Tag: Leica
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Herr Haubitze Bought A Leica
It was 1955. Herr Haubitze entered the Zentral Foto shop at Piefkestr. 60 and went to the counter. He asked the sales assistant for a Leica M3 camera and a 50mm Summicron lens to fit it. Considerably poorer, he exited with the new camera, a roll of Agfa film, and the adventure of a lifetime.…
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What Ever happened To The Minololta?
It probably went the way of the Konikon or the Leeca – all cameras that I have been asked for in my time. And I kept a straight face and did not wee my trousers. Self discipline and not too much coffee before work was the secret – plus the knowledge that kindness sold more…
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What Would HCB Use Now?
If he were still alive, that is. He’s hung up the dinner pail for nearly 20 years… He nearly always used Leicas in the 35mm film days – small ones and then the famed M series. Perhaps he would still opt for one of the extremely expensive film M’s still made and just carry on…
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Do Not Try This If You Have Gout
Or, for that matter, if your lenses have an odd serial number, or were bought on a Tuesday. I recently attempted to help a friend program his Nikon camera for focus shifting. It was listed as a capability, and there was a line in the menu that referred to it, but no amount of thinking…
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Gold-Plated
Leica seem to have announced a gold-plated camera and lens set. It is mooted that the kit will sell for $ 50,000 US. I believe this a legal act upon the part of Leica – the making and selling of a digital camera with gold plating. It will also be a legal act upon the…
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Unconscious Nostalgia For The Wide Awake
I won’t use the term ” woke ” as it is a vulgarism…widely favoured by the vulgar. I flatter myself that I’m not in that group… But occasionally I do wake up to myself. Not to others, mind. The rest of the planet is a mystery that I don’t feel qualified to solve. And I’m…
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Two Mount Or Not Two Mount?
That is the question. Whether ’tis nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of an outmoded camera lens mount design made before pixels were invented, or to take arms and design half a dozen others that you foist upon the public. And you know the rest. Hamlet kills all the camera designers and is eventually…
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Notaleica
If you started out on a Leica M2 with a 50mm collapsible Elmar using Kodak Plus X and Kodachrome II film you can do it all again by going out and buying a used camera and lens, and chasing down Plus X. You cannot chase down Kodachrome II…it is long discontinued. Your quest will be…
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Leicalike Again
The desire for what we had before…the first car, the first girlfriend, the first job…is one of the oddest retro sensations there is. As with most nostalgia, we wish were were the person we were then with the knowledge we have now. Also with the money we have now. In most cases we are asking…
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Leica-ing To Yourself
I remember my Leicas with fondness. They were sturdy, crudely sophisticated, reliable, and came with a sachet of cachet: the Leica culture oozed out of them and all you needed to do was blot the pools of swank with money. I had a number of them…only one of which was acquired new. All the rest…
Dr. Stein's Photographic Establishment 