rxmd
May contain traces of nut
I just went to visit my grandfather, who's in his nineties by now and whom I don't get to see all that often since I started working in Central Asia. Somewhat unexpectedly, I came back in possession of his Leica R5, lenses in 35/2.8, 50/2 and 90/2.8, and a bunch of accessories.
He has been taking pictures all his life, starting during the war, where he served six years as an antiaircraft radar engineer where he basically saw the worst of what happened in Germany at the time (Cologne, Ruhr, Hamburg, several months at the Auschwitz III refinery in Monowice in 1944, and Dresden). I've seen some of his 6x9 negatives taken during the 1943 Hamburg air raid, with the firestorm visible as a 500-meter-high column of flame over the skyline of the city. After the war, he was a classic member of the German equivalent of the G.I. Generation, accomplishing the Wirtschaftswunder economic boom in the 1950s, and at the same time having their own difficult time making sense of what had happened and what was happening. With him (and my grandmother born in 1909), I've been lucky in that I've always had living windows into the history of the last century at the touch of my fingertips, with all insights into all the tragedies and success stories, catastrophes and accomplishments, on a national as well as a personal level.
Photography-wise, he has always been what today would be called an "advanced amateur", starting with Leicas in the 1950s, switching to Nikkormats, a brief intermezzo with an Icarex, and then Leica Rs. The slides he took of me with the Icarex when he visited us in Sudan in the late 1970s are among the first pictures I have of myself. I think whenever he went somewhere, I remember him taking a camera with him. Now I'm sitting here with a Leica SLR bequeathed to me under the obligation that it finds good use. The camera itself feels excellent, very compact with good ergonomics, if a bit on the heavy side for such a small package, and the first roll is half through already. I don't think I ever looked into a third SLR system after Canon FD and Nikon, but now it looks like I'll go back to Kyrgyzstan with a nice R5 in place of the Nikon.
He has been taking pictures all his life, starting during the war, where he served six years as an antiaircraft radar engineer where he basically saw the worst of what happened in Germany at the time (Cologne, Ruhr, Hamburg, several months at the Auschwitz III refinery in Monowice in 1944, and Dresden). I've seen some of his 6x9 negatives taken during the 1943 Hamburg air raid, with the firestorm visible as a 500-meter-high column of flame over the skyline of the city. After the war, he was a classic member of the German equivalent of the G.I. Generation, accomplishing the Wirtschaftswunder economic boom in the 1950s, and at the same time having their own difficult time making sense of what had happened and what was happening. With him (and my grandmother born in 1909), I've been lucky in that I've always had living windows into the history of the last century at the touch of my fingertips, with all insights into all the tragedies and success stories, catastrophes and accomplishments, on a national as well as a personal level.
Photography-wise, he has always been what today would be called an "advanced amateur", starting with Leicas in the 1950s, switching to Nikkormats, a brief intermezzo with an Icarex, and then Leica Rs. The slides he took of me with the Icarex when he visited us in Sudan in the late 1970s are among the first pictures I have of myself. I think whenever he went somewhere, I remember him taking a camera with him. Now I'm sitting here with a Leica SLR bequeathed to me under the obligation that it finds good use. The camera itself feels excellent, very compact with good ergonomics, if a bit on the heavy side for such a small package, and the first roll is half through already. I don't think I ever looked into a third SLR system after Canon FD and Nikon, but now it looks like I'll go back to Kyrgyzstan with a nice R5 in place of the Nikon.
Vobluda
Well-known
Great story, enjoy!
Do you have any scans of yours grandfathers pictures?
Do you have any scans of yours grandfathers pictures?
titrisol
Bottom Feeder
You really have a priceless posession!
The life of your grandpa is one of those windows to the past that should be a beacon for our future.
Now the R5 was a wonderful camera, enjoy it.. and if you are in Germany why not have it serviced before you take it with you it will save you many troubles
The life of your grandpa is one of those windows to the past that should be a beacon for our future.
Now the R5 was a wonderful camera, enjoy it.. and if you are in Germany why not have it serviced before you take it with you it will save you many troubles
Steve M.
Veteran
When you see the photos it delivers you'll forget about the weight, and your other gear will either be sold or sit on the shelf. Great camera w/ great lenses. The R system is very under appreciated and undervalued.
It has an electronic shutter and a good meter (use the spot, not the Full Field). If it's working OK you won't need a service on it.
It has an electronic shutter and a good meter (use the spot, not the Full Field). If it's working OK you won't need a service on it.
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Rogrund
Antti Sivén
Like Vobluda said, great story!
paulfish4570
Veteran
I love hearing stories of grandparents who made their grandchildren feel special. You are blessed, indeed ...
direwolf101
Well-known
As mentioned previously, what a great story. Thanks for sharing. (It'd be awesome to see some of your grandfather's photos!). Enjoy your R5.
integrale
Happy Amateur
Congratulations! you now have one of the best SLR systems available.
The R system is very very good with some of the very best Leica lenses. There is no native digital, contemporary solution available so I have converted several R-lenses to Nikon mount and use the with my D700, F3 and FG.
The Elmarit-R 35/2.8 is my all-time favourite SLR lens: compact, super-sharp and very well-build. I also have the 50/2 (more or less permanently attached to the F3) and a 90/2.8, btw
The R system is very very good with some of the very best Leica lenses. There is no native digital, contemporary solution available so I have converted several R-lenses to Nikon mount and use the with my D700, F3 and FG.
The Elmarit-R 35/2.8 is my all-time favourite SLR lens: compact, super-sharp and very well-build. I also have the 50/2 (more or less permanently attached to the F3) and a 90/2.8, btw