Recently I sold a few Leica
items on eBay. One of the buyers struck
my interest with his eBay screen name of Schmirgelpapier. Taking a closer look revealed that it was Don
Goldberg of DAG Camera Repair, one of the best Leica repair technicians in the
country. I hadn't talked to Don for a
while and it was nice to catch up.
Needless to say, we also talked about the LEICA Barnack Berek Blog. I asked him if he would be willing to
contribute some of his wisdom to the blog, only to be totally surprised by his
answer.
One of the items he was
interested to talk about was a Leica M2-250, an off the shelf camera that his
father Norman Goldberg had converted in the 1960s to accept film for 250
exposures. I had never heard of this camera
and I was eager to learn more about it.
Norman Goldberg was born in
Chicago in 1931 and, after serving a five-year apprenticeship in camera repair
and attending the Illinois Institute of Technology, he moved to Wisconsin in
1951. There he established Camcraft, an independent workshop which specialized
in repairs and custom modifications to professional photographic equipment. In
1966 he became a technical consultant to Popular Photography, devising a lens
testing program for them and creating their testing laboratory, and in 1972 he
joined the staff of the magazine. He retired in 1987 after working for Popular
Photography for 22 years.
While running Camcraft, he
became the first Leica authorized service facility for Leica cameras in the
US. He also published a book about
camera technology in 1992, titled “The Dark Side of the Lens.
Goldberg is perhaps best
known as the creator of the Camcraft N-5 electric motor drive for the Leica M2
and MP. However, he has also several other inventions for Leicas and other
cameras to his credit. For instance, the
clip he designed to permit wearing an M Leica on the belt was widely used, and
he also offered modifications of the Visoflex, utilizing either a prism or a
pellicle mirror. He also designed and
built a considerable amount of testing equipment to test cameras and lenses,
including the equipment used at Popular Photography, and he held numerous
patents.
Camcraft N-5 motor with power supply
Camcraft N-5 motor attached
to Leica M2
The first camcraft N-5 motor
was introduced in 1961. After several
modifications to the original design, the final version was made by TPI
(Technical Photomation Instruments) of Los Angeles. Eventually Leitz bought the patents and the
rights to the motor. Over the years they
made over a thousand units of what was often called the NY Motor. It was sold for the M2-M and later for the
M4-M.
With the motor in place, 36
exposures could go very fast, and the need to change to a new roll of film was
ever present. This lead to thoughts of a
larger capacity of film and Goldberg began to design a 250 exposure conversion
of a Leica M2 which incorporated the successful N-5 motor. The modifications are based on a standard
Leicavit rapid advance. They included
larger film compartments at both the supply and take up side of the camera
which were attached to the camera and the Leicavit. The manual film advance of the Leicavit was
replaced by the N-5 motor. Power was
supplied via a cord, connected to a separate power supply which contained the
batteries. Only one of the M2-250
cameras is in existence, making it also one of the rarest Leicas.
M2-250 original design sketch by Norman
Goldberg
Far from walking in the
shadow of his father, Don Goldberg is very accomplished in the Leica community
himself. In 1970 he worked at Leitz
Wetzlar for two years. There he received
the skills of a Feinmechaniker (Precision Mechanic) a prerequisite for Leica
technicians. With the town of Giessen
close by, he also decided to learn about Minox cameras at the Minox plant
there. He worked for Minox for three
months and then took a position at the Leica Service department in New
Jersey. In 1980 Don established his own
camera service business, DAG which he still runs today.
Don is interested in
determining what the M2-250 might be worth and he might consider selling
it. Anyone interested can contact Don
directly at:
DAG Camera Service
2128 Vintage Drive
Oregon WI 53575 USA
608-835-3342
To comment or to read comments please scroll past the ads below.
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To comment or to read comments please scroll past the ads below.
All ads present items of interest to Leica owners.
Inventive Camera Bags for All of Your Gear
For more information on KOMARU and for orders go to: www.taos-photographic.com
For more information and pre orders go to: www.lenstab.com
Next Friday - Cumberland: Island of Conflict and Change by Jeff Kauck
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Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
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