Leica M1
The Leica M1 is a 35 [mm format|35 mm] camera by Leica Camera AG, introduced in 1959. The M1 has a parallax-corrected viewfinder with frames for 35 and 50mm permanently displayed. It was designed for scientific and military use. 9650 units were produced between 1959 and 1964.
208 of the units were produced for the german army in multiple batches. They are olive as opposed to the standard edition and include the word "Bundeseigentum" on the back of the body.
The M1, which followed the original M3 and later M2, was the lowest-cost and simplest Leica M body, a simplified M2 without a rangefinder. It was intended to be used for technical work together with the ground-glass focussing Visoflex, a mirror reflex housing that turns a Leica M into a single-lens reflex camera.
Several similar models were made simultaneously with later M-series Leicas:
- The Leica MD, a simplified M2
- The Leica MDa, a simplified M4
- The Leica MD-2, a simplified M4-2