Photography

cshimokita
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Welcome to the Photography Forum

Welcome to the PuristSPro Photography Forum.  By way of self introducion I would like to talk about one of my camera kits. But really any photo related topic is welcome, or just put up one of your recent photos.  Gear, processes, philosophy of photography... what ever the interest, if it's related to photography, it's welcome here...

I currently own and use a couple of different camera systems. In the summer of 2007 I picked up a nice Leica IIIf and a Canon 50mm f1.8 lens. My first roll of film with that combination was Fujifilm ACOS ISO100 (one of my favorate b&w negative films). This is clearly a historical kit and that's part of the charm...

Leica IIIf

The Leica III (also know as a Leica F) was introduced in 1933 and different versions were produced until 1960, including the Leica IIIa (Leica G)... after which there was the IIIb, IIIc, IIId, IIIf, the III series ending with the IIIg.

The Leica IIIf (which is the version I have) was produced from 1950-1952/53 (postwar... reference dates can vary by source) and newly included features were flash synchronization and (for some IIIf's) a self-timer. Early Leica's were often times retrofit with features and/or features were added mid production run making identification a little difficult.

Some main features of the IIIf...

1) there is no internal light meter nor electrical system... everything is mechanical.

2) there are two shutter speed dials... the "fast" speeds being 1/25, 1/50, 1/75, 1/100, 1/200, 1/500, 1/1000, and B. The "slow" speeds are 1/2, 1/5, 1/10, 1/15, and 1/25.

3) the rangefinder and viewfinder windows are separate (different windows for each function), use one to focus and the other to compose. The viewfinder is fixed, what you see is what you get when using a 50mm lens. For other focal lengths you either use an external finder or guess at the composition.

4) the film is loaded by removing the bottom plate of the camera. It's actually very easy to load the film (don't believe the stories you hear or read).

That's about it really... just grab a light meter, load some film and start taking photos. My current LTM lenses...

Canon 28mm S-Mount lenses included the f/2.8, Serenar f/3.5 I, and f/3.5 II, of which I have the f/2.8 which was introduced in June 1957. It takes 40mm filters which are a bit of a challenge to find.

Canon 50mm S-Mount lenses included 16 different versions... I have the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II (which has a minimum aperture of f/22)... which was introduced in February 1956.

Canon 135mm S-Mount lenses included the f/2.5, three versions of f/3.5, and two version of f/4. I have the f/3.5 version III which was introduced in January 1961.  For the 135mm lens I have picked up a Leica SHOOC external finder...

Shibuya Crossing (Tokyo) July 2007 - Leica IIIf w/ Canon 50mm f/1.8

Thanks for reading and shoot more film...
Casey

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