These days, when we can take
video clips even with a cell phone, and when many digital cameras allow to be
used as video cameras as well, it is easy to forget what preceded this
technology. Yet in the old home movie
days, a few cameras stood out from the crowd as incredibly sophisticated
examples.
One such camera was the
Leicina Special, arguably the most sophisticated Super 8 camera ever made. When Leitz announced many years ago that they
were discontinuing the Leicina Special, they ended one of the lesser known
areas in the history of the Leitz companies.
As we know from photographic
history, the Leica owns its existence to the research that Oskar Barnack did
with an all metal motion picture camera in the early 1900s.
With the advent of 8mm
amateur movies, Leitz entered this market with a camera of their own. The basic concept of the early Leicina
cameras was steadily improved upon. The
initially fixed lenses were replaced by zoom lenses, separate light metering
was replaced by through the lens metering, and electronics took over more and
more of the functions of the camera.
Finally there was the Leicina Special, one of the most advanced Super 8
cameras of all time. Incorporating many
of the Leicina Super RT 1, it was Leitz’s final try to gain sales on the home
movie market. Unfortunately success was
denied. The less elaborate and less
expensive competition won.
But what a camera was lost!
The system core was an
electronically controlled camera body.
It incorporated a through-the- lens metering system. Unlike most other Super 8 cameras, the ASA
film speeds were not automatically keyed in, but had to be set manually. This offered the possibility of an exposure
override, like pushing films or the creative use of over or under
exposure. The bright, flicker free
viewfinder offered three interchangeable focusing screens. At the turn of a knob, one had the choice of
micro prism focusing, split image focusing, and a real image with cross hairs. The meter readout was located above the
extremely bright viewfinder image. Two
release knobs, located on top and in the folding hand grip, activated running
speeds of 9, 18, and 25 frames per second.
Separate switches also offered single frame and a slow motion speed of
54 frames per second. This could be activated
by pushing the slow motion button on top of the camera, in order to switch from
whatever other speed was in use. By
simply pressing and turning the knob, 54 fps were activated permanently. All speeds were governed electronically to
assure perfect frame frequencies, which was particularly important for time
laps photography and sound coupling.
For lap dissolve photography,
a one-button control was all that needed depressing. Activating the switch at the end of a scene
would the automatically start a complete fade-out, visible in the viewfinder,
and automatic film rewind, at the end of which the camera would simply
stop. Starting a new scene at some time
later would then automatically start with an automatic fade-in, even if the
camera had been shut off. This, however,
required the Leicina automatic control unit.
More about that later.
The viewfinder offered a
built-in diopter control from -3 to +3.
It also had a shutter blind, in order to avoid erroneous exposure during
copy or similar types of work, where the eyepiece is not shaded by the
head. The extremely large exit pupil of
the viewfinder made it possible even for eye glass wearers to quickly observe
the entire viewfinder image.
The elongated body shape
offered an extremely easy handling of the camera. With one hand on the hand grip, the other on
top of the camera, and the forehead against the rubber pad in the back of the
camera, the camera offered an extremely sturdy three point support, even during
hand-holding. It didn’t make any difference
if one was right or left handed, since all controls were positioned such that
they could easily be reached with either hand.
The rubber pad in the back of the camera also contained the easily
interchangeable battery pack, which supplied power to all functions of the
camera.
A small dial on the side of
the camera changed the built-in filters between outdoor and indoor lighting.
Unlike most other cameras
before, the Leicina Special offered interchangeable lenses. It was the only Super 8 camera on the market
that did not utilize the relatively small C-mount. Instead it made use of the much sturdier
Leica M mount. The lens to film plane
distance was the same as in the Leica M cameras, meaning that all the Leica M
lenses could be used on the camera as well.
In addition, there were adapters for Leica reflex lenses,
Pentax/Praktica type screw mount lenses, Minolta bayonet lenses and the Ariflex
type motion picture lenses. All lenses
offered through-the-lens exposure control via match needle operation. The possibility of the accessory lenses
offered astounding possibilities in the telephoto range. Considering that the normal focal length of a
Super 8 camera is approximately ¼ of that of a 35mm camera, this means that
even a 50mm lens is already the equivalent of a 200mm lens on a 35mm
camera. Coupling the 800mm Telyt with
the 2x extender would mean the equivalent of a 6,400mm f/12.6 lens in
35mm. The possibilities are mind
boggling.
Leicina Special, shown here with 90mm f/2
Summicron M and 50mm f/1.4 Summilux M
Specifically for the Leicina
Special, Leitz offered two lenses, the 10mm f/1.8 Macro Cinegon, and the 6-66
f/1.8 Optivaron, manufactured by Schneider in Kreuznach, Germany. Both the Macro Cinegon and the Optivaron had
to be used with the same match needle exposure control. But the Optivaron could either be converted
or bought with the Leicinamatic control unit.
This had various functions. From
a number of electronic contacts on the front of the camera the Leicinamatic was
coupled to the power supply of the camera.
It contained two motors, one of which was for the power zoom. It could be infinitely varied from a 1.5 to 6
second full 6-66 zoom range. Manual
zooming was fully maintained without the necessity to switch over from one to
the other. The second motor effectuated
the automatic exposure control. Unlike
conventional movie cameras, where usually two v-shaped diaphragm blades are
attached directly to the meter movement, the servo motor in the Leicinamatic
would receive information directly from the meter, in turn varying the lens
opening by actually turning the diaphragm ring.
Thus the lens could utilize a standard, multi bladed diaphragm, which
has proven to render better image quality.
A small switch could easily change between automatic and manual exposure
control.
The Optivaron also offered
macro focusing features, making it possible to focus as close as the surface of
the front element of the lens. Since the
focal length used influenced the macro focusing, the zoom lever could be used
for focusing, allowing the possibility of power focusing in the macro range.
Due to the acceptability of
all the various lens mounts listed before, this also included a large number of
accessories like bellows, microscope adapters, even an endoscope.
One of the most useful
accessories was the Leicina electronic control unit. It could be used for the current supply and
connection to external energy sources like a car battery, house currant
etc. But it also functioned as a superb
timer offering the possibility of automatic time lapse photography. Single frame exposures could be taken at
rates from one frame per 0.15 sec. to one frame per 6 minutes. Furthermore, the length of a scene could be
automatically governed within a range of 0.2 to 10 seconds. This feature could also be combined with the
interval timer. The electronic control
unit had an electronic flash outlet, which offered the possibility of
connecting any electronic flash to the camera.
Leicina Special with 6-66mm
Optivaron and Leicinamatic
Leicina Special with 50mm
f/1.4 Summilux M
Via the electronic control
unit, the camera could also place timing impulses of alternately one frame or
one every four frames to a tape recorder.
This offered professional quality sound synch, otherwise found only in
professional type motion picture camera of 16 or 35mm.
The extremely large base of
the elongated camera bottom offered an oversized platform to attach to a
tripod, making the Leicina substantially sturdier on a tripod than any other
8mm camera.
In the interest of time and
space, I could only give a description of the main features of the camera. Hopefully, it helped to make the reader aware
of what an incredible instrument this camera really was. The convenience of use is unmatched by any
other 8mm camera ever made. The only
improvement that I would have liked to see was a mirror type shutter, similar
to the one used in Beaulieu cameras, in order to offer full light transmission
to the film as well as the viewfinder.
The beam splitter in the Leicina, while mechanically more reliable, did
present a light loss of approximately
20% to the film, by splitting 10% of the light off to the light metering system
and 10% to the viewfinder. Other than
that, the camera presented a truly professional approach to the Super 8 camera
system.
The camera may have been
certain overkill. The resulting
relatively high price limited the market substantially, and even the closest
competitor to the Leicina, the French Beaulieu, had to revert to less
expensive, Japanese made compromise cameras, in order to keep the entire line
profitable. Since this is a practice
that Leitz refused to follow, it surely had a lot to do with the decision to
discontinue any further participation in the field of motion picture
cameras. Meanwhile, anyone owning a
Leicina Special at the time was indeed a lucky fellow.
However, as much as
yesterday’s technology this is compared to modern digital motion picture
cameras, the Leicina might not be quite ready for existence in museums
only. I recently came across an article
describing the development of a digital super 8 cartridge. The Nolab Digital Super 8 Cartridge will
allow any Super 8 camera to be converted to allow digital recording, thus
allowing for the Leicina Special to become a very viable digital motion picture
camera.
Nolab digital Super 8
cartridge
Nolab cartridge inserted in
Nizo Super 8 camera
Designer Hayes Urban had the
following to say about the device:
At the heart of the Nolab
Digital Super 8 Cartridge is a tiny but powerful 5 megapixel image sensor
similar to the one in your smartphone. Combined with a custom glass objective
lens, the sensor focuses on a ground glass image plane pressed against the
camera’s film gate. By using a 5 megapixel sensor we can capture 720p HD
footage at the native Super 8 aspect ratio of 4:3.
Processors integrated into
the image sensor are able to process and
encode the footage in real time to a removable SD card. Optionally the same
processors can apply one of two predefined Film Look color correction filters
to the footage.
That sounds simple enough, To allow the Nolab
cartridge’s image sensor to synchronize with the camera’s shutter, a unique
sensor had to be developed. It’s this design that allows the cartridge to work
properly in any camera at any frame rate up to 60 fps.
Let’s hope this enters the
market soon. It would definitely allow
many good Super 8 cameras to be saved form oblivion. The Leicina Special definitely very much
deserves it.
Here are the basic specs:
Features
720p HD video capture in 4:3
format
Frame rate automatically
adjusts to camera settings (up to 60 fps)
Integrated Film Look options
Unlimited storage via
removable SD card
Battery and recording status
light
Specifications
Image Sensor: 5 megapixel
Omni Vision OV5600 series
Video Encoding: 720p HD H.264
(4:3)
Memory: Removable high
capacity SD card
Connections: One mini USB
port (primarily for charging)
Battery: Rechargeable LiPo
battery providing up to 3 hours of continuous recording
Housing: Machined aluminum,
color anodized and laser etched
Height: 70mm
Width: 75mm
Depth: 24mm
Weight: 160 g
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