Oskar Barnack

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Oskar Barnack (November 1, 1879 – January 16, 1936) was a German precision mechanic.

Between 1913 and 1914 he was head of development of the camera company Leitz in Wetzlar, Hesse, Germany. He was the driving force behind the making of the first mass-marketed 35mm camera.

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. Leica stood for Leitz Camera. Instead of the exposure plates used in past Leitz cameras, the Leica used a standardized film strip, adapted from 35mm Edison roll-film.

Lynow, Oskar Barnack's birthplace, and currently a municipality of Brandenburg, Germany, has a museum to Oskar Barnack.