Leica I Model A Elmax

Leica I Model A Elmax

The Leica I Model A Elmax is an early fixed-lens 35mm Leica camera produced by Ernst Leitz Wetzlar during the first years of regular Leica production. It followed the earliest Leica I Model A Anastigmat cameras and represents the second major fixed-lens form of the original Leica I Model A.

The camera has a fixed 50mm f/3.5 Leitz Elmax lens. It does not use Leica Thread Mount and does not accept interchangeable lenses. For database purposes, the mount should therefore be recorded as none, because the lens is permanently fitted to the camera body.

The Elmax name is usually understood as a reference to Ernst Leitz and Max Berek, the optical designer associated with the early Leica lenses. The lens is historically important because it sits between the first Leitz Anastigmat lens and the later Elmar lens, which became the most common fixed-lens Leica I Model A variant.

The Leica I Model A Elmax has a simple built-in optical viewfinder and no coupled rangefinder. Focusing is done by scale focusing on the lens. A separate accessory rangefinder could be used for more precise focusing, but the camera itself has no built-in rangefinder mechanism.

The shutter is a horizontal-travel cloth focal-plane shutter with speeds up to 1/500 second, plus Z for time exposure. Early examples may show the 1/25-second style speed sequence, while later examples may show the 1/20-second style sequence. The camera has no built-in exposure meter, no flash synchronization, no self-timer and no battery-dependent functions.

History

Development and Launch

The Leica I Model A was publicly introduced in 1925 and became the first regular production Leica camera. The earliest cameras were fitted with the Leitz Anastigmat lens. The Elmax version followed shortly afterward as Leitz refined the lens naming and early optical design.

Pacific Rim Camera describes the change from Anastigmat to Elmax as occurring at about serial number 300, with Elmax production continuing until about serial number 1300. Summichronica gives a more nuanced picture, noting that Elmax examples are known from approximately 198 to approximately 1170, and that the transition between Anastigmat, Elmax and early Elmar cameras is not perfectly clean.

Elmax Production

The Elmax version is rare. Leica Wiki lists 713 Leica I Model A cameras with the Elmax lens, compared with far larger production for the Elmar version. This makes the Elmax one of the most collectible fixed-lens Leica I Model A variants.

The safest serial-number wording is approximately 300 to 1300, approximate Elmax subset, with known overlap and transition uncertainty. This avoids overstating the range as an official continuous block, because early Leica I Model A lens transitions were gradual and some Elmax, Anastigmat and early Elmar examples overlap in the literature.

Relationship to Leica I Model A Anastigmat

The Leica I Model A Elmax should be kept separate from the Leica I Model A Anastigmat. Both are very early fixed-lens Leica I Model A cameras, but the Anastigmat is the earliest production form, while the Elmax represents the next lens naming and optical stage.

The two versions can be visually similar, and early bodies can share details such as mushroom-style shutter release, early rewind knob, early accessory shoe style and early body covering. The lens engraving is therefore one of the key identification points.

Relationship to Leica I Model A Elmar

The Leica I Model A Elmax should also be distinguished from the later Leica I Model A Elmar. The Elmar became the dominant production version of the Leica I Model A and was produced in much larger numbers. The Elmax is earlier, rarer and more transitional.

Some early Elmar cameras fall close to the Elmax serial area, and some sources note overlap or concurrent production. For collector matching, the actual lens engraving and body details are more important than serial number alone.

Identification

The Leica I Model A Elmax is identified by its fixed 50mm f/3.5 Elmax lens, early Leica I Model A body, black lacquer finish, nickel-plated controls, built-in optical finder, lack of coupled rangefinder, lack of interchangeable lens mount and early serial number.

Typical lens engraving reads Leitz Elmax 1:3,5 F=50 mm. Summichronica notes that the Elmax engraving differs in layout from the earlier Anastigmat engraving and that early Elmax lenses can show fine cross knurling, a curved front ring and no “7” mark on the lens mounting ring.

Common listing names include Leica I Model A Elmax, Leica IA Elmax, Leica 1A Elmax, Leica I Mod. A Elmax, Leica Elmax and Leica I 50mm Elmax. These names should point to the same base camera.

Collector Notes

The Leica I Model A Elmax is a highly desirable collector camera because it belongs to the first generation of production Leica cameras and represents a short-lived lens variant between the Anastigmat and Elmar. Correct identification is especially important because value depends heavily on originality.

Collectors should check the serial number, lens engraving, front ring shape, focus scale, shutter release type, viewfinder shoe, rewind knob, shutter-speed dial, body covering, baseplate lock, viewfinder condition and whether the camera has been altered, repaired or converted.

The Leica I Model A Elmax should be treated as a separate fixed-lens film camera because it does not have an interchangeable mount and because the Elmax lens is central to the camera’s identity, rarity and collector value.

Sources

• [1] Leica Wiki. Leica I, model A. https://wiki.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/Leica_I_%28model_A%29
• [2] Pacific Rim Camera. Leica A, Leica Anastigmats, Elmax, Elmar, Hektor. https://www.pacificrimcamera.com/pp/leicaa.htm
• [3] Summichronica. Leica I Model A. https://www.summichronica.com/leica-i-model-a
• [4] CameraQuest. Leica Screw Mount Serial Numbers 1923–1965. https://www.cameraquest.com/ltmnum.htm