Leica Standard
Known as "Model E", "Leica E"
By 1932 Leica had already introduced the coupled rangefinder on the Leica II. The Standard (also called Model E) took a different route: strip the rangefinder out entirely, simplify the body construction, drop the price. The result was the lowest-cost entry into the Leica system — a fixed-back, non-rangefinder 35mm camera that made the screw-mount lens system viable for amateurs and scientists who didn't need the precision of rangefinder focus.
For newcomers: Barnack Leicas of this era were startling objects. In a world of bulky plate cameras and medium-format box cameras, the Leica fit in a coat pocket and took 36 exposures on 35mm movie film. The Standard was the people's Leica of its era — still a precision German instrument, just without the rangefinder premium.
Key specs
- type
- 35mm viewfinder, no rangefinder
- shutter
- cloth focal plane, 1/20–1/500s
- mount
- M39 screw
- back
- fixed (non-removable)
- produced
- ~1932–1948
Variants & finishes
The Leica Standard (Model E) in black paint over brass — the simplified 1932 Leica without a rangefinder. Cheaper than the Model D/II at launch; now a collector's piece representing the stripped-down Barnack lineage.
Chrome-finished Standard — the same rangefinderless 35mm body in a more durable plated finish. Both variants are purely manual-focus, requiring estimation or an external distance scale.
Market value
Used-market price history is coming soon.
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