First photo from my Leica

[Mudman]

I'm impressed, I love the look of the camera. This is a quick scan, the computer autocropped 😡 and I adjusted the levels a little but this is about straight out of the camera. I'm going to have relax my views a little bit, the viewfinder shows more than what the lens actually captured. This is also a very quick scan at low res, I did it during lunch. I really like this camera though!

 

[Luddite Frank]

Good shot !

What model Leica, which lens, what f-stop , film, etc ?


Lately I've been taking my film to the Ritz agency in the local dept. store, and every time I pick-up my prints, the salesman gives me the "digital needle" 🙄 ... I've tried to politely convince him that I'm simply not interested in digital photography; I've waited 30 years to play with Leicas, and when all the machinery is working, they're a darn fine camera ! 😎

(( Wait'll I tell Ritz-man when I drop-off my next roll of 135, that it was shot at a Christmas party, using my Synchroblitzer (model VII) and FLASHBULBS ! 😀 ))



Enjoy your Barnack !!!


Luddite Frank

 

[Cron]

......... and many will follow - have fun

 

[John Shriver]

You lose image size close up. The viewfinder isn't too generous at a distance.

 

[john neal]

Hey Mudman, that's your IIIb right?

Great stuff - very good range of tones there. Definitely worth persevering with 🙂

 

[Mudman]

Leica iii from 1939, Elmar 50mm f3.5 in meter that I'm assuming is from the same year (I know its uncoated), f4 @ 1/60th of a second maybe? I'm not sure off the top of my head, but it was a bit dull out that day, sounds about right. Tmax 100. This is my first roll of tmax 100, and the first time I've processed in 3 years. I have more, I'll post them later. What do you guys think of the VIOOH (is that how its spelled) viewfinder? I saw a used one in 8/10 condition for $40-50 dollars.
John - just a iii, it doesn't go to 1000, and the viewfinder is separate from the rangefinder.

Here are the rest - note again, that the computer autocropped 🙁 and that these haven't been processed and are low res
el linko
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21102978@N04/sets/72157603565469698

 

[Luddite Frank]

The VIOOH is NOT the friendliest multi-focal finder... the "longer" lens you set it for, the tinier the image becomes... set at "135", the VIOOH image is microscopic. Also, the optics can be hazy.

I have a Nikon multi-focal from my Dad's Nikon S, which has a MUCH larger frame, and unlike the Leitz finders, the viewing frame size remains constant as you change settings: the "135" setting is just as large & bright as the "35". It is my "user" finder. My VIOOH stays at home in its box.

Other good multi-focals are Tewe and the Zeiss "turret" finder for the Contax.

(Don't know how good the Russian turret finders are; they run a lot cheaper than the Zeiss.)

Don't mean to blaspheme here in the Land of Leitz; the VIOOH is a big improvement over their first MF finder: the VIDOM (image was upside down & backwards; at least the VIOOH corrected this), but neither finder was the "best MF finder ever made", in my humble opinion. I used my VIOOH once; it's better than nothing, but barely.

In short, save your money for a nice Nikon, Tewe, or Zeiss MF finder, and grab a VIOOH for collector purposes when you run across one cheaply; I wouldn't drop more than $50 for a very nice one, with the leather case.

Good luck !

LF

 

[Mudman]

Good to know. I'm not really a collector; all of my cameras are users. I can't afford to collect right now, I'm a student.

 

[wolves3012]

(Don't know how good the Russian turret finders are; they run a lot cheaper than the Zeiss.)

LF

The russian turret finders are an exact copy of the Zeiss finder. Limited parallax correction but otherwise they're very good. Handy in showing some of the view outside the frame too, so you can see what you might just want to include. For the price I think they'd be hard to beat. There is also the Helios brightline finder which would be quite bright but suffers smaller and smaller frames for longer lenses.

 

[MartinP]

I second the convenience of the Zeiss/Russian viewfinders. They are made with little lenses on the front so that what you see is actually a useful size, unlike the Leica version. I did try a Wray copy of the Leica viewfinder long ago, but it was not at all comfortable to use.

 

[peter_n]

Don't mean to blaspheme here in the Land of Leitz; the VIOOH is a big improvement over their first MF finder: the VIDOM (image was upside down & backwards; at least the VIOOH corrected this), but neither finder was the "best MF finder ever made", in my humble opinion. I used my VIOOH once; it's better than nothing, but barely.

Even the modern Leica finders don't cut it Frank! You're much better off with a CV finder. However the VIDOM can be useful because looking at an image upside-down means you're just looking at graphical shapes and that can be a help in composition.

 

[M. Valdemar]

Why did you kill the dog before you took it's picture?

I'm impressed, I love the look of the camera. This is a quick scan, the computer autocropped 😡 and I adjusted the levels a little but this is about straight out of the camera. I'm going to have relax my views a little bit, the viewfinder shows more than what the lens actually captured. This is also a very quick scan at low res, I did it during lunch. I really like this camera though!

 

[Luddite Frank]

Even the modern Leica finders don't cut it Frank! You're much better off with a CV finder. However the VIDOM can be useful because looking at an image upside-down means you're just looking at graphical shapes and that can be a help in composition.

"However the VIDOM can be useful because looking at an image upside-down means you're just looking at graphical shapes and that can be a help in composition."

-kind of like reading one's creative writing from back to front to catch spelling errors ?


"You're much better off with a CV finder." - Does CV make a multi-focal finder ?


LF

 

[peter_n]

"You're much better off with a CV finder." - Does CV make a multi-focal finder ?


LF

No, not to my knowledge. I have a Russian turret myself and went back to the single finders. The one thing that I've found attracts attention to an RF camera of any stripe is having a finder on top. The smaller the better...

 

[Mudman]

Why did you kill the dog before you took it's picture?

Funny. She saw me lean down and thought I was going to scratch her belly. She was a bit upset I was only taking a photo. Here are a few more I scanned in today off of my second roll.

I think I'll retry shooting the last one, the exposure was a bit off.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2334/2175835604_9ccc25fa2c.jpg

 

[sfb_dot_com]

Hi

I've just re-acquired the Helios brightline viewfinder for use with my newly acquired CV 35mm Skopar lens on the III (a plain III) It's fine, and so far hasn't attracted any more attention than the camera itself. It works very well with that focal length and so far the only downside is it's a bit fiddly to slide on and off as I don't have a case that will fit with it on. I've just got back a roll shot with this, so I'll post one or two to show when I can.

Regards

Andy

 

[myoptic3]

(She saw me lean down and thought I was going to scratch her belly. She was a bit upset I was only taking a photo.) Yeah, I'm the same way.

The last three shots look great. They definitely have that old time Leica look to them. Could you let us know what the film was? Thanks, Steve.

 

[Mudman]

Tmax 100 is the film I used

 

[payasam]

I now use a turret finder with a Zorki 1C, but my experience of the VIOOH -- which was on a IIIc -- was excellent. The image does get smaller with increasing focal length (though I was quite comfortable at 85 mm), but it is immensely accurate. To my way of thinking, Barnack type cameras need accessory finders even for 50 mm. Arguably the best is the SBOOI.