Oskar Barnack

Life and career

In 1911, Barnack was in charge of microscope research for Ernst Leitz at Wetzlar, Hesse, Germany (now a separate company Leica Microsystems). He was an enthusiastic photographer, but the heavy equipment of the day was difficult for him to handle due to his poor health (asthma). In 1912, he constructed a 35 mm movie camera.

Between 1913 and 1914 he was head of development at Leitz. He was the driving force behind the making of the first mass-marketed 135 camera and the introduction of the 24 × 36 mm film format which came to be known as 35mm. Barnack suffered from asthma, and sought to reduce the size and weight of cameras and supporting equipment used for outdoor photography. His 35 mm design helped introduce the concept of exposing a small area of film to create a negative, then enlarging the image in a darkroom.

The onset of World War I kept the first Leica from being manufactured until 1924, and it was not introduced to the public until 1925, when Leica's chief, the optician Ernst Leitz, took a gamble and authorized the production of 1,000 cameras.

Leica stood for Leitz Camera. Instead of the exposure plates used in past Leitz cameras, the Leica used a standardized film strip, adapted from 35 mm Eastman Kodak roll-film. Barnack decided that the 18 × 24 mm (3:4 aspect ratio) standard movie frame was not large enough for good still photo quality with the films of the day and doubled the frame size to 24 × 36 mm (2:3 aspect ratio), with the image horizontal instead of vertical.

Lynow, Barnack's birthplace and currently a municipality of Brandenburg, has a museum dedicated to him and his work.

On the hundredth anniversary of Barnack's birth, World Press Photo instituted the Oskar Barnack Award; this is now administered by Leica Camera.

Oskar Barnack was a creator of mirrorless cameras, the so-called Ur-Leica being his first.