hap
Well-known
Woof! Very old thread indeed.
Hmm... digs around in cabinet ...Yes, I still have a Nikon F plain prism (1962 vintage, needed a complete overhaul) plus Micro-Nikkor 55/3.5 and Nikkor 28/2. Yes, I still have a Leicaflex SL (only the black one), plus an R6.2, and 15, 19, 28, 50, 60, 90, 135, and 180 lenses for it. Yes, still have Leica M4-2 and lenses from 10mm to 135mm for it.
I have a roll of TX135-36 that I loaded into my Minox 35GT-E somewhere late in 2019. I'm on frame 19 so far. That's all the 35mm I've shot since I loaded that camera, and was the first load of 35mm I'd put into a camera for a year prior to that.
Seems when I want to shoot film nowadays, I usually want to shoot medium format or Polaroid. But I still love the Leicaflex SL ... It's just a beautiful camera to hold and use.
Perhaps I should load up a roll and shoot it...
G
oohhh....you have a lot of R lenses there! These are 2 or 3 cam examples?
Godfrey
somewhat colored
Dralowid
Michael
The film in my black SL MOT has only been there for 18 months or so. Don't really know why because the 21mm and 65mm are great fun.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Larry,
You are correct, A F2 still haunts me. I think they are sexy cameras. I love the look and the lines with either a DE-2 or AS Prism.
The romance started in college as I owned a F2 back then. Not for nothing but I feel the F2 led to many-many opportunities for senseless pleasure meaning sex.
Like I said the F2 is a sexy camera, I was an art student, and I would be approached and solicited by women to shoot them. Some were rather blatent asking for nudes.
Cal
Larry Cloetta
Veteran
Wow, my F2 never did that. Do you still have it? Would you sell it to me? Maybe it wasn’t the camera.
But, that’s funny.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Wow, my F2 never did that. Do you still have it? Would you sell it to me? Maybe it wasn’t the camera.
But, that’s funny.
Larry,
What was so funny is how clueless I was, but I figured it out.
I had one frustrated girl ask me if I was gay because I didn't advance to the call of sex fast enough.
In the mid 70's Canon cameras were mucho popular due to bang for the buck, but I had the real pro camera. Girls recognized this.
On NPR I listened to this radio program about animal sexuality. One segment of this program they talked about Guppies the tropical fish. It was explained that in a tank full of Guppies that all the females would copulate with the one male guppy with the long fancy orange tail.
The zoologist explained that this same behavior can be seen in humans where rock stars have groupies. Standing out has a purpose in "natural selection." I was like the male Guppy with the orange tail shooting a Nikon F2 when most everyone else were shooting Canon AE-1's.
This standing out was of course compounded by other things that made me stand out: long hair; skinny but muscular; Chinese extraction (not many Chinese in the U.S. back then) and perhaps my odd looks.
It seems women respond very well to a flamboyant male who stands out in a sea of plain "Guppies."
Cal
phofseth
Established
The comment above on the potential difficulties at assembling these mechanical marvels is well placed.
According to Erwin Puts each camera was sold at a loss. However, the viewfinder is reasonably bright and apart from the idifficulty of mounting newer R-lenses if one knows how to handle focussing, time and aperture setings it is still a worthy competitor to more reecent creations.
I must admit, however, that mine is hanging on the wall as decorations, while the Rs I use are the morst recent ones.
p.
According to Erwin Puts each camera was sold at a loss. However, the viewfinder is reasonably bright and apart from the idifficulty of mounting newer R-lenses if one knows how to handle focussing, time and aperture setings it is still a worthy competitor to more reecent creations.
I must admit, however, that mine is hanging on the wall as decorations, while the Rs I use are the morst recent ones.
p.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Not that I want to create GAS but I found that I could convert my 50 Lux "E60" to a 3-Cam so I could use it on my SL2-MOT.
I bought a Leica Macro adapter for parts and "shaved" the 2.8 cam down to a 1.4 profile. It pretty much just involved a smooth file and some trial fitting.
Lots of the 2-cam and one cam lenses still can be upgraded to 3-cam even though Leica no longer performs this service.
Don't tell anyone my secrete.
For added clarity look at the Leitax website for their lens mount conversions. Of course I still have the "R" chip saved.
Cal
Pál_K
Cameras. I has it.
Just for reference, the SL and SL2 can have full operating and metering functionality with 2-cam lenses (no need to stop down).
3-cam is needed for the R3 and beyond if you want full functionality.
See the chart here:
http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/Lens-R.html
3-cam is needed for the R3 and beyond if you want full functionality.
See the chart here:
http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/Lens-R.html
hap
Well-known
You were just too sexy for your "equipment". The good old days.
fredb
Newbie
Excellent !
Do you think that it would be also ok for the Leicaflex SL (the mirror clearance is a bit worse than the SL2...) ?
JSteed#2
Established
Leicaflex 100% endorsement
Leicaflex 100% endorsement
I have an SL and a Standard. Both are incredibly intuitive and comfortable. The images are exactly what you would expect, and I find the quality comparable to the M lenses.
A spring finally broke in my SL's shutter some forty or so years after the camera left the factory and after a ton of use by me (i got it used already). The problem was easily fixed. The meter is even accurate (not so on my Standard).
The Standard feels even more solid.
100% endorsement.
Leicaflex 100% endorsement
I have an SL and a Standard. Both are incredibly intuitive and comfortable. The images are exactly what you would expect, and I find the quality comparable to the M lenses.
A spring finally broke in my SL's shutter some forty or so years after the camera left the factory and after a ton of use by me (i got it used already). The problem was easily fixed. The meter is even accurate (not so on my Standard).
The Standard feels even more solid.
100% endorsement.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Fred,
This is a good question. I can't answer it.
I did lots of my reverse engineering by using the Leitax adapter site. Lots of photo's and information. I did not have to shave my lens, and my mods are 100% reversable, but this is for use on a SL2.
BTW I have a Leitax R to Nikon adapter that has the "Almost Auto Aperture" which is a spring loaded lever that opens the lens iris.
This adapter's intended use was to mount Leica glass on a Nikon DSLR, but I found this useful for using on my SL (digital) and SL2. The 50 Lux "E60" is a remarkable lens that performs well on digital sensors. You would think that it was designed for digital, but it was not.
Since I also own a Noct-Nikor I already had an F-mount to M-mount adapter.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Hap,
I still have it. I was on a line with my gal in NYC when I hear this young girl behind me say to another girl, "Look at that."
Then her friend says, "That is so cute."
I did not turn around, but I suspect that they were young enough where I could be their grand father. I'm pretty sure they were talking about my skinny muscular butt.
My girl was clueless to the situation.
I was wearing tight Patagonia knickers size 28 that are designed for rock climbing.
Cal
Godfrey
somewhat colored
There's a very small difference in the bayonet mount of the later lenses that cannot work on the original Leicaflex and Leicaflex SL due to mirror clearance problems that prevents them from mounting. I know my Super-Elmar-R 15mm and the Elmarit-R 24mm I once had cannot be fitted to my Leicaflex SL body (that's one of the reasons I have the R6.2).
I don't know whether what you're doing in modifying a lens to be a three-cam or a two-cam is going to change that. But I'd sort of recommend against experimenting since, if there is mechanical interference, it *could* jam the body (or, worse, damage the lens) and be the start of an expensive repair.
Leitz R lenses are superb, and most work very nicely on digital sensors. I use them on my Leica CL body as well as on my Hasselblad 907x using lens mount adapters. The Macro-Elmar-R 100mm with Focusing Bellows R is a fantastic macro and tabletop setup on both those cameras!
G
Vince Lupo
Whatever
I just picked up a very nice Leicaflex Standard Mk 2 from KEH. It was advertised as a Leicaflex SL for $81 but this is what showed up (minus the lens). I was going to send it back but thought for $81 with free shipping it was still a good deal. The light meter seems reasonably accurate, which for these cameras at this point is a bit of a bonus. It has a really nice serial number too -- 1170711, which puts it at 1967. The Mk 2 is nice in that it has the meter cutoff switch built into the film advance lever.
Maybe it's just that I'm getting older, but the one issue I've been having is being able to take a sharp picture without any camera shake. Even at 1/60th of a second it's become a bit of a challenge for me.
Leicaflex Standard Mk 2 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
Maybe it's just that I'm getting older, but the one issue I've been having is being able to take a sharp picture without any camera shake. Even at 1/60th of a second it's become a bit of a challenge for me.
Leicaflex Standard Mk 2 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Vince,
Sorry to hear about your unsteadiness. You are a guy known for shooting a Noctilux wide open.
For you a Noctilux shot wide open is magic. So many great-great shots.
My SL2 (digital) has IBIS. It works really great. Keep your work going.
Cal
Vince Lupo
Whatever
I appreciate it Cal - sometimes I do wonder if I'm wasting my time with these old cameras (among others!). Old habits die hard I suppose.
Pál_K
Cameras. I has it.
Keeping it was a good idea. Your version has, in my opinion, a nicer shutter speed dial, better rewind and dial cluster, better self timer lever, and better lens release button.
I’ve seen photos where people swapped these onto the SL and SL2.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
That's a lovely camera, Vince: Enjoy the heck out of it!
When I look back at what I thought were steady exposures nowadays, I realize that many of them under the examination of today's high resolution scanning and 100% detail view on a big computer screen are actually not that steady. My standards and what I'm used to seeing have changed more than my ability to hold a camera still.
I use a tripod more of the time now. LOL!
G