I think every Leica
enthusiast remembers the Leica camera that ‘started it all’. I am one of the
fortunate individuals that can truly say that I have used Leicas all my life,
well, almost.
I grew up in the
photography business of my father in Germany. This naturally exposed me to
photography and cameras at an early age. It was always my father's dream for me
to take over the business once he retired. That, however, does not mean that I
was pushed in that direction, to the contrary, I was always encouraged by my
parents to follow my own interests, of which there were many. But my dad also
always encouraged me to take pictures of my own. I must have had some
noticeable interest, because on my fifth birthday he presented me with my Leica
No. 1, a Leica III with 50mm f/2Summar and a Steinheil Culminar 135mm f/4.5.
That also included a Braun Viewfinder, adjustable from 35mm to 135mm and aLeitz
VACU flash synchronization device.
Leica III with Summar 50mm
f/2
Leica III back with Foto
Richter Barntrup Nameplate
Leica III with Summar 50mm
f/2 and FIKUS Lens Shade
I am convinced that
starting out with this camera ultimately made me a better photographer for a
variety of reasons. My dad did not give me a light meter, instead he taught me
the sunny 16 rule and for flash, there was never any automation until much
later in my life. I simply focused and then had to use the old guide number
divided by distance formula to determine the aperture setting. Considering that
I also had to deal with a collapsible lens, I had ample opportunity to make
mistakes, and mistakes I made, many.
After wondering about some
very blurry images, even though I knew I had focused my lens quite carefully,
and after many explanations from my dad, I eventually remembered to pull out
the collapsible lens before I started shooting. I also soon figured out that
taping a little guide in back of the flash with the guide number/distance
formula eventually lessened flash exposure mistakes, as did a note with the
sunny 16 exposures on it.
Steinheil München Culminar
135mm f/4.5
My Laica III with 50mm
Summar 50mm f/2,
FICUS Lens Hood, Braun
Universal finder and VACU Flash Synch
This isn’t meant to give
me a pad on the back. I truly believe that starting out totally manually made
photography in the long run a lot easier for me. Even though I have since
switched to digital Leica equipment, I still use film occasionally, for no other
reason than not to lose my touch. To this day I have no problem getting correct
exposures without the help of a meter. As a matter of fact, once I did start
using a light meter, it gave me cause to explore what these instruments are
capable of beyond just plain camera settings.
Even now, working in my
studio or doing architectural and other photography, I still rely very much on
my light meters. Even in these days of Photoshop, I still approach my
photography as in the film days. That includes careful light readings and all
else that I can do to get the shot right. That certainly makes post production
a lot less time consuming because generally, I don’t have to correct for
mistakes.
Having grown up with
rangefinder cameras, which of course included the use of add-on viewfinders,
never bothered me. I have owned several of the Leica R models, but inevitably I
always gravitate back to the rangefinder Leicas. The electronic Visoflex for some of the late
model digital Leicas essentially is the same thing.
Thus my good old Leica III
from so many years ago has effectively been the starting point in a long
succession of cameras which, with the exception of the R models I have owned,
have been further developments of the Leica III which, in itself, is essentially
nothing more than a further development of Oskar Barnack’s Ur-Leica prototype.
No other camera anywhere can look upon such a long history and no other camera
ever will.
___________________________________________________________________________
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Did the VACU work just with flash bulbs or could it be used with electronic flash also?
ReplyDeleteIt could be used either way, but it is important to change the timing when the flash is triggered. Electronic flash fires the moment the shutter is open, while flash bulbs are fired slightly sooner to allow for the bulb to be burning at full power. The article "TESTING LEICA SM CAMERAS FOR PROPER FLASH SYNCH" on this blog gives more detail about that issue as does the article "LEITZ VACU."
DeleteYour camera has some odd looking strap lugs. Where did they come from?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if anyone would notice. My father made those strap lugs. He designed them to keep the fasteners of the neck strap away from the camera body to prevent scratching. If you look closely, they are almost L shaped. They are made of a very stiff metal wire with the ends of the loops sauntered to prevent them from bending open.
DeleteThis is so cool. I wish I had a camera with that special history. I wonder how many Leica owners are out there that started at the tender age of five?
ReplyDeleteWell, I know Oskar Barnack started a lot later in life, but then he had to make the camera first. I think I was very lucky in this respect.
DeleteAre you still using that camera?
ReplyDeleteI use it very rarely. I guess in the eyes of film users I have totally moved to the dark (digital) side. I don't miss film at all. I no longer enjoy the hassle of developing and printing, and that is coming from someone who owned and operated a professional custom black and white photo lab. All that has been replaced with digital Leica equipment, a purpose built computer system and a professional Epson printer. But the camera is in perfect working condition. It is sitting on my desc with the shutter set to 1 second. I frequently wind and fire the camera, as I do with all my mechanical shutter cameras. If a mechanical shutter runs smoothly when set at 1 sec., it will be okay at the other speeds too.
Delete