Film verses Digital

A comparison of fine grain black & white film and digital images.

Except for artistic reasons, when shooting film, most photographers are concerned about excess grain and try to eliminate it as much as possible.  Unfortunately, that cannot be achieved all the time.  It is an accepted fact of photographic life that faster films do display more grain than their slower counterparts.  Obviously, we have to match the films we choose to the lighting conditions under which we take photographs.

Grain is also very closely associated with sharpness and detail in a photograph.  A coarse grain film simply cannot show as much detail as a fine grain film.  Fine grain films are therefore inevitably sharper and for that reason more desirable.

The slowest black & white films on the market used to be Kodak Technical Pan, Agfapan APX 25, Efke KB 25 and Ilford Pan F.  The Kodak Agfa and Efke films had a standard rating of ISO 25, while the Ilford had a rating of ISO 50.  All three of them were outstanding examples of modern, fine grain films, and must be considered the best the market had to offer.

Kodak Technical Pan basically was a slow, high contrast film with extended red sensitivity, meant for copying of documents etc.  In the appropriate developers, the film would display extremely high contrast as is necessary for such work.  However, when developed in Kodak Technidol or similar developers, the film would display a continuous tonal range with near normal contrast.  If we go strictly by published specs, there is nothing comparable on the market.  Technical Pan had finer grain and a higher resolution than any other film readily available.  This should make it the undisputed leader in the fine grain film field.

Technical Pan could deliver negatives of incredible sharpness.  However, since the film was basically a very high contrast material, it did suffer from relatively high contrast, even when developed in Technidol.  When used in bright sunlight, the results were fairly contrasty, too much so for a lot of photographers. The film also had a low exposure latitude and required a very specific developing procedures to make it useful as a standard, pictorial film material.

While the performance potential of the film was unquestionably very high, it remained a special purpose film with considerable limitations.

The Ilford Pan F is certainly a tremendously capable film, but by virtue of its higher speed, it is not quite capable to deliver the performance of the Kodak Technical Pan or that of the Agfapan APX 25 and Efke KB 25.  The Ilford film therefore has to be considered to be on the bottom of this list.

As far as published specifications go, the Agfapan APX 25 and Efke KB25 are not quite as sharp and don’t have quite the fine grain of the Kodak Technical Pan.  On the other hand, the films easily allow adjustment of contrast by changes in exposure and development times.  In addition, they do not require special developers.  Any good black & white developer can do an outstanding job with these films.  One such developer is Agfa Rodinal.  Rodinal is not a particularly fine grain developer, but it displays a very high acutance, which yields extremely sharp negatives.  Agfapan APX 25 and Efke KB 25, developed in Rodinal, have proven to deliver negatives of exceptionally fine grain.  Enlargements of 15 times have proven to be virtually grainless, and even enlargements of 30 times are still quite acceptable.  Of course, this is also very much dependent on the quality of the camera equipment.

The question is often asked if APX 25 or Efke KB 25 couldn’t deliver even finer grain if a so called fine grain developer was used.  The answer is certainly “yes.”  But why?  If 15 or 20 times enlargements from these films, developed in Rodinal, show virtually no grain, why try to reduce grain size?  It wouldn’t make any visible difference.  However, the coarser grain structure of high acutance developers usually renders a greater apparent sharpness.  A finer grain developer therefore might have the effect of less apparent sharpness due to lower acutance.

Reduction of development times in Rodinal will lower the contrast of the negatives while an increase in development time will result in the opposite.  In addition, the film can quite successfully be pushed to a rating of 50 and still yield very good results.  The film can also be pull processed at a rating of 20 or 15, to yield even finer grain.  This will also result in a noticeable reduction of contrast.

It is this versatility which ultimately made the Agfapan APX 25 and Efke KB 25 more desirable films than Kodak Technical Pan.  Given the right lighting conditions, they are without question some of the best black & white films ever made.

 

This photograph shows approximately the entire negative area.

It was scanned from an enlargement which was carefully adjusted

during printing to render an exact 8X magnification.

 

This cropped section of the original negative was scanned

from an enlargement, adjusted during printing to be an

exact 16X enlargement

 

 A section of the same 16X enlargement, scanned from the original print.

 

This portion of the negative was scanned from a 35X enlargement.

The very fine eye lashes in the upper left corner have an approximate

Diameter of 0.007mm (0.00028 inch) on the negative which translates to a

resolution of over 140 lpm (lines per millimeter) on the enlargement

which means that the on-film resolution is even higher.

Unfortunately, the overwhelming popularity of digital photography has influenced the photography market to the extent that many films have been discontinued.  Of the fine grain black & white films, only the Ilford Pan F remains at the moment and therefore has to be considered one of the best currently available.

Of course this brings up the question if digital cameras are capable of delivering images of equal quality and the answer is; definitely, providing we are talking of camera equipment and especially lenses of equal quality.  As a matter of fact, given a sufficiently large sensor, especially full 35 mm frame sensors with sufficient resolution, the same lenses might deliver even higher quality images with a digital camera.

The limiting factor of maximum resolution on film besides grain size is the fact that light will scatter within the emulsion.  This definitely reduces overall resolution and it is the very reason why films will never be capable of delivering all the resolution, all the detail that a high quality lens is capable of.  In comparison, most digital sensors do not have this scatter effect, meaning that a less quality reduced image can be produced.  Of course the ability of the digital camera system to suppress noise and other image degrading phenomena are a factor also.

Following is a photograph taken with a digital camera that shows that comparisons to even the best 35 mm films present no problem.  I purposely chose the Leica Digilux 2 which has a modest resolution of only 5 megapixels.  However, it should be noted that compared to consumer cameras with similar resolution, the Leica Digilux 2 has a relatively large sensor that allows for larger individual pixels.  The result is a higher image quality, especially if the camera is used at lower exposure indices.  It is obvious that in spite of the relatively low resolution, the resulting images compare quite favorably with the above black & white images taken with exceptional camera equipment and exceptional film.

 

Image uncropped

   Image cropped from a 27 x 36 inch full frame image

The sharpness of the images shown is such, that some of the small detail is so fine that it wouldn’t show on an enlargement unless enlarged to approximately 16 x 20 inch.  This is for instance the case with the above black & white images.  On an 8x10 enlargement, the very fine lashes are invisible.

Technical Data

Black & White Images

Camera:                      Leica M3

Lens:                           50mm Dual Range Summicron f/2

Film:                            Agfapan APX 25

Light Source:               Broncolor Impact with 25” soft light reflector

Developer:                   Agfa Rodinal 1:100, 68º F, 16 Minutes

Enlarger:                     Leitz Focomat V35 with Leitz Focotar, 40mm f/2.8 and color head module

Technical Data

Color Images

Camera                       Leica Digilux 2

Lens                            7-22.5 (28 – 90 equiv.) Leica DC Vario-Summicron f/2 – 2.4

Exposure Index            ISO 100

Light Source                Speedotron Brown Line D402 and D802 both at 200 ws with umbrella and reflector fill

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A LEICA – MINOX CONNECTION

When the Minox 35 EL was introduced several years ago, it quickly became a rather popular camera, primarily because of its small size.  Part of this was due to the lens which could be totally retracted into the camera, including a hinged cover which could also functioned as a lens shade when the camera was help upside down.

It was never confirmed, but this principle looks very much like the Leica H prototype from several years prior to the introduction of the Minox.  Rumors were that the Minox was actually designed by Leitz.  But they never marketed the camera and the design was turned over to Minox.  Nothing official has ever been made public about this rumor.

The Minox was a very capable camera, however, it had the disadvantage of having no manual operation other than manipulating the film speed settings.   However, the camera could be converted to offer manual shutter speeds.  The work was done by DAG, the custom repair shop of Don Goldberg in Wisconsin.  Don is a service veteran with Minox and Leica.  He has worked at the Minox factory in Giessen as well as at Leitz/Leica in Wetzlar.  His excellent work has earned him a very good reputation among Minox and Leica owners alike.

Don explained that unfortunately, only the earlier Minox 35 EL cameras can be easily converted.  He felt that the later models can be converted as well, but the different electronics in these cameras would make the cost significantly higher.

Apparently the early ELs shared much of their electronics with the Minox C, which did offer manual shutter speeds.  Taking advantage of that heritage, it was possible to utilize the manual shutter speed circuitry of the Minox C in order to equip the EL with the shutter speed dial of the Minox C.  With little modification, this can be substituted for the rewind crank of the EL.

 

Operation is very simple.  The shutter speed dial must be set at the desired speed, and the aperture ring turned until the lightmeter needle points to the selected speed.  Only 1/1000 sec. cannot be achieved, simply because the shutter of the EL is not capable of that high a speed.

In order to facilitate film rewinding, Don used the baseplate lock of a Leica M camera, which he installed in the bottom of the EL back, thus adding a bit of Leica to the Minox.  Any other rewind would have worked as well, but he decided on the Leica part because of its easy availability at his shop.  There was also the advantage of the rewind being almost flush with the camera base, thus avoiding an increase in size of this small camera.

 

Don Goldberg can be contacted at:

DAG Camera Repair Service

2128 Vintage Drive

Oregon WI 53575 USA

www.dagcamera.com/

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ELECTRONIC LEICA M6 PROTOTYPE

It isn't very often that we have a chance to look at Leica prototype cameras, especially ones that are relatively recent.  When electronic controls in cameras became an important part of camera design, Leica was not to be left out.  After the Leica M4, the unfortunately not too successful Leica M5, and the resurrections of the M4, like the M4-2, it was time to come up with a new model, aptly labelled as the Leica M6.

The Leica M6 has come and gone, but it is interesting to see what Leica was considering prior to settling on the M6 as we know it.  This was the Leica M6 electronic, which never made it past the prototype stage.  It was a Leica rangefinder camera unlike any I have ever seen.

 Leica M6 Electronic Prototype.  The light meter on a swing arm clearly visible

It was designed by Peter Loseries and produced in 1981.  The camera was based on the Leica R4 body.  The pentaprism and the mirror box were removed and replaced by the Leica M rangefinder.  It also included the angled rewind knob of the Leica M4.  The camera maintained the shutter of the R4 as well as most of the electronics.  This resulted in an M Leica with TTL metering and automatic exposure control.  This was achieved by placing the sensor of the light meter on an arm which would swing out of the way prior to making any exposure, reminiscent of the Leica M5.  The camera would also accept the data back and the motor drives of the R4.  The so-called “M6 electronic” was finished in late 1981 and only four complete prototypes were ever produced.

None of these remained at Leica and only two of them are known to exist. The M6 which finally went to production in 1984 was completely different from this first concept.

Along with the camera, Leica also made a prototype Elmarit-M 28mm f/2.8 with a built-in square lens hood, designed by Rolf Crema.  Only two of these lenses were ever assembled and it never went into production.

Overall, this hybrid LEICA camera has a mix of features of M6 and the R4 with an exterior that is more reminiscent of the M5.  Would it have been a sales success?  We will never know, but considering the resistance to the M5, we should not be surprised that Leica took a more conservative approach with the actual, marketed version of the M6.

LEICA M6 electronic with ELMARIT-M 1:2.8/28mm prototype lens and Leica R4 motor drive

The styling clearly shows a mix of the Leica M4 and Leica M5 design

The prototype Elmarit 28mm f/2.8 mounted on the M6 Electronic with the Leica R4 motor attached

Base plate, LEICA M6 prototype body showing the R4 type motor drive connections.

Special thanks to Peter Coeln of WestLicht for giving permission to use his photographs of the “M6 electronic” on these pages.

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STRANGE RULES OF FACEBOOK REGARDING NUDE ART

Many readers of this blog are aware of its presence on Facebook.   I regularly post links to the articles here on Facebook as well.  Unfortunately, this is not without restrictions.  Facebook’s approach to nude art is, to say the least, archaic.  My presence there, and along with it the presence of the LEICA Barnack Berek Blog was recently threatened with being banned if any nude art would be shown in the future.  Subsequently I have refrained from that and only shown altered images that comply with Facebook’s rules.  That should by no means be misconstrued as agreement with those rules.

 

                                             Original                                                      Facebook sanitized version

Historically, the human form has fascinated artists probably more than any other subject. Therefore it should come as no surprise that the same fascination has extended to photography as well.

While photography has generally been accepted as a valid art form, photography of the nude to this day is struggling with that recognition.  People are very quick to point to nude images being harmful to children, but then fail to come up with a valid answer.

I definitely reject the assertion that any of the images published on this blog are potentially harmful to children. We are talking about the human form here, not some pornographic distortion of it. Why is it that photography is always handled differently in this regard than other forms of art. Is anybody requesting museums to post warning signs for their exhibit’s that show images or statues depicting the human form? Are such sculptures in public places required to do the same? I am a member of MIA, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. I regularly see groups of school children visit the place, as a matter of fact, they regularly have a special children’s day. There are no restrictions as to which areas of the museum are open to the children, including the photography exhibits. Apparently there is no potential harm to children in a museum or in public places, yet nude photographic art is still widely rejected.  Why?

  

Are these images objectionable?

Should they be banned from Facebook?

I have never been able to get any satisfactory answers if these rules by Facebook extend to other forms of art as well.  Is it permissible to show a picture of Michelangelo’s David, or of the Venus de Milo?

Objectionable images?

From a recent Matisse exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of art.

Objectionable?

I must emphasize that the key word here is art.  Many of the great photographers have produced fine art nudes like Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Edward Weston, Man Ray, Helmut Newton…, just to mention a few.  Of course, just as with other art forms, some like Robert Mapplethorpe or Jeff Koonz, for instance, have pushed the envelope by producing images that are questionable to some, but such work should not be generalized and held against other serious photographers.

As it stands right now, I could not write an article about any of the above mentioned artists and show any of their nude art on Facebook.  Their unilateral rejection of nude art is disturbing, not only to me but to many other members of Facebook as well.

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ALPA – LEICA QUALITY IN A COMPETITOR’S CAMERA

When the Leica was first marketed in 1925 it was without competition.  It was an entirely new concept, not seen before.  Thus it was no surprising that the camera immediately became a huge success with competing companies struggling to offer something similar.  Soon Zeiss entered the market with the Contax, as did others, including Kodak with the German made Retina, but none ever had the success of the Leica.

This success continued after the interruption of WWII, with the first post war model, the Leica IIIf and then the incredible M3 which lives on in its basic concept even today with the Leica M.  Of course there were cameras from competing companies as well, the continuation of the Zeiss Contax as the main competitor.  Kodak too tried to get a hold on the 35mm rangefinder market with their incredible Ektra, but Leica remained on top.

This success continued even far into the new 35mm single lens reflex camera market which rapidly gained popularity.  This brings us to an interesting concept rom Switzerland, the Alpa Reflex.

Alpa was an offshoot of the Pignons S.A. company, which made specialty parts (pinions) for Swiss watches.  In the late 1930s, Pignons invited engineer Jacques Bolsky to design a camera for them. This resulted in the Alpa-Reflex in the 1940s.  As did most everyone else, he took a close look at the Leica, but also at the emerging single lens reflex cameras (SLR).  As a company involved in the watchmaking industry, the Alpa camera turned out to be an incredibly well made piece of equipment, mostly hand made with extremely tight tolerances.

What set the camera apart form virtually all cameras at the time is the fact that the camera was a hybrid, offering rangefinder focusing as well as single lens reflex viewing. A closer look, especially at the lens, definitely reveals the influence of the Leica.  Because of the very high quality of the camera, production was low, but quality and prices were high. Even these days, collectible Alpa cameras can fetch quite high auction prices.

 

 The original Alpa Reflex

Alpa was quite innovative with other features too.  There is an ongoing question concerning which camera company was first with such innovations as the quick-return mirror, through-the-lens metering, cells in prism housings and the bayonet lens mount. Alpa was a contender for being first with each of these innovations and several others.

Soon after the introduction of the Alpa Reflex, a new model was introduced.  While the Alpa reflex sported a waist level viewfinder, the new Alpa Prism Reflex was one of the first SLR cameras with a prism viewfinder, but it also maintained rangefinder focusing.

 

Not only did the Apla cameras stand out because of their very high quality, this continued with their lenses as well.  They did not make their own lenses, instead they had them made by some of the best lens makers, Angenieux, Kern, Kinoptik, Schneider, and others.  They were the only company to guarantee optical quality of the lenses they sold.  The Kern Macro Switar lens was a 50 mm lens at F1.8 or F1.9.  It was an apochromat, and is still highly regarded as one of the best standard lenses ever offered. Other apochromats offered by Alpa included the 100 mm F2 and 150 mm F2.8 Kinoptik lenses.  The company retained the same lens mount on the Swiss made cameras from 1942 until they ended production. The back focus of the body was the thinnest of any 35 mm camera, and as a result, it was possible to make adapters to use lenses designed for almost any other 35 mm SLR on an Alpa. Adapters offered included Exakta, M42 (automatic diaphragm and manual), Nikon (auto and manual), Leica R, T-mount, and Contax.

Just as the combination of rangefinder and reflex focusing was a definite deviation from the norm, Alpa continued to be different with follow up models as well.  For instance, the initial film winding knob was replaced with a lever wind, as was the case on other cameras.  But instead of using the common counter clockwise, thumb activated winding lever, Alpa decided to do the opposite.  Their winding lever stuck out from the front of the camera and it was activated by pulling it with the right index finger.  Alpa also continued to use the camera release via a knob on their lenses which also activated the auto stop down of the diaphragm, a system apparently taken over from Exacta.

 

Alpa 9d with 50mm f/1.8 Macro Switar

The reverse wind lever and shutter release on the lens are clearly visible

One of the strangest accessories for the Alpa was without a doubt the motor drive.  While everyone would attach the motor to the bottom of the camera, Alpa decided to put it on the top.  The motor attached by being fastened to the screw fittings normally used to attach a neck strap.  Right above the advance lever a pin stuck out from the motor which, when activated, actually moved the advance lever as it would normally be done by the index finger.  The shutter release was in the back of the motor which necessitated a short cable release in front of the motor to be connected to the normal shutter release on the lenses.

Unfortunately, Alpa did not have the resources to keep up with the technological advances that the mainstream camera companies were introducing in the 1970s and sales began to decline. It is not clear whether the lack of technological "innovation" was due to lack of money, or actually a choice made by the company against the automation brought about by other companies.

In 1990 the company could no longer compete with other manufacturers, especially from outside Europe. The fatal blow however was delivered by problems within the company. Pignons SA declares bankruptcy. The last ALPA model produced by Pignons SA was the ALPA 11.

 

In 1996 Capaul & Weber from Zurich acquired the world-wide rights to the brand-name ALPA. The new owners aimed to continue the tradition of quality established with the classic 35-mm ALPA reflex cameras and to enter into the field of medium-format cameras which resulted in the Alpa 12 camera currently on the market.

 

As Leica enthusiast we should be able to understand a certain resistance to market trends.  The insistence on doing things their way brought considerable financial hardships for Leica, especially their less than lukewarm embrace of digital photography.  Fortunately, with the help of Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, the direction of the company changed and today Leica is once again one of the major players in the high end camera market.

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THE FIRST SUPER WIDE ANGLE LENS FOR LEICA

ZEISS HOLOGON

 

Zeiss Hologon 15mm f/8 on Leica M4-P

Modern lens design techniques have presented us with a relatively large number of super wide angle lenses of 15, 13 and even 12mm focal length.  All of them are very complicated, multi element designs in order to avoid visible distortion and lack of sharpness due to under corrected optical aberrations.  These lenses have become actually quite common, and few photographers even remember the super wide lens which started it all.

For many years, 21 and 20mm lenses were the maximum 35mm photography had to offer.  Anything with a wider angle of coverage had to be of a fish eye design with all the draw backs of pronounced barrel distortion.  All of this was changed with the introduction of the Zeiss Hologon 15mm f/8 in the early 1970s.  This was unusual in many respects.  Not only was the Hologon the first lens to achieve the unheard of angle of coverage of 110° without the usual fish eye effect, it was also the first post-war marriage between Leica cameras and Zeiss lenses.

 

Cross section of the three lens elements and the lens position inside the Zeizz Hologon camera body

Note the extreme proximity of the rear lens element to the film plane

The Hologon was initially developed for the Zeiss Hologon camera, which was part of the Zeiss Contarex system.  At the time it was thought impractical to offer the Hologon as an interchangeable lens, even with mirror lock up in the reflex Contarex.  Instead, Zeiss opted for a separate camera body, based on the Contarex with the mirror box removed and with the lens permanently installed.  It was their claim that extremely precise registration and centering was necessary for the lens to perform satisfactorily.

The Leica M cameras also met these criteria and the lens was made available in the Leica M mount also.  It was sold with a special 15mm viewfinder included.  The 15mm Hologon with its undistorted 110° diagonal angle of view is probably one of the most interesting lens designs ever.  Conventional lens design theories would indicate that a lens with such specifications would have to be of a multi-element design.  Computer aided research of wide angle lenses for aerial photography was conducted.  The normal concept of using many thin elements in wide angle lenses was actually revealed as unnecessary.  In fact, only three thick elements proved necessary to assure good performance of the lens.  Subsequently, the Hologon is of a triplet design, although bizarrely shaped.  Thus we have an example of an optical design which would not have been created by using conventional methods.  Furthermore, it is safe to say that manual computations for this design would have literally taken years to complete.

Construction of the lens made the installation of a diaphragm virtually impossible without compromising overall performance.  It was also impossible to offer a speed faster than f/8 for the same reasons, even though some of the modern optical glasses available today might offer the possibility to increase the speed of the Hologon.

It was felt that the restriction of a fixed aperture of f/8 would not pose any great disadvantage.  Besides, a graduated neutral density filter, offering perfectly even illumination across the entire image area, would effectively render a speed equivalent of f/16.  This could also be used in situations where the standard f/8 aperture would lead to overexposure.

Since the Hologon lens renders virtually distortion free images, the camera should be used perfectly level, to avoid excessively converging lines on verticals.  For that reason the 15mm viewfinder had a built-in spirit level, which helped the photographer keep the camera level, especially when shooting hand held.

The ability of an extremely wide angle lens to render virtually distortion free images allow the photographer to shoot many photographs where it is impossible to tell that an extremely wide angle lens was used.  But this is only one of the advantages of such a lens.  The other is that it produces photographs with a rather different perspective.  It is important to pay special attention to the foreground since the extreme angle of coverage will show a considerable amount of foreground when the camera is held level, even when used horizontally.  It is also important to hold a camera with such a lens very carefully.  It is quite easy for the lens to pick up ones knuckles.

The Hologon was designed to render optimum performance at f/8 across the entire image area.  Due to the optical glasses available at the time of its design, the lens did not quite show the high contrast level typically associated with the high quality optics from Zeiss.  In practical terms, this will result in perfectly sharp enlargement up to 8x10 inches.  Bigger enlargements might show a certain lack of crispness when inspected very closely.  Projection of transparencies, on the other hand, will show no adverse effects, because the projected images usually are not inspected very close up.  The same is true with big enlargements when viewed from a more “normal” viewing distance.

The Hologon allowed focusing from 8 inches to infinity.  Considering the great depth of field rendered by such a short focal length, one might initially think focusing to be superfluous.   But it was proven that the overall performance of the Hologon could be improved if the lens was focused properly.

 

Minneapolis IDS Center

15mm Hologon

 

15mm field of view

Please note: The 15mm field of view images in this article are not separately taken photographs, they were cropped form the original Hologon negatives to present the view of a 50mm lens

Newer, more sophisticated lens designs have improved the speed of super wide angle lenses and even allow for reflex viewing.  Subsequently, the Hologon has long been discontinued.  But it deserves credit for having been the first of the super wides, and its unusual design will always give it a special place in the history of lenses for 35mm cameras.  Those who own a Hologon can consider themselves lucky indeed.

 

Minneapolis Lumber Exchange Building

15mm Hologon

 

50mm field of view

 

Minneapolis IDS Center Crystal Court

15mm Hologon

 

50mm field of view

 

Minneapolis Lumber Exchange Building

15mm Hologon

 

50mm field of view

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