Leica III (F) obsession continues...
So I've had my Leica III (F) for a few weeks now and even though I have barely finished half the roll of Fuji Neopan 400 that I put in it - I must have taken over 10 photos OF the camera (using a small digital camera (lesson learnt: the Fuji FinePix Z1 sucks)).
I posted some photos, and thoughts, over at RangefinderForum.com as I found myself taking photos OF my new-old Leica more than I dragged it out and USED it - a thought went through my mind: Had I now crossed the line and become a 'fondling, collecting gear-head'?
Well, as hard as it is to perform a proper selfdiagnosis - especially the state of ones mind - I came to my senses and settled on the fact that I am a 'fondling, collecting, gear-head classic camera user'.
As much as I admire the design and quality of these older cameras I don't think I could ever just put them on a shelf and not use them. Apart from cameras my passion also extends to photography and there are for that reason often times when my small camera collection transforms from being pretty shelf-warmers to tools.
My Hasselblad comes with me when I want to take certain type of photos (or if I am in a certain mood) as does my Leica(s), Canon or Olympus cameras.
So should you happen upon me, sitting at a cafe mindlessly fondling the rewind knob of my 1933 Leica..don't think too badly about me...I may just have taken a photo or two :)
Leica III (F) and Leica M3
posted by Richard | 11:23 AM
4 Comments:
Rich you have to stop someday making these kind of posts or I'll have go end moving under a bridge, lol ! :) I can understand you're obsessed with your last Leica, for it is just a beauty !
I'm currently 'only' waiting for a user M2 body, but I'm afraid of what could come next!
Great blog, just keep it growing.
Cheers!
Oscar
We all know you're not a fondler, rich. Looking forward to see a few pics taken with your Leica III.
I don't think you're obsessive enough! I've been using screw-mount Leica's for 25 years (since I was 15) and currently own seven of them, including two MOOLY motors, a SCNOO rapid winder, Haber & Fink three lens turret, and all those weird rare lenses like the 73mm Hektor and the 'Fat' Elmar. Last year my wife and I did a two-week trip in England and I took a Leica III and a IIIa, and it was so different capturing the sights (and sites) with that equipment than with anything modern (as in post 1950!). We're going to the Netherlands in a few weeks and I intend on doing the same thing, but using a 50mm f/1.5 Xenon instead of the Summar. As a professional photographer, these types of cameras are great because they are a nice break/release from the digital stuff that pro's seem to be using most of the time when they're working -- keeps the joy of photography alive, and believe me, doing it for a living can definitely take the joy out of it! BTW, there is a slightly easier way to load the film: You remove the baseplate, spool and lens. Set the shutter on 'T', and you can then guide the film with the spool down the slot and see it through the open shutter window (it is not necessary to trim the film). Tighten the film with the rewind, making sure that the sprocket holes are lined up with the sprocket. Then close the shutter and you're off!
There's a 'jewel-like' (to swipe one writer's description of using Barnack Leicas) feel to them. Film loading is a chore, but part of the ritual.
I have a IIIc. There are times using it that I fully recognize just how much a quantum leap the introduction of the M3 was (I also have two M3s).
Beware: If/when the Leica bug bites, there is no cure. When others see their plastic digitals become obsolescent mere months after release, I smile wanly knowing that my photographic clock is pleasantly frozen in 1956.
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