Movie Friday: This uncommon Leica 16mm prototype digital camera is predicted to fetch over $3M at public sale: Digital Images Assessment

Later this yr, the fortieth Leitz Photographica Public sale is about to absorb Leitz Park in Wetzlar, Germany. Whereas we’ve already seen the extremely uncommon 0-series Leica as soon as owned by Oskar Barnack, there’s one other one-of-a-kind prototype digital camera that’s anticipated to promote—a 16mm miniature digital camera often known as the Leica 16.

As detailed by Kosmo Foto, this digital camera was simply certainly one of a lot of analysis and improvement initiatives from the Nineteen Fifties that by no means left the prototype stage. Leica says in a abstract of the itemizing that the Leica 16 was designed to be ‘a top quality ultra-compact digital camera for 16mm movie.’ Leica goes on to say ‘Quite a few prototypes and design research had been produced in 1959 [and] Though the mission was at a sophisticated stage, analysis on it was halted and improvement halted as soon as a whole digital camera had been manufactured.’

A group of assorted elements used all through the analysis and improvement section of the Leica 16’s manufacturing.

The digital camera is being auctioned off as lots, which incorporates ‘an incredible assortment of artefacts associated to the magical Leica 16,’ together with ‘two dummies (each already geared up with top quality viewfinders), three totally different types of chassis, two aluminium our bodies, two cowl plates, two shutter prototypes, an fascinating mannequin of a retractable one Optics together with glasses, and so forth.’

One of many earlier prototypes of the Leica 16, which is reasonably primitively carved out of a block of wooden.

There can even be a big folder included within the lot that can function ‘three lovely, hand-drawn massive format parchment blueprints, in addition to a number of hand drawings from the early levels of improvement.’

Leica says it’s anticipating the Leica 16 lot to promote for at the least €3M ($3M) for its fortieth Leitz Photographica Public sale.

About Movie Fridays: We have launched an analog discussion board and in a seamless effort to advertise the enjoyable of the medium, we’ll be sharing film-related content material on Fridays, together with articles from our pals at 35mmc and KosmoFoto.