matt_m__toronto_ Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 I've seen a couple of portraits of HCB, and in his hand is a Leica with a bullet shaped rangefinder/view finder on top. I know nothing of leica, but i like the look of this camera and would like to learn more. what is this kind of viewfinding system called? thanks for any help or direction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 H. Cartier-Bresson used a variety of Leica rangefinders in his career. You are probably looking at him holding a IIIG, which predated the M3 and M4, etc. cameras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefano_ferrando1 Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Matt, The viewfinder is probably the Leica Vidoom. For forther info look at the archives of this forum, you'll surely find all the notices you need. Regards, Stefano. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al_kaplan1 Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Early in his career he would have been using screw mount bodies like the IIIc and IIIf. The M3 had been on the market several years before the IIIg was introduced so I doubt he would have used one. The IIIc and IIIf had a built in finder for the 50mm lens only. The finder on top was for wide angle or telephoto lenses but some photographers preferred using them for all their photos. Although it's often said that HCB preferred using the 50mm lens many of his photographs look like they were shot with a 35mm lens. Cameras of this type are called rangefinder cameras because of the optical system used to focus them. Earlier cameras had a seperate built in viewfinder for the 50mm lens. Starting with the M3 the rangefinder was incorporated into the viewfinder, and frame lines showed the field of the 50, 90 and 135mm lenses. A few years later the M2 was introduced with frame lines of 35,50 and 90mm. Here we are 49 years after the M3 came out and the current M6 and M7 take the same lenses, and the viewfinder is essentially unchanged from the days of the M3 and M2. Progress! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgpinc Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 As Ellis said CB used a variety of Leica rangefinder cameras contemporary with the times he was taking pictures. In this picture he is using what looks like an M3: http://www.magnumphotos.com/c/htm/TreePf.aspx?E=29YL53IQ1W7 Earlier on when his Leicas had smaller viewfinders he used auxiliary finders like the one you are referring to - either a VIDOM or IMARECT finder - see this Imarect picture on the famous auction site: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?viewItem&item=3004072639&category=29965 http://www.geocities.com/jagpage/vidom.html In purported interviews with CB he 'said' that he used the auxiliary finder because it helped him compose with less distraction. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_m__toronto_ Posted February 3, 2003 Author Share Posted February 3, 2003 thanks to all, especially al for the nice history lesson. you've answered all my questions. matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charles barcellona www.bl Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Does it really matter? If he used a contax, nikon, nicca, canon.. whatever....would he be less of a photographer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george_l._doolittle Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 A camera that he has been seen using most recently is, believe it or not, a Minilux. It seems ( from a French source that knows him) that his latest artistic form are watercolors, not photography. This insight is about two years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cd thacker Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 In an interview (I forget just which one) he gave in the last few years, he said that while he does use a variety of Leicas, his favorite is the M3, which he feels is the pinnacle of the Leica achievement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djphoto Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 In Jane Bown's book "The Gentle Eye," HC-B is shown holding an M3 fitted with an Imarect finder. He is also wearing glasses, which may have had something to do with his choice of an auxiliary viewfinder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglas k. Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Where's Bill Mitchell? He once saw HC-B in action, in Paris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_m__toronto_ Posted February 3, 2003 Author Share Posted February 3, 2003 Charles: this has nothing to do about his pictures being good only because they were taken by a Leica! why turn it into that old debate? I just love the look of this camera and i think i've also seen it also used in one of the james bond films and thought i'd learn more about it...thats all. thanks guys for all the help. i've been reading up on these old leicas and am quite intriqued. myself am a rollei fan and user, but these old M3's and III series are tickling that funny bone that's in all of us. thanks againmatt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Leica M3 with VIDOM finder, 50mm black rim Summar, when I followed him through London in about 1980. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furcafe Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Matt: Here's my obligatory Zeiss plug: for many years, HC-B also used a Leica thread mount (LTM) version of the Zeiss 50/1.5 Sonnar, the premier fast normal lens of its era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furcafe Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0 02lMD">http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id =002lMD</a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry_weiss Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 A bit of a tangent: Re Chris's post about the Zeiss Sonnar 50/1.5 in LTM, does anybody have any idea how much one of those is worth today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucien1 Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 In his "Focus, Memoirs of a life in photography" (ISBN 0-8212-1904-9) Beaumont Newhall wrote: (about H C-B in 1946) page 158: "For his vision, for his point of view, the Leica is the ideal instrument, except of the lens. He had a Contax f/1,5 lens fitted to his Leica. He explained that he hated flashlight, and never use it. Hence he needs the large-aperture lens. etc.. " Note: In 1946, the only 50mm Leica lens with the same aperture was the Xenon 50/1,5. Production figures in 1943 =9, 1944 = 0, 1945 = 1, 1946 = 2, 1947 = 1 !! Page 159-160: "When Cartier was asked for a portrait of himself to accompany my article, he said he had none, adding "Ask Beaumont". One afternoon I went around to his apartment with my camera. He had just bought a new 85mm f/1,5 lens (Summarex ?), which is common today but was extremely rare and expensive in 1946. While I was photographing him he suddently handed me his new lens. "Try this on your Leica, Beaumont", he said. etc.. " Note: Production figures of the Summarex in 1943 = 90, 1944 = 0, 1945 = 28, 1946 = 18, 1947 = 6. Rare indeed ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sal dimarco Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 HCB liked using the VIDOM finder because it inverted the image. He claims it made it easier for him to see the design of the picture. Happy Snaps, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oliver_s. Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 AFAIK Henri Cartier-Bresson is said to have a 90mm lens as well: some of the pictures he took in the U.S. in the 1950s are said to clearly show the use of a light tele. Could it be his "90mm" was in fact a 85mm Summarex?<p>Anyway, what's most important is that the myth of Cartier-Bresson using only one lens is wrong.<p>IMHO emphasizing that you can get along perfectly well with minimal equipment can be another form of gearheaditis, so there's nothing to worry about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furcafe Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Barry: If I had to hazard a guess, it would be in the $300-450 range (based on what I can remember seeing on eB*y), depending on condition, of course. They're unusual, but not exactly super rare. ------- "A bit of a tangent: Re Chris's post about the Zeiss Sonnar 50/1.5 in LTM, does anybody have any idea how much one of those is worth today?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglas k. Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Oops, London...Sorry, Bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_jelliffe Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Chirs, there's one up for auction right now--you know where. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furcafe Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Thanks, Patrick, but I already have more Sonnars than I know what to do with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charles barcellona www.bl Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 Matt I see your point, you're correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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