The IIIf that shot Che Guevara...

[xayraa33]

Isn't it wonderful how a lot of photography-related sites copied the news of the auction without doing any fact-checking. At least the Leicaphilia Blog got it right.

http://leicaphilia.com/for-sale-the-leica-that-didnt-take-the-famous-photo-of-che-guevara/

It would be interesting to see the buyer's reaction if/when he's told his camera did not in fact take the historic picture promised by the seller.

This is all getting kind of all convoluted.

The camera in that article where it shows a photo of Korda with a camera around his neck looks to be a Leica III or IIIa

The camera for sale was a Leica IIIf.

That same article shows a photo of a Leica IIIf and calls it a Leica III.

The famous Che photo was supposedly shot with a Leica M2.

 

[Richard G]

Some of the photons reflected from Che, which bounced off Korda's M2 and onto that IIIf travelled so far as my M2, and so I am willing to sell that for a flat €9k which is less than half price.

 

[xayraa33]

Some of the photons reflected from Che, which bounced off Korda's M2 and onto that IIIf travelled so far as my M2, and so I am willing to sell that for a flat €9k which is less than half price.

That famous Korda photo affected all cameras in the world simultaneously that very day Korda snapped the shutter on his Practica FX2 with the Meyer Trioplan 100mm lens.

Yes, it was a penta-prizm equipped mid 1950s Praktica SLR that took that famous Che photo, nothing to do with any Leica camera.

 

[Huss]

Korda's advice to aspiring young photographers: "Forget the camera, forget the lens, forget all of that. With any four-dollar camera, you can capture the best picture."

But he fails to mention that a photo with a $40 camera will be 10 times better.

Extrapolating that, this explains why Leicas take the best photos in this universe.

 

[Pherdinand]

Korda's advice to aspiring young photographers: "Forget the camera, forget the lens, forget all of that. With any four-dollar camera, you can capture the best picture."

That about sums it up for me.

http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/photography/Alberto-Korda.html

-->and he still used a number of leicas and leitz lenses, instead of brownies...
that sums it up for ME 😀

 

[Pherdinand]

Weeelp, It finally went for 18K Euro. Some poor sap got shafted.

People contacted Catawiki telling them the error in the description.
Catawiki stated they would contact Dante Korda and possibly remove the auction...
as that didn't happen, my assumptions about catawiki are confirmed.
They're crooks.

Once i contacted them (~6 months ago?) about a photo that they attributed to Robert Capa because it had the name Endre Friedmann on it.
Funny **** is, the photo was clearly shot in the sixties.

They've corrected their mistake and thanked me for the info.So not all crooks.

But hey, that was not a 18k item, it was 100x cheaper category.

 

[Huss]

-->and he still used a number of leicas and leitz lenses, instead of brownies...
that sums it up for ME 😀

Pretty much. If all u need is a $4 camera then why dont they use that?

😉

 

[johannielscom]

This is all getting kind of all convoluted.

The camera in that article where it shows a photo of Korda with a camera around his neck looks to be a Leica III or IIIa

The camera for sale was a Leica IIIf.

That same article shows a photo of a Leica IIIf and calls it a Leica III.

The famous Che photo was supposedly shot with a Leica M2.

You're right, and Catawiki should have checked their facts before taking the camera on auction. The fact that a seller is somebody's son doesn't make each and any claim correct.

Wouldn't so much call it 'Bull Manure' or 'Crooks', but the kind of carelessness that could cost them their good name before it even caught on.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

From personal experience I already hate them. So I'm kinda biased.

 

[Pioneer]

Pretty much. If all u need is a $4 camera then why dont they use that?

😉

Purely status.

Same reason that great big Nikon and Canon dSLRs are carried and used today. It is the professional brand.

If Castro would have seen Korda carrying a Brownie he would have had him cutting sugar cane, not taking pictures.

 

[xayraa33]

You're right, and Catawiki should have checked their facts before taking the camera on auction. The fact that a seller is somebody's son doesn't make each and any claim correct.

Wouldn't so much call it 'Bull Manure' or 'Crooks', but the kind of carelessness that could cost them their good name before it even caught on.

So called famous people's cameras are now as much stuck in hear-say sacred relics phenomena, that bestow great power (read talent and good fortune) on the new owner, as much as today's fashion of exorbitantly priced old electric guitars of the famous guitar Gods of the 1950s and 1960s and 1970s.

 

[Huss]

Purely status.

Same reason that great big Nikon and Canon dSLRs are carried and used today. It is the professional brand.

If Castro would have seen Korda carrying a Brownie he would have had him cutting sugar cane, not taking pictures.

C'mon! I'd say 99% of the projects I have shot and sold could not be done with a $4 camera. Unless that was some bizarro garage find story...

Of course you'd get an image, but perhaps not the quality of image that you desired. Whether you are a sports, fine arts etc photographer.

 

[David Hughes]

C'mon! I'd say 99% of the projects I have shot and sold could not be done with a $4 camera. Unless that was some bizarro garage find story...

Of course you'd get an image, but perhaps not the quality of image that you desired. Whether you are a sports, fine arts etc photographer.

Hmmm, but a lot of the dirt cheap cameras are on the market because they are film and we all know that only thousands of pounds spent on a digital gizmo will take good pictures. But I think that a lot of cameras that cheap nowadays are more than capable of taking brilliant pictures of most subjects.

Regards, David

 

[Huss]

Hmmm, but a lot of the dirt cheap cameras are on the market because they are film and we all know that only thousands of pounds spent on a digital gizmo will take good pictures. But I think that a lot of cameras that cheap nowadays are more than capable of taking brilliant pictures of most subjects.

Regards, David

Oh, I agree with that. Nikon F100s for $120. F5 for $250. My Nikkormat that I got for $17 and takes fantastic images.
But these weren't cheap when new, and the point that Korba made was with new cameras.

You can take a good pic with pretty much anything, as long as there is no specific requirement for that pic. Given any kind of assignment, you're going to suit up with the best gear, given the choice, for that job.

 

[GarageBoy]

Hi,

I'm not sure what the famous photo is but on the front of one of Leica's famous catalogues is a greatly enlarged half tone of Che. The catalogue is entitled "LEICA M How revolutionary should your camera be?" and was published in 1999.

Inside it say it (Che's portrait) was taken with a 90mm lens and Korda's M2 on the 6th March 1960.

Th catalogue is about the M6 and "glass, brass and steel" lots of pretty pictures in it and about 60 pages.

Regards, David

That catalog had this awesomely beat up m4 with most of its paint missing

 

[icebear]

Weeelp, It finally went for 18K Euro. Some poor sap got shafted.

....

If someone poors out 18 Grand and isn't properly reading the vague description
QUOTE: [That's why it's likely that my father took with this camera one of the world's most famous photo's ever made. The iconic image of the freedom fighter Che Guevara.]

then he got his money's worth🙄

 

[Bill Clark]

Leica book titled, "Ninety Nine Years," says "the photograph of Che Guevare was taken on 5th March 1960 at a funeral service in Havana. It says, Korda pressed the shutter of his M2."

Check out page 130 for the description and page 126 to see the photograph.


http://www.kurlandphoto.com/blog/2012/12/che-korda-and-leica-at-99-years/

 

[Wuzwinder]

How Capitalistic of him.......Ironic.

 

[unixrevolution]

How Capitalistic of him.......Ironic.

Knowing Korda and Guevara didn't always see eye to eye, I think it's approriate 😉

I wonder how many of the camera that took Che's famous picture Korda's son sold....

 

[peterm1]

Now if it were the rifle that shot Che, I would make a bid. ;^)