Leica Fotographie International Magazine Info?

[keith_cooper]

I bought a subscription to Leica Fotographie International Magazine through Tamarkin roughly one year ago. As many of you probably know, its an expensive but very well done magazine. I've found that I read it cover to cover, much like National Geographic.

 

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Anyway, I was wondering if any of you have subscribed to this? And if so, will I receive a renewal notice through the magazine? Or will I suddenly stop receiving it and have to go through Tamarkin again?

 

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Does anyone know if the magazine has a web-site or e-mail (we've all gotten so spoiled with the 'net, haven't we?).

 

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Thanks for the info...

Keith

[keith_cooper]

P.S. Does anyone have an opinion of how the magazine I mentioned

above compares to "Leica World"? I've never seen one...

 

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Thanks again,

Keith

[bobtodrick]

IMP Leica World is a much better magazine. I have Leica Fotographie

going back to 1978 and have found that the quality has gone

downhill. Reproduction is spotty (especially B&W) and the articles

are very dryly written. As well, I find the photography (seldom pro

work) to be not of a quality I would expect. Leica World on the

other hand is very well produced and printed, is a larger format,

and usually has interestng articles on at least one well known Leica

shooter per issue. It is my understanding that Leica World is

published by Leica AG, while Leica Fotographie is published by a

seperate entity.

[cosmo_genovese]

I gave up on Leica Fotographie because I think it's poorly written

and uninteresting. While it may be interesting to some to

gather 'round the logographics of a particular brand of camera, I've

always been more interested in the resultant photographs rather than

the equipment per se. Don't get me wrong, I like high-end equipment

as much as the next guy, but at some time I believe that one has to

get beyond the logo and create photos. To that end, I now subscribe

only to magazines that are about the photo, without any mention

whatsoever about f/stops, camera brand, film used, etc. There are

very few of these magazines on the market that aren't hawking the

latest "must-have" body/lens/gadget, but what a pleasure it is to

look at excellent photographs, unobstructed by advertising and other

visual distractions. In that vein, check out the Italian

magazine "Zoom International" (www.zoom-net.com), "Aperture" (for the

most part), and "Lens World", to name just a few. Of these

three, "Zoom" publishes the broadest spectrum of photographs (and,

thus, photographers) of any publication on the market. Take a look.

[kens]

My favorite is LensWork out of Washington state. www.lenswork.com

[cosmo_genovese]

I meant "LensWork" (not "Lens World").

[alex_ferraris]

Keith,

the subscription is automatically renewed one month before

expiration time, if you supplied credit card info and it's still valid.

Otherwise you'll hear from them, if they have any way to contact

you. For any info you can just call them+49.69.26000, they speek

good enough English.

 

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Alex

[jay_.]

Keith, I had a subscription to LFI in the late 90's but gave it up.

I got the English version and the translation was fairly accurate but

drained of any literary style making the articles seem sterile and

superficial...or perhaps they were that way in German to begin with,

I wouldn't know. The articles were kind of pointless and

uninformative and many but not all the galleries were less than

outstanding. I find the LHSA Viewfinder more stimulating, at least

the articles are usually opinionated enough to either please me or

rile me up--depending on whether or not I agree with the author's

opinion ;>) And they don't try to pass off the photography as

gallery-quality art to be in awe of...it's photos my Leica

enthusiasts, some good some, well...not so good, but even then you

can feel the love for the Leica come through. I have not seen Leica

World, only Leica View, which is basically an informercial from Leica

USA. As of a few years ago the LFI publisher did send renewal

notices--I got several before they understood I didn't want it

anymore.

[bill_barton]

I have to vote for Leica World also, it's much better then LFI in my

book.

 

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There is also a new Photo magazine coming out you might want to check

out. They have been on line, and are now going paper....it's a new

magazine of photojournalism

 

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www.foto8.com

[Rob F.]

I just shelled out nine bucks for the April 2002 issue of Leica

Fotografie. What do I see but an article that leads off with, "Zoom

lenses are considered superior to fixed focal lengths . . . two or

three groups of elements are displaced along the optical axis,

providing an additional means of correction." And later on: "The

effort to mamage with a minimum number of elements is rewarded by

higher image contrast and better light transmission." Signed, Erwin

Puts.

 

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This article manages to create the impression that zoom lenses are

optically better than primes. Amazing, what you can do with

language. I thought I'd like the entertainment of reading Leica

Fotografie, but I don't like being mislead by thinly disguised ads in

the form of articles.

[patricks]

I recently ordered a subscription through Tamarkin to LFI. I

cancelled after the 1st issue! (which came after over 2 months!)

[stuart d]

Like Bob, I just picked up the April issue of LFI (thanks for the

tip, Andy Piper). Once I got home and started to peruse the magazine

I became totally underwhelmed by its content. Part infomercial,

part National Geographic wannabe, yet lacking any substantive

detail.

 

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Another quote which caught me off-guard: "A compact telephoto lens,

such as the 90mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH, is perfect for snapshots. You

simply need to know how to use it correctly - and a little

practice." A whole paragraph describes the steps one needs to go

through to make the lens 'perfect for snapshots'. I love the lens,

but whose plonker do they think they're pulling?

 

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To be fair, I did learn one factoid from the magazine - the origin

of 'M', which stands for Messsucher, which we're told translates

as 'rangefinder'. I always wondered where Leica came up with the

naming convention for their cameras.

 

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But that doesn't justify $9 an issue. Editorially, it's below par

compared with the airlines' in-flight magazines. At least those are

free, and the airlines know they have a captive audience. I'm off to

find out whether Leica World is any better.

 

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...stepping off my soapbox...

[hans_berkhout]

I consider LF promotional material- on which I don`t spend my money.

 

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The translation is poor, the editor and/or authors (very often

nameless) cannot be questioned etc etc.

 

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To everyone his/her taste, it`s not my choice. Was OK in the 60`s.

[peter_dazeley]

is Fotographie magazine still going?

[graham_line]

LFI is still going. My subscription will not be renewed when it expires, for pretty much the same reasons as the other postings; high cost and indifferent content. Sometimes I feel like the translations are done by someone who knows German and English, more than photography.