tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320126156594375642.post8107104508559481746..comments2024-03-27T11:02:08.037-05:00Comments on LEICA Barnack Berek Blog: THE FASCINATING WORLD OF PROTOTYPE LEICA CAMERASLEICA Barnack Berek Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09055435560407011075noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320126156594375642.post-61683797227940722602020-02-24T10:34:14.189-06:002020-02-24T10:34:14.189-06:00I talked to Malcolm Taylor specifically about the ...I talked to Malcolm Taylor specifically about the Barnack motion picture camera for an article I wrote about it on this blog. You can find it here: http://gmpphoto.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-leica-before-first-leica-or.html<br /><br />The camera had been in a fire and Ernst Leitz gave it to Malcolm Taylor to restore. The basic camera was in good enough shape to be restored, but Malcolm Taylor had to totally make a new film compartment since the old one was lost in the fire. The photographs in that article have never been shown anywhere else.LEICA Barnack Berek Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09055435560407011075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320126156594375642.post-64920127888240217922020-02-24T10:33:48.609-06:002020-02-24T10:33:48.609-06:00Is it correct that the Barnack movie camera we see...Is it correct that the Barnack movie camera we see today, is mostly the work of Malcolm Taylor, who rebuilt the original, with a great deal of detective work, after it was virtually destroyed in WW2.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320126156594375642.post-90528171168517896572020-02-24T10:32:30.387-06:002020-02-24T10:32:30.387-06:00No, what I am saying is that is was the beginning ...No, what I am saying is that is was the beginning of the end. A large percentage of Kodak's revenues were generated by film sales. With the advent of digital photography they developed the APS system as a measure to compete with digital photography. It made processing and especially printing substantially easier than ever before by having a translucent layer on top of the emulsion which contained information about the individual photographs, in terms of color temperature, exposure, etc. which was then automatically evaluated by automated printing machines which ultimately allowed for easier and more accurate printing. However, as I see it, Kodak made two major mistakes. For one thing these machines had to be purchased by any lab that wanted to be able to service the APS films. Since APS was a new negative size, existing machines could not be updated and the new processors had to be added as complete units. If memory serves me right, the cost was about 150 thousand dollars per machine. Why they didn't incorporate all of these new features with standard 35mm film is an enigma. But the bigger mistake made by Kodak was to underestimate the threat from digital photography. The market changed from analog (film) to digital within an amazingly short time. When Kodak finally entered the digital market, they never obtained any leadership position at all, even though they manufactured sensors and digital cameras of their own. By that time competition from other manufacturers was too great and Kodak, until the end of the company as we knew it, was not so much a competitor than a "me too" player. I don't want to sound overly critical of Kodak here, because they certainly were not the only ones caught by the digital revolution. Virtually all of the well known companies of the analog age, other than the major camera manufacturers, are all but gone today.LEICA Barnack Berek Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09055435560407011075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320126156594375642.post-23718508423426931842020-02-24T10:30:39.350-06:002020-02-24T10:30:39.350-06:00Are you saying that the APS system put Kodak out o...Are you saying that the APS system put Kodak out of business?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320126156594375642.post-65294276977603324692020-02-24T10:29:35.554-06:002020-02-24T10:29:35.554-06:00Drop-in film loading was developed by several comp...Drop-in film loading was developed by several companies. For instance. at around the same time Kodak came out with their 126 Instamatic cartridges. Agfa developed the substantially superior Rapid drop-in loading system. But Kodak, being the giant they were at that time, was able to convince the entire photographic world that 126 was the way to go. Agfa marketed the Rapid system for a while, but it never got any traction with other manufacturers. Then, when Kodak came out with the 110 format, the rest of the photographic world jumped on that bandwagon rather quickly. That finally came to an end when Kodak once again tried this with their disc system. The rest of the photo industry finally went their own way, and the Kodak disc system ultimately was a dismal failure, as was the APS system. It was looked upon as a stop gap measure by Kodak to stem the wave of the upcoming digital photography. I have never understood the APS system. Its advantages could just as easily been incorporated into standard 35mm film which would have had a better chance of survival, for a while anyway. That time, as it turned out, was the beginning of the ultimate demise of Eastman Kodak.LEICA Barnack Berek Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09055435560407011075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320126156594375642.post-46303919868517921252020-02-24T10:28:20.940-06:002020-02-24T10:28:20.940-06:00Why did Leica go with the Kodak 110 system instead...Why did Leica go with the Kodak 110 system instead of their own drop-in loading system? Your article mentioned that they developed that in the 1950s already.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320126156594375642.post-67597840834238362822020-02-24T10:27:35.242-06:002020-02-24T10:27:35.242-06:00Not at all. We must remember that the Leica came a...Not at all. We must remember that the Leica came about as a very small, yet very well performing camera, and by doing so, was nothing short of a sensation in 1925. It was at that time that Leitz coined the phrase "small camera, big picture." Thus I don't find it surprising at all that they put a lot of effort into developing high end 110 cameras. If better films had been available, these might have been quite successful. Another reason for aborting this project might have been the fact that Kodak was demanding considerable royalties from anyone that was using their system.LEICA Barnack Berek Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09055435560407011075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1320126156594375642.post-38488020168625461312020-02-24T10:26:58.279-06:002020-02-24T10:26:58.279-06:00I am surprised to see that they put so much effort...I am surprised to see that they put so much effort into 110 cameras. Isn't that counter to their overall performance oriented philosophy?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com