Leica: Golden Era camera

[MrBern]

The NewYorker has quite an extensive article on TheCultofLeica.

Leica is a venerable German camera that captured some of the greatest pix of the 20th century. It is one of the earliest 35mm cameras& youve seen its pix in classic LIFE magazine over & over again. It was a powerful tool & a thing of beauty. Some might think its on the brink of extinction in the digital age....

Click forNewYorker article

 

[Forgotten Man]

Neat! I'd love to shoot with old cameras... but, have fallen lazy to the modern digital. It's so easy... point, shoot, if you don't like, take a gain... it's an amazing thing... but, to shoot with real film and using an old camera... that can be a lot of fun I'd think... but, it takes talent.

Maybe some day I'll learn the tricks to it.

FM~

 

[Robert Conway]

Good article. The writer does a good job of capturing the myth around the camera and reasons why it is as revered as a tool and object of desire.
There are some minor factual errors, but nothing to get bent out of shape about.

I've had my Leicas now for about 10 years and frankly can't imagine life without them. It is very odd. They are just a pile of metal and gears, but you become very attached to them. Like the author says, if you are a photographer they have a tendency to become part of you.

I can remember the first time I picked one up. I had no idea what a Leica M was, but the moment the dealer put it in my hands and I looked through the viewfinder my brain just went 'oooohhhh....'. Ten minutes later I walked out of the store broke, but happy.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

Neat! I'd love to shoot with old cameras... but, have fallen lazy to the modern digital.

So, how 'bout this 'un:

A digital miniature version of a 1954 Leica. Seems they come with 4 MP now - last time I checked it was on cellphone/webcam level.

You can even get a nice flash for it:

 

[Spitfire]

If you feel for some cheap russian Leica-copies - check out this site:

http://www.cameramate.com/index.php?cPath=33_32

At least they look good...

 

[Vornholt]

Leica's are beautiful things. I have a IIIA and an M, and both draw some looks when you pull them them out of the bag. No one can seem to grasp the idea that something with no plastic, no display, no batteries, and five thousand moving parts can actually take pictures.[huh]

I'll post some photos of my IIIA later.

 

[MrBern]

Heres a good pic of a leica I.

it was quite the adventurers camera of its time because of its size.

You wont see many cameras anymore that have that sort of beautiful black lacquer over brass bodies & nickel plated lenses.

Leica recently produced a copy of the original leica.
its interestign, but you'd probably be better off finding an antique.
Tho the reproduction will give you far less guilt about toting it around.
heres the repro:

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Neat! I'd love to shoot with old cameras... but, have fallen lazy to the modern digital. It's so easy... point, shoot, if you don't like, take a gain... it's an amazing thing... but, to shoot with real film and using an old camera... that can be a lot of fun I'd think... but, it takes talent.

Maybe some day I'll learn the tricks to it.

FM~

Not as difficult as ya think. I was raised on film, and digital gives me trouble. Seems I can't get a good image with a digital to save my life.
It is way easy for sending pics online and such, but film is still king with me.
I just got this 620 roll film Agfa/Ansco from 1935. Can't wait to get film.

[/IMG]

 

[CharlieH.]

Aaah, Leica. Sometimes I think that if I had one I'd be too intimidated to use it (and even more to pay for it!).
(By the way, nifty camera Major!)

 

[MrBern]

Aaah, Leica. Sometimes I think that if I had one I'd be too intimidated to use it (and even more to pay for it!).
(By the way, nifty camera Major!)

Well the prices arent quite as bad as they used to be when teh collectors & Pros snapped up anything affordable.

And as mentioned before, there are russian copies which are a decent value for those worried about denting a camera in the woods.

BTW a current article commenting of Professionals who prefer film:
Kodak survey on film
hilite:
Sixty-eight percent said they prefer film over digital for a variety of applications. Many cited its superiority for shooting larger-format and black-and-white images, the adaptability of color film to a wider range of lighting conditions, and film archives being far easier to store than electronic ones.

 

[dostacos]

those that are interested in rangefinders and film might check out www.rangefinderforum.com

I am dostacos there too

 

[MKL]

Being a Nikon nut I only have a Leica stickpin.

[/IMG]

 

[dostacos]

Being a Nikon nut I only have a Leica stickpin.

[/IMG]

Nikon has a rangefinder mondo expensive but.....

 

[MKL]

dostacos said, Nikon has a rangefinder mondo expensive but.....


Ah, but no stickpin!

 

[MrBern]

Nazi camera or not

On occasion , I've heard people disparage the Leica as a Nazi camera.
As per the article, you can read that it was manufactured long before the nazis appeared.

I have a few models of the `38 model. This model is sometimes referred to as a 'freedom' camera in recent years. The Leitz company having sent their jewish employees abroad as 'salesmen' to escape nazi germany. Meanwhile the nazis were utilizing the best of precision optical & camera manufacturers for their war effort.

I'm not sure how accurate the story is, but there is a Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leica_Freedom_Train

 

[MrBern]

Gerda taro

War Photographer Gerda Taro & leica in `37

NYT article on her exhibition

 

[Jack Armstrong]

I have a 1952 Nicca IIIA (arguably the best of the Leica clones, once the original Leica patents expired):

http://akiroom.com/redbook/kenkyukai06/200603-55.jpg

I second all those who love the Leica design, It's compact, solid, easy to use and everything fits hand and eye perfectly.

Only thing I don't like about it is the film loading. Until you get the hang of it, it's difficult and time-consuming with modern short-leader film, but even with the longer leaders of days gone by, it can't have been a quick process. I admire the dexterity and patience of the news photographers who used Leicas and had to change rolls at a crucial moment.