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Günter Osterloh's book on Leica M

michael_kastner

By michael_kastner
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michael_kastner

michael_kastner

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For a previous review of his book "Leica M: the Advanced School

of Photography" (in German "LEICA M: Hohe Schule de

Kleinbildfotografie")

see my notes in M's posting "The books of Osterloh,Gunter"

<br><u><font color="#3366FF"><a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=002e3Z">htt

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<br>Further details can be read in Jack Belen's more recent posting

"Osterloh Book"

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<p>The 4th German edition (1996) was evidently not made officially

available

as an English translation, and the last English edition (1987) was a

translation

of an even earlier German edition. The very first (German) edition was

published in 1985.

<p>The 5th German edition (2002) was issued a few days ago (just after

the Photokina), and here are a few more notes. A few things which this

newest release covers, which are not to be seen in the last (German)

edition

include:

<ul TYPE=DISC>

<li>

M6 TTL alongside its comparison with the M6 "classic".</li>

 

<li>

M7 -- very large and intensive coverage here.</li>

 

<li>

The new VF magnifications 0.85 and 0.58, as well as the 1.25X

magnifier.</li>

 

<li>

More body accessories including the handgrip and lens holder.</li>

 

<li>

New M-lenses (i.e. new since the last edition of the book) 2.8/21

ASPH,

2.8/24 ASPH, 2/28 ASPH, 2/35 ASPH, 2/90 Apo ASPH, 3.4/135 Apo,

Tri-Elmar

ASPH.</li>

</ul>

What is "now lacking" in this new, 5th edition but was to be seen in

its

predecessor? Of course, those M-lenses not currently available (i.e.

officially

issued) any more:

<ul TYPE=DISC>

<li>

2/35 non-ASPH, 2/90 non-ASPH, 2.8/135, 4/135.</li>

 

<li>

I see nothing else "now lacking".</li>

</ul>

Analogous to our repeated questionings and answerings here on the

forum

as to "If you could have only one single ****, which would you

choose?",

as for books on Leica M, this is the one! Again, there is more than a

good

whole handful of things which make this book indispensible, and they

were

already mentioned in that first URL above. A new edition of his book

on

Leica R does not seem to be underway.

<p>Both the author and the publisher told me that an English

translation

of the Leica M 5th edition has not been planned. I'd say this is an

attitude

which has to be dealt with.

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michael_kastner

michael_kastner

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Well, Patrick, I've already tried to offer them my time and experience in this regard, but I somehow feel that both the author and the publisher just aren't interested. Please do me a favour, and tell Leica-USA about your interest in an English version. Sounds almost like us all starting to collect a giant list of petitions... The great John Collier once said that this (the translation, not the petitions) would result in huge sales increases and I believe he is absolutely right. Maybe they aren't interested in sales increases, but I don't believe that.
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jay_.

jay_.

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>>Both the author and the publisher told me that an English translation of the Leica M 5th edition has not been planned. I'd say this is an attitude which has to be dealt with. <<

 

Leica Solms should handle this. The book can serve only to promote their products and their largest markets are outside the German-speaking world. Translations in at the very least English, Spanish, French and Japanese should be published.

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cd thacker

cd thacker

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I'd love a copy of this in English. If Leica Solms is so conservative that they can't see the value of translating (and distributing widely) this key work into other languages - and for me this is hard to believe -; but if they are that conservative, maybe they deserve to languish in the backwater. And slowly expire. (Forgive my heresy, all the way around.)
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  • 2 years later...
stephen_jones8

stephen_jones8

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I now have a copy of this book (latest edition with English translation.) which I obtained

from Amazon on the internet. After all the comments i read I thought it would be

something special but....It's a dull read. There is no doubt that there is a wealth of

technical information here but that's the problem...it's too technical. I'm interested in

using and handling the camera not reading plodding descriptions of optical formula and

color principles.I want to USE my Leica not BUILD one!

I got half way through the book and was still wondering when Mr.Osterloh would give me

some useful advice based on his experience, about actually using the camera..hints, tips

or simply anything that wasn't a technical description of which part fits what.He even

repeats himself. One paragraph begins on P215....

This book does not provide specific operating instructions for the use of the various Leica

M cameras,,,,

OK... i got that, I

bought it because I wanted to find out stuff that the manual doesn't tell me about using

the camera in actual picture taking situations,,pre- focus etc.

Then..in the SAME PARAGRAPH.....

Since detailed descriptions of specific equipment handling requirements can be found in

the respective Leica and Leitz user manuals, they are not presented in this book.

OK I got it the first time,

Under PRACTICAL techniques...we find sections on...spectral sensitivity! Good grief!

and one more thing...the color pictures look decidedly under-exposed for shots taken by a

Leica expert.

Not all bad but not a great book either,Better to get Brian Bower's Leica M book.

Leica users desperately need a no-nonsense guide to using these wonderful cameras

without all the convoluted tecnobabble.

It's a sunny day in Tokyo. I could spend two pages telling you about how Leica lenses

gather light rays on sunny days compared to cloudy days ( in the same way presumably)

and explain what happens when those rays are focussed by the lens on to the film surface

but hey instead....

I'm off to take some pictures!

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michael_kastner

michael_kastner

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I understand... But it's all a question of what you want in a book. This book is not on photography itself, it's on the Leica M equipment created for same. That's what I said above and that is what Osterloh is famous for. It is uncommonly (for me enjoyably) objective and much less flavoured than e.g. Erin Putts' writings. For me, it is still the best book on all Leica M history. If you want a book "only" on photography itself, there are hundreds of other books on this. So, a note to all potential readers of this thread: buy or order this book only if you are (at least) interested in Leica Ms and their lenses since the beginnings in 1954. I still like the book, and find it very un-dull. Don't forget that there are realms and realms of interesting passages as re everything including VFs, meters, all other accessories and finally -- again, as said before -- on film, light motives etc etc. What more do you want?

<p>PS1: The HTML text seen above in my note here is a result of the photo.net format change made after the original input.

<br>PS2: The fact that you write your response "only now in 2005" is unfortuanately due to the fact that this book (originally published in German in 2002) took so long to come out in English too, although most Leica users world-wide can read English but not German.

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