[Leica] How did 50mm become the "normal" lens for 35mm cameras?

[Bryk Oliver]

In 1953 I was a student in the US Army Signal Corps Photography School in Ft. Monmouth, NJ. After passing still photo school (4x5 Speed Graphic) I was selected for “Combat Cameraman” class (35mm b&w cinematography) using the Bell & Howell “Eyemo” handheld newsreel cameras well as Mitchell and Maurer studio cameras. 50mm was the normal lens for these 35mm cameras.

A booklet “Instructions for the use of the Leica Camera Models c, f & g” (referring to the Leica III series) published by Hove Books Ltd. states that “THE STANDARD LENS OF THE LEICA is the world famous ELMAR having a maximum aperture of f/3.5 and a focal length of 50mm”.

In the book “Leica M Advanced Photo School” by Günther Osterloh, 2nd English ed., published by Lark Books in 2005 (the original German edition was published in 2002) is a section “Normal focal lengths”:

"Lenses with focal lengths that correspond approximately to the diagonal of the negative format are called normal lenses. In the 35mm format of 24 x 36 mm the diagonal measures about 43 mm. For practical reasons and for reasons of better quality, however, more than 75 years ago Leitz decided to use a standard focal length that is nearly 10 mm longer. And that is still the case today; standard lenses for Leica cameras have a focal length of 52 mm. This holds true even when the engraving around the front element of the lens reads only 50 mm.”

“For the novice, taking pictures with this lens is easy because its angle of view of about 45 degrees most closely corresponds to the natural coverage of the human eye.” 

Respectfully submitted,

Oliver