Older Leicas, ..... repros or not
Older Leicas, ..... repros or not
Hey 'pizzahut88', great thread!
I have just acquired a 'Nullserie' or Model '0' Leica repro, all nicely ensconced in it's Maroon "Leica" emblazoned, silk lined presentation box, complete with a beautiful leather case, handbook and dvd etc.
It is a beautifully made copy of the prototype that Oskar Barnak was instrumental in developing, except it supposedly has an 'improved' anastigmatic lens.
Remember also that this camera is what it is . Merely an opportunity for those who may be interested, to taste a little of what photography was like eighty or ninety years ago. Leica have made available this reproduction of what was an early attempt to build a 35mm camera that could be eventually be mass produced and made available to many budding new photographers.
The technology we have today or even the many developments that arrived shortly after these '0' series cameras were built, does not enter into the equation. In addition much of the stuff we take for granted today was not even a pipe dream for those early camera buffs. So why go there? This is not about now.
This camera gives us a rare opportunity to experience what it must have been like to be a photographer in the twenties.
I know there are other older but improved cameras available which can make the experience less of an ordeal, but that seems to defeat the whole point of the excercise.
For the same reason some folks like to drive vintage cars or motorcycles, fly those early biplanes or soar in an hot air balloon, some of us like to try out and even own some of those early cameras, repro or not.
As a motorist/motorcyclist I really appreciate the latest models from Aston Martin, Porsche or Ferrari and love to ride the best that Ducati, Aprilia or MV can offer. Similarly as an amateur photographic enthusiast I enjoy my Nikon DSLRs.
However given the opportunity to drive a vintage car or motorcycle, I find the thrill to be just as intense, but for entirely different reasons.
The same applies to cameras. The only difference with cameras is that I can still afford to buy the occasional vintage camera, rather than drool as I watch the 'not in my lifetime' offerings of the Barrett-Jackson car auctions on TV.
By the way and slightly off subject 'Dunk', that is a very nice '1a' you have there- at least to my eyes.
The rest of us - or at least some of us - are merely envious. 😉
Hopefully, once it warms up - and the snow clears - I will be able to give my latest acquisitions a road test. 'Till then I will practice loading film into these things, over and over, until it becomes second nature. I will also try to familiarize myself with the '0' series lens capping drill.
Good fun - I hope ...😱
