to take massive amounts of photographs; Henri Cartier-Bresson produced 850 rolls of film in a span of 3 years while Garry similarly produced an astonishing amount. When he died in 1984, more than 2500 rolls of film were left behind. The Leica is notorious for being able to capture the “scars of the world” because of its quickness and mobility. It, as the authors describe, was the primary instrument for “watch and wait” photography. The Leica was clearly ahead of its time and was instrumental to so many photographers’ careers, which is perhaps why it was rated “the top gadget of all time”.