Thursday, October 27, 2016

ODE TO LEICA NO. 1048416








It is no secret that Leica cameras can and will last for a long time, and I thought it would be interesting to see an account from a Leica user that has enjoyed the service of his Leica over many years.  One such photographer is Bob Nandell, now retired from his position as staff photographer for the Des Moines Register.  In January of 1982, he wrote the following article:


H A P P Y  T W E N T I E T H

January, 1982, marks a 20th birthday.  No, it’s not a birthday for one of my children.  It’s a 20th birthday for No. 1048416.

Leica M No. 1048416 arrived at the camera shop as ordered in January 1962, with a 50mm Elmar attached.  Since then, No. 1048416 has produced pictures for five different newspapers.  For several lonely years it was its owner’s only camera.  For one year it worked for the owner’s wife, producing pictures for a small weekly newspaper.  It has had a dozen different lenses attached to it during the 20 years, but usually the tiny Elmar stayed in place.

Only once did it ever visit a repair shop.  The knocks and bumps of covering urban riots in 1967 caused its rangefinder to need adjusting.

Right now it looks a bit tired.  The chrome finish is worn shiny, a bit of brass is showing through, and some of the leather is held in place with super-glue.  Black tape still protects some of the corners, though.

But when No. 1048416 is plucked from its place in the gadget bag, and its film transport handle is turned, it still feels new.  It still has the compact, solid feel that enables it to pick off pictures at 1/15 sec., or blink into a sunset at 1.100 sec.

Retirement?  Out of the question!

Sure, it has an M4-2 to keep it company now, and sometimes No. 1048416 has to share bag space with a big, black single lens reflex Leica, but its place has been permanently earned.

Whether it is on braking news events or taking pictures in the backyard, No. 1048416 still handles a hefty workload.

After all, it still delivers a 100% effort without a complaint.


Definitely an interesting account.  Being that it was written in 1982, one has to wonder how the camera fared over its first 50 years.  Bob Nandell came to the rescue with an update titled…


LEICA M2 No 1048416 - HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY

Hi:  I stumbled across your site and I noticed you had reproduced a photo I took in 1982 of Leica M2 number 1048416 at the time of its 20th year of service. Your cut-line wondered how it would be doing on its 50th birthday.

Well, attached are some scans to answer your question.

Leica M2 number 104816 continues to be most instrumental in my black and white fine art photography. I am now retired from a 45 year career in the newspaper photography business.

Number 1048416 was the prime weapon in the production of my current (4th) book of Iowa themed poems and photographs titled 'Maple Street Stories'(PBL Publishing LTD., Ottumwa, Iowa).

 

It is always loaded with Ilford HP5.  Its viewfinder has dimmed a bit with age, but mechanically the camera is still perfect although its exterior has literally been worn shiny by my hands over 50 years of use. It is wearing its fourth neck-strap. The little 50mm f/2.8 Elmar continues to be shrieking sharp. (note: it has never been 'collapsed', always left extended.  I prefer it because much of what I do is shot at f/11 or f/16 out-doors. I want depth, not speed.

 

 

Special note, I am NOT a Leica collector. I simply have used (and abused) them.
Over the decades I used a number of Leica M and SLR bodies for film work, but through it all this M2 has been the prime battle-ax. The little 50 simply stays put on the front of it. It's just the way I see things for composition purposes. It's that simple. It's how I see photos, through those little 50mm frame-lines in the view finder.

 

 
  
 


 

Quite often when I am picture hunting number 1048416 is the only camera I am carrying. Nobody cares about or notices an old guy walking down a small town street with an old worn-out-looking camera in his hand. Yes, I own a couple digital whiz-bangs to chase grand-kids with and make routine snaps. But my serious black and white film and print photography is still done with the Leica. It has been my friend for 50 years now.

Robert Nandell


I am sure I speak for more than just myself in wishing number 1048416 a belated Happy Fiftieth.  May it go for another fifty.


________________________________________________________________________________________

To comment or to read comments please scroll past the ads below.
All ads present items of interest to Leica owners.


 


 
www.classicconnection.com                                     www.oberwerth.com

 www.mgrproduction.net                                              www.leicastoremiami.com

     
                                             www.eddycam.com                                       

                                                                      


 
 www.lenstab.com                                                                   http://www.tamarkin.com/


                          
                             For rare and collectible cameras go to:               http://www.tamarkin.com/leicagallery/upcoming-shows
                                 http://www.tamarkinauctions.com/

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Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

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Tuesday, October 25, 2016

BEFORE THE LEICA STORES - THE FIRST LEICA ONLY STORES





SINGLE BRAND SPECIALISTS

Leica has been busy opening their exclusive Leica stores all over the world.  It is a successful concept that is serving them well.  But as new as this concept might appear, it has been done before.

In 1979, Photo Visuals of Minneapolis was the first camera store ever to sell exclusively Leica equipment.  Initially the business was planned as a photography studio.  Prior to that, the owners worked at a store that sold more Leica equipment than any other in the area.  Jim Kuehl, the Leica representative at the time, called them, saying that he could not afford to lose their expertise and customer base.  Leicas had always been a favorite of the two owners and with the help of Leica, at that time in Rockleigh, New Jersey, they placed an opening order to obtain a Leica franchise.  Once the order arrived, thoughts turned to how best to promote it.  That’s when the thought came up to promote it as the first ever exclusively Leica dealer.  The concept took off beyond expectations and the studio aspect of the business was soon left behind.  The store soon sold new and used Leica equipment on all continents with the exception of Antarctica.

 
Photo Visuals 1980

The concept apparently had a lot of appeal and soon Alvin’s Photo Supply of Pasadena opened California’s First Exclusively Leica store.  They were followed by The Darkroom “Leica and Leica only” in San Francisco.

But this was not only to be found in the US.  Germany too has dealers that sell just one brand exclusively.  The German magazine FOTOwirtschaft recently published an article by Klaus Jendrissek with the title LUXUS PROBLEME (Luxury problems) about one of the largest Leica dealers in the country.  That too is an exclusively Leica store.  He wrote:

The Bilderfürst (picture prince) - camera merchant Jan Dittmar from Fürth - has definite problems.  He has a waiting list for photography equipment and many items sell beyond their manufacturer suggested retail price.

 Aussen ganz 600

Leica_Shop_innen_2_400   Leica_Shop_innen_1_400

For a Leica 50mm f/0.95 customers gladly pay 8,000 euros ($8,900) if it is available.  If not, Jan Dittmer will put their name on a waiting list.  When new deliveries arrive, the customers will be notified.  Customers often wait two years for some Leica products, and they understand.  These cameras and lenses are being made by hand with great care and that takes time.

Dittmar doesn’t need to explain, as a well-known Leica specialist he has the complete confidence of the Leica community.

“You have to make a decision,” he explains.  “Either you offer a selection of different makes.  That means you tie up a lot of capital in your wares.  Then you need at least a representative number of Canons and Nikons, possibly also a few Olympus items and one or two Sony products.  At that point it gets a bit tight for what else the market has to offer.  Or you put all your eggs in one basket and specialize.”

That means, if done right, extreme specialization can even be successful at places where you might not expect it.  Jan Dittmar is concentrating totally on Leica.  In his store of 450 square feet you will only find Leicas and nothing else.

The business concept is relatively simple from one point of view but also difficult from another one.  With such approaches retail prices are not everything.  Most of those who enter the store know that Leicas are often sold at fixed prices.

That is the unproblematic part of the concept which is followed at Dittmar’s Leica Boutique.  The difficulty on the other hand is to be able to obtain certain pieces of equipment.  It’s not that Leica doesn’t care, but with their production methods they currently aren’t able to do more.  Dittmar’s customers can see that for themselves.  Several times a year the Leica man offers invitations for trips/workshops to the Leica factory.  There they can experience for two days that real specialists are needed to create the optical-mechanical marvels, and people with that kind of experience and such golden hands are rare.  The consequence: the customers will be able to look forward to their orders for longer than they had hoped.

Service and care of the past are part of such a single-brand-boutique as well.  Because the optics from the 70s also fit the digital Leicas of today, they are much sought after.  A used Summilux 80mm f/1.4, which sat on a shelf for 900 euros ($1,185) a while ago, now fetches 4,000 euros ($5,280).  Leica is also updating the analog lenses for use on digital Leica equipment.  For 160 euros ($210) yesterday’s lenses become lenses that can also be “understood” by the digital Leicas.  Thus the used lenses are being offered a new life and increasing prices.

Customers are coming to Fürth from far away.  Since Dittmar always goes by “purchase if something is available, to have it when asked for” he is able to accommodate more customers wishes, even very unusual ones, than his I-have-Leicas-also colleagues.

His store is known all over Europe and even further.  The Japanese, some of the greatest admirers of original Leica technology, order from Dittmar or they come personally for a visit.  The Leica specialist is also delivering Leica lenses to Canon film crews.  Attached to Canon cameras with an adapter, they deliver amazingly good results.

Right now the photo business is a lot more fun than in years past.  Because of floods and other natural disasters equipment is often in short supply.  Therefore customers are more accepting of the prices than in the past.  Many a merchant has seen with disbelief that several items sold for above the manufacturer suggested retail price and that without customer complaints.  When has that ever happened the years past?

Taking the above into consideration, Leica came to the game relatively late.  But they are following a successful concept and their success as well as the successes of other exclusively Leica stores prove them right.

________________________________________________________________________________________

To comment or to read comments please scroll past the ads below.
All ads present items of interest to Leica owners.


 


 
www.classicconnection.com                                     www.oberwerth.com

 www.mgrproduction.net                                              www.leicastoremiami.com

     
                                             www.eddycam.com                                       

                                                                      


 
 www.lenstab.com                                                                   http://www.tamarkin.com/


                          
                             For rare and collectible cameras go to:               http://www.tamarkin.com/leicagallery/upcoming-shows
                                 http://www.tamarkinauctions.com/

Click on image to enlarge
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

Click on image to enlarge
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography

Click on image to enlarge
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography





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