From the laterna magica to computational imaging, the history of cameras is as fascinating as the history of photography itself. Among the many historical camera collections in Germany, the three in Berlin, Munich, and Wetzlar stand out. Let me take you on a virtual tour.
For years I have tried to see as many photography exhibitions as possible, especially those featuring lesser-known artists. I think an important way to improve your own photography is to study what others are doing. And in this respect, I found out that I prefer exhibitions to books. It is usually an occasion for a peaceful and quiet hour or so.
Great images are fascinating, but historical camera collections can be equally instructive
But lately, I have felt more drawn to museums where old cameras and all the peripherals are collected, displayed and explained. It may have something to do with a growing interest in how photography became the medium it is today, and with a fascination for Leica, you are in the middle of history, after all. Three places with significant historical camera collections I was able to visit in Germany in the last twelve months are Ernst Leitz Museum and Leica Welt at Wetzlar; Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin; Deutsches Museum München.
I initially had no intention of writing about these visits, so I did not take a camera. Therefore, some pictures from my very old but still working iPhone 6S will have to do. And only because it was recently discussed here on Macfilos: No, these pictures do not convince me that I need a newer phone. Rather, they tell me that I should really take my pocketable Ricoh GRIIIx everywhere.
Historical camera collections: First stop at Munich
Travelling from south to north, Munich is the first stop. The city is home to the Deutsches Museum, the world’s largest museum of science and technology (according to Wikipedia). Although it is currently under reconstruction, the 19 currently accessible departments would make a week’s work of tramping around. Since its foundation in 1903, the Deutsches Museum has been a model for many similar organisations around the world. From the outset, its creators designed it to educate and entertain at the same time, and its hands-on approach was revolutionary.
The Deutsches Museum shows it all
The photographic collection is part of the Film, Photography and Media Department, but for what it is, the camera and lens section is a veritable museum in its own right (detailed information here) with more than 1,200 exhibits on 500 square metres. You can see equipment from the earliest days, huge wooden cameras, all the later iterations, right up to modern digital cameras, including light-field photography (remember the Lytro? It’s already a museum piece). There are also projectors from several centuries.
Maybe the lens field is the most interesting
The lens branch of the exhibition deserves special mention. Texts and examples explain all the major lens types, from the Cooke triplet to the world’s first commercially available photographic zoom lens (by Voigtländer). If you ever wanted to know the exact difference between a Tessar and a Sonnar design, you will find the answer here. Some exotic lenses add the necessary spice.
In Munich’s historical camera collection, the didactic approach is unique
The other aspect that fascinated me was the didactic approach to the basics of photography. Concepts such as exposure time, the function of an aperture, the physics of focusing with both rangefinder and SLR cameras, the principle of autofocus and much more are explained, and there are also several small experiments that you can carry out yourself.
Something to discover for everyone
The collection of the Deutsches Museum includes cameras, lenses and accessories of all brands and from all countries. There is a certain bias towards German brands, but without a doubt, the collection gives you the full picture. The outstanding feature is the didactic approach, which will teach everyone something new about photography, beginners and professionals, young and old.
If you want to visit the historical camera collection in Munich…
Allow at least two hours for the photography branch of the Deutsches Museum alone. Add the rest of the department, and you have a full day among the most interesting aspects. Afterwards, you may need a good rest in one of Munich’s famous beer halls or beer gardens or in one of the famous theatres or concert halls of Germany’s third largest and by far richest city. You can find all the details for your visit on the museum’s website.
Historical camera collections: Second stop at Wetzlar
Wetzlar — the name alone is a promise for many fans of photography. The city is the home of Leica, after all, and Leica cultivates its culture there. That was not always a given. Leica Camera GmbH and later Leica AG had moved a few kilometres downstream of the River Lahn to Solms. But Solms never had the resounding name of Wetzlar, of course. At some point, it seems, Leica simply had to return camera production to its birthplace.
Understatement made in Wetzlar: The whole complex is called Leica Welt
Leica Welt is located a little way outside the town centre on a hill south of the River Lahn, on the site of a former Bundeswehr (Army) barracks. A number of new buildings have been constructed there in recent years. Visitors can explore both the Leica headquarters with a free exhibition and the Ernst Leitz Museum.
Leica has a story to tell with its historical camera collections
The Leica headquarters has a collection of important cameras from Leica’s history as well as an exhibition of epoch-making pictures taken with a Leica. In a long corridor, there is also a showcase on the right with pretty much every Leica product ever made and, on the left, a kind of shop window into the production floor. Here, you at least get an impression of how Leica products are made. The Leica Galerie rounds off this section of the Leica Welt experience.
Brilliant: the Ernst Leitz Museum is both educative and entertaining
The Ernst Leitz Museum is opposite. It shows the history of the Leica brand in much more depth. This means that it presents not only the products but also their historical context and the people behind them. Furthermore, the Ernst Leitz Museum teaches the basics of photography. Among them is the exposure triangle consisting of ISO sensitivity, exposure time and aperture. This is done with amazingly simple experiments, which alone are worth a visit (even if experienced photographers know it all, of course).
In general, you notice that the Ernst Leitz Museum was designed as a hands-on museum according to the most modern didactic principles. There are various stations where you can take photos or explore the idea of darkroom technology. It’s all great fun and suitable for all levels of knowledge and age. There is also a large area for temporary exhibitions. When I was there, they were showing work by Andy Summers (The Police).
If you want to visit the historical camera collection at Wetzlar…
In addition to the exhibitions, there is also a Leica Store in each of the two buildings. Heaven knows why it needs two stores. Together with a visit to the Café Leitz, housed in a very nice Bauhaus-style pavilion, or to the quite elegant staff restaurant/canteen, you can spend just about a day in Leitz Park. But you should not miss a visit to the very beautiful old town of Wetzlar. Mind you, there is a third Leica Store. In any case, there is no lack of opportunities to spend money. All current offerings in the Leitz Park, including hotel packages, guided tours and special activities, can be found on the website.
Historical camera collections: Third stop at Berlin
Now we have reached the northeast of the country, and the first challenge at the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin is to actually get into the camera collection. This huge museum is almost as big as the Deutsches Museum in Munich. The camera department is in an adjoining building, and you have to cross the wonderful roundhouse with the steam locomotives. If you have a weakness for this, like me, don’t look left or right; just follow the signs. Otherwise, you will never arrive at the cameras.
An early 2000s historical camera collection that is a document in itself
The Deutsches Technikmuseum was, in many ways, the answer to the Deutsches Museum, a window to the world for walled-in West Berliners. It is located in the Kreuzberg district at Gleisdreiek, next to the former border — then on the periphery, now in the heart of the city. Photography is one of the museum’s many departments, and the exhibition has remained unchanged for about 15 years. In this way, it is a historical document in itself. Because it preserves the way we looked at progress in photographic technology 15 years ago.
A cabinet full of Leicas and Leica copies – amazing!
The exhibits are mainly of German descent, with well-known items from the 19th and 20th centuries. A whole cabinet is dedicated to Leica and all its more or less bland copies. Among the lenses are some very nice cut-in-half models, for example, a 28-35-50 MATE. And a stunning photo wall shows just people with the most different cameras on their eyes. Most of them are everyday products that are refreshingly unspectacular.
Photography and its role in society, an important connection
One of the strong points is both the commentary on the history of the collection (there have been many ups and downs) and the many references to the role of photography in society. Here, the Deutsches Technikmuseum combines technology with culture and puts photography into context. A clever move if you consider photography not only as a technical achievement but also as an important medium. In fact, you can see this approach throughout the museum.
If you want to visit the historical camera collection in Berlin…
The photography section of the museum alone will probably take an hour and a half to visit. But you may well be tempted to see Zuse’s first computer, aeroplanes, textile production, the history of broadcasting or the aforementioned trains, or any other part of this huge museum. The best idea is to spend a whole day at the Deutsches Technikmuseum. There is a nice good Old-Berlin-style restaurant if you need a break. If you’re staying longer in the city, don’t forget the many other photography-related places in Berlin. But that’s another story. The museum’s website gives you all the details you need to know for a visit.
Historical camera collections: Next stops
I am certainly not susceptible to patriotism, but one thing I have learnt is that Germany has an incredible wealth of museums, most of them public. They are well distributed across our federally organised country, usually very accessible and affordable. Many have carefully curated collections and great exhibits. In the recently renovated museums, the designers also took good care to emphasise the educational and entertaining aspects. I have no right to boast about this richness, but I will speak up for our museums. They are in themselves a good reason to travel to Germany (a much-underrated destination anyway).
Some museums are private, so it may be a bit more difficult to visit them
And there are many more historical camera collections to visit. My next stop may be the Deutsches Kameramuseum near Nürnberg which is based on the incredible collecting effort of one individual private person. To this day, it is a volunteers’ project and thus only open on Sundays. Maybe I will get the opportunity to pass by on the right day. Other places to go are certainly Dresden, Markkleeberg and Görlitz. Other museums are private and open only once in a while. This website gives an overview. Oh, and you can only wonder why the old city of optics, Braunschweig, has no Rollei/Voigtländer museum.
Finally, never underestimate camera shops. There are not that many left, but most of them have a wonderful second-hand selection. Sometimes I feel like I am in a museum when I visit Lichtblick or the Leica Store here in Konstanz or other leading stores. And the best thing is: You can pick up a Nikon F3, a Rolleiflex, a Canon rangefinder or a Rollei 35 and try it out. And unlike in a museum, you can even consider buying them. But I am sure there is no need to warn you that collecting can be a terrible disease.
Historical camera collections and what they mean to me: a conclusion
Sometimes the sheer mass of cameras on display in historical camera collections can be overwhelming. On the other hand, much of the fascination lies in this diversity. And in the unique opportunity to have this kind of synopsis that only a museum can offer. I can only encourage you to visit such museums. Both specialised photography collections and general science and technology museums with a photography department are interesting. It is always rewarding, if only to encounter cameras you once owned, struggled with, loathed, loved or longed for. And — it is more than likely that you will meet people with similar interests.
What about you? Would I meet you in a camera museum? Do you visit museums with historic camera collections? Or do you prefer photography exhibitions as I did for decades? Can you recommend any specific museum or event? What do you feel when you see the history of 200 years of photography? What do you think about the impact of this medium on our societies? Does a visit to a museum encourage you to pursue your photography, or do you perceive it as intimidating? Let’s discuss this in the comments below.
Dear all,
thanks a lot for all your comments and for sharing your knowledge. I can’t possibly reply to all the details, and many of the camera collections you are mentioning I have never seen. What might be interesting is that the Deutsches Museum at Munich is undergoing a major refurbishment, and the camera collection is one of the updated sections. So maybe David B. refers to the old display.
I would be very happy to see here more comments that recommend museums and collections of photographic history, so let’s keep the discussion alive.
All the best, JP
When I first returned to using film cameras, probably quite late compared to many. I bought a Nikon S2, I loved it, but then I (unwisely) sold all of the cameras that I had amassed. Again, by some standards not that many, but my impression was that that S camera was more comfortable to use and gave better results than any of the Leica iii’s that it emulated.
They are pretty too.
I think the S2 was more a copy of the Contax, or Contax II, but Nippon Kogaku didn’t like the ‘roll-top-desk’, sometime unreliable, slatted shutter of the Contax, and so built the best of both worlds: a Contax-like body, but with the more reliable Leica-like sideways-sliding cloth-curtains shutter.
William, The V&A Photography Centre has indeed been relaunched. It now fills seven galleries (incluidng one that houses the RPS library). When I visited it last Saturday, I saw less than a dozen cameras on display – plus a human-size camera obscura, and a row of old flashbulbs. Most of the gallery space is given over to displaying images.
Alan
Thanks, Alan. Maybe they are getting my point, but reducing the display to a dozen or so cameras seems a little extreme. I know that the V&A has a lot of material in warehouses, including a dozen or so 19th Century Irish made brass lenses, which are in a warehouse near Swindon. A friend and I are probably the two most knowledgeable current experts on those lenses, but the V&A does not have sufficient staff to allow us to visit in order to examine the items. Ironically, my friend is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society which originally held that collection. It is often a question of staff resources and even a successful company, such as Leica, does not have sufficient resources to allow lengthy research visits which have to be supervised.
William
In the US the Camera Heritage Museum in Staunton, VA with over 6,500 cameras (including a Leica collection) is well worth a visit. The space is (due to lack of funding) rather cramped but the collection more than makes up for that. I also enjoyed the camera collection in the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY. George Eastman was one of the founders of Kodak which had (and still has) its headquarters in Rochester.
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The founder of Kodak.
It just so happens that I have in my lap Todd Gustavson’s book (..he’s the Eastman House Technology Curator..) ‘500 Cameras – 170 years of Photographic Innovation’ which shows – with photos – and describes 500 cameras (..that’s what it says on the cover, after all..) from the George Eastman Museum. They run from an early camera obscura (just a wooden box, with a lens at one end and a viewing screen at the other) via daguerrotype cameras up to the Epson RD-1 and the Leica M8. (The book was (first) published in 2011.)
[Nothing later than that in my copy.]
Yummy!
..Or to put it another way; scrumptious!
But it’s best to actually use or handle these cameras, rather than to just look at photos of them in a (rather large and thick, shiny-paper) book.
David, I have a slightly earlier edition of the Gustavson book and despite its somewhat Kodak-centric view it is an excellent publication which shows the progression of cameras and camera design from the beginning. Indeed, the single most important company/brand in the history of photography is Kodak when you just think of roll film, gelatine based film, pre-rolled canisters of 35mm film, simple cameras for the mass market and early experiments with digital sensors etc you only begin to get the picture. In the collection, which I am examining now, and thankfully getting to handle as much as I want, you can find, besides Kodak cameras and lenses, enlargers, exposure meters, cine cameras and projectors, printing frames, developing tanks, printing frames and many more items which were made by Kodak. The collection goes back to the 1850s, but the single most common brand in it is Kodak In my Macfilos article on the Vest Pocket Kodak (VPK) I showed the similarity between a folded VPK and the Leica which appeared somewhat later. Barnack had adapted a similar shape for what is known as the M875 exposure test camera which is now believed to have been his means of testing 35 mm film batches for cine cameras and which may have led to the shape of the Leica (‘real’ ones!) which is still with us. The 35mm film system cameras owe a lot to Barnack’s creation, his family should get copyright fees every time someone says ‘full frame’, but the man who put the final icing on the cake was another German photographic genius, Dr August Nagel, who sold his self-named company to Kodak and created the Retina and, more significantly, the pre-rolled 35mm cassette.
The difficulty in museums is that it is hard to convey the energy and creativity which went into all of this with examples. I visited the V&A Photographic Centre just after it opened in 2018 and, while it contained lovely material, this was not presented in a coherent way. A young member of staff wanted me to tell him about my Leica M10, but I wanted him to do his job and to talk to me about the impressive row of Kodak Brownies which were in cases around the main room. He seemed to know next to nothing about the Brownies and I told him nothing about my M10! I believe that the centre has recently been ‘relaunched’ and I will visit it again the next time that I am in London. I believe it may have a more educational focus, just like the Ernst Leitz Museum in Wetzlar.
There probably is no such thing as a perfect photography/camera museum. If I were asked to put one together it would have lots on photographers, photography and just a few judiciously chosen cameras to illustrate the progression of the species. Another thing that needs to be conveyed is the sheer hard work and creativity that went into the invention of photography and photographic tools and how we now have the end results of this sitting in a very tiny device sitting in our pockets. This needs to be documented and is more important than just have different camera models sitting in glass cases, only of interest to collectors like me.
William
The magnificent – and interactive! – displays and collections which were previously at the excellent Museum of Photography, Film and Television (now called ‘The National (Science and) Media Museum’) at Bradford, UK) have now been moved ..or the photographs which were collected there, particularly the ancient ones from the Royal Photographic Society.. to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
“Can’t trust them Northerners, laake..” seems to have been the reason. (I’ve a letter somewhere from the then Director saying how sad she was that the photography collection was going to London ..so much for the UK Regions, eh? ..and what’s now known as, ahem, ‘Levelling Up’.)
(The Pictureville Cinema – part of the National (Science and) Media Museum – is the UK’s only Cinerama cinema – remember them? – and one of only three left in the world. But it also shows all sorts of other ‘normal’ films, too. And they have an old projector in the foyer just like mine!)
Looking at cameras – and photos – is all very well; but what’s needed is taking photos, and then dipping them in developer and fixer ..or, simpler still, monobath.. and watching the pictures ‘magically’ appear! That’s a real inspiration for children ..and adults too!
Hi David, totally irrelevant but fun fact, last year I stayed in a place called Kodak, Tennessee. At the time they requested permission to use the name Kodak for their village and George Eastman granted that permission.
I think that Eastman wanted a trade name which didn’t already exist, so that no-one could say that he was infringing on any mark or patent of theirs, and so – having checked that ‘kodak’ apparently didn’t mean anything (potentially embarrassing) in any language – he just invented the word.
A bit like Stefan Kudelski – much later – on being asked what was the name of his newfangled clockwork tape-recorder, said ‘Nagra’, as he reckoned that there would not already be anything of that name: it simply means, in Polish, “it records”.
I remember, when I was much younger (..well, it couldn’t have been when I was much older..!) a woman (Charlotte Someone?) said (..on ‘Monday Night at Eight’, perhaps, on the radio..) that she’d invented the word ‘radoc’ ..to mean whatever she wanted it to mean in whatever circumstances.
Rather like Stanley Unwin (in the UK) talking his own almost comprehensible rubbish, such as “sherf it uppalo dowlabode”. Though maybe to the Flowerpot Men it was really saying something..
At one stage Kodak tried to substitute the word ‘kodakery’ for ‘photography’ by using the term in its literature. If it had succeeded, we might all now be called ‘kodakers’ or ‘kodakists’ i.e. one who ‘kodaks’, no worse than ‘Leicaphile’, I suppose.
William
I don’t come to this as neutral party with, effectively, my own ‘museum’ at home and also as Chairperson of Photo Museum Ireland, which is largely about photography and photographs. I am also cataloguing about 300 cameras and other photo equipment for our National Photographic Archive which is a separate body – too difficult to explain here. This morning, in that collection, I found a rare Kodak No 1 Panoram Camera from c1900 with a lens that swings 180 degrees while taking pictures.
Over the past weekend I was in Wetzlar for the Leitz Auctions and, herein lies the rub, while the cameras fetch much higher money at auction, for most non-camera collectors the photos are far more interesting. The main way to make cameras more relevant to non-collectors is to show them along with the photographs which they have or may have taken.
Leica has a Museum, but it largely concentrates on photography and photographic education and only shows a small number of the camera items which are in its archives. Last Friday I visited the archives and saw the following items, which are not on public display at the museum, the test rig for the digital M concept which was an M7 with a data back linked on a test bed to an R9 for power and control reasons, the original design concept for the M8 which was a chunky item not at all like a film M, a half-frame M4-P (rare about 10 units ever made) , a 90mm f1 Elcan lens for air reconnaissance work and the infamous ‘Leifa’ trafficator which appeared here before in an article of mine. Anyone here who wants to see these items can find them on my Instagram site under my handle ‘willeica’. I usually visit the archives, when I am in Wetzlar, looking for information on specific cameras, but every time I am there I see something I have not seen before. The big issue for Leica and its archives is to find the resources to archive, catalogue and display cameras and, even more so, to link the items to specific photographs. I am devoting my own time and expertise, pro bono, to ensure that a major collection in my own country does not disappear without trace. In many cases, museum curators and conservators have little or no knowledge or expertise in respect of cameras, which is not to criticise them, but just reflects the situation in the population as a whole.
I can understand David B’s disappointment with some camera museums, but I might remind him that some 70 or 80 years ago, the Oscar/Oskar No 105 camera, that sold for over €14 million last year, once resided safely in one of glass cases at the museum in Munich and when Conrad Barnack asked for his dad’s cameras to be returned it was returned having safely survived the upheavals in Germany.
Finally, for David B also, Peter Coeln held an auction recently under his Ostlicht label, featuring a collection (not sure if it was his or somebody else’s ) and I put in a relatively low bid on an early Leica stereo outfit, including beautiful chrome viewing binoculars. I was driving from Limerick to Dublin while the auction was on, but when I got to Dublin I found that I had actually won it. That can also be seen on my Instagram site.
Besides collecting Leicas I also collect cameras and lenses which were either made in Ireland or were sold here or have Irish plates or engravings. In some cases I have combined these collections by purchasing Leicas with Irish engravings.
Some might think that I am heading towards opening a camera museum, but I am happy for the moment just to sit on the fence and advise and enjoy my own collection.
Thanks for the great article, JP. As usual, you have raised quite a number of relevant and interesting issues.
William
Over 40 years ago, I spent a few hours in the Munich museum, mainly in the aviation section. Although extremely tiny in comparison, the National Trust Fox Talbot museum in Lacock, Wiltshire UK, is certainly worth visiting if in the area. The historic village is usually teaming with visitors, so it is better ‘out of season’.
Thank you for your fascinating article, Joerg-Peter. Having recently purchased a current mid-range Galaxy smartphone, I have been astonished by its potential for imaging. So there is no need to apologise for your illustrations. Although your little Ricoh might have rendered more detail.
My visits to the Deutsches Museum in Munich, and its camera collection, left me feeling rather sad: old cameras trapped inside glass cabinets, gathering dust; the old M3 there looked particularly lost and lonely ..I’m sure it’d rather be used by someone, instead of its mechanical bits seizing up through lack of use and fading lubricant.
I find Peter Coeln’s personal camera museum in Vienna, above his Licht-whatever-it’s-called Leica shop to be much more cheery and modern-looking – even though it certainly has old cameras in it ..a Daguerre camera, if I remember correctly, various Contaxes (even though it’s primarily a Leica display).
There are plenty of second-hand camera shops in Munich, especially the 2nd-hand department of Sauter’s – the big modern camera store on the inner-city ring road – which always has VERY C-H-E-A-P classic Leicas at almost silly low prices ..plus Nikons, Olympus and all the usual suspects, and some really interesting curiosities!
There’s also Foto-Presto, now at 34 Rumford Strasse on a handy tram line, (..and also on eBay..) with a terrific – but more expensive – line of Leicas, Contaxes, Arri movie cameras, and an enormous range of Leica, Nikon, Contax, Pentax – and so on – lenses. I’ve bought many an interesting piece of glasswork there.
There is, of course, the Munich Leica Store, at a – supposedly – smart address (Brienner Strasse) but actually just OFF the main expensive shopping street (Theatiner Strasse) and with high-speed traffic whizzing by, and fewer pedestrians. (Leica has this knack of putting its Stores just OFF the main drag, where you easily walk straight past them: expensive addresses but not best sited). Lots of old Leicas and lenses there, and at surprisingly moderate prices, and with – if you’re lucky – very amenable sales people, who’ll often thrown in a (£30..?) lens hood or vintage lens cap for just about nothing.
In Leipzig, 2nd-hand film cameras, especially from what was previously East Germany, are incredibly cheap and plentiful ..all those Pentacons of course!
In London there’s the little Camera Museum and Café down a side street by the British Museum: on the ground floor they service Hasselblads, downstairs there’s a huge collection of ‘historical’ cameras ..free entry, and then a coffee and a cake!
But unused cameras in display cases ..cameras which aren’t going anywhere, unlike used cameras on shop shelves, looking for a new home.. always make me sad and sorrowful: they should be attached with straps so that visitors can try them and use them, and they get to feel human hands embracing them, rather than just sitting as objects, out of reach, and, essentially, dead. (oh, sob!)