michael_levy3

Thank you all for the posts: just some great stuff here! As it happens, the seller (on Craigslist) has not replied to my offer, so I am on the hunt again. Regarding cutting the file for loading - looks like it is all but impossible to find a Leica ABLON trimming set at a reasonable price, but I did find a 3D printing file for one. (Leica ABLON style film leader trimming guide. by PariahProps) I sent this file to a local 3D printing shop here, and they quoted me around CAD$25 for one. I would use this an X-Acto knife: I think I am too clumsy for the plastic card method. There is a local dealer with a III on sale - I plan to drop by armed will all the suggestions above, and have a look at it. Thanks again: really appreciate the posts.

In an upcoming course I will need a film Camera. I see a Leica IIIf (with Lens) for sale locally for a reasonable price. The posting claims the Camera has been CLAd recently. Any advice before I proceed? I have not owned a film Leica before.

There were two very stubborn specs of dust on my sensor that resisted air blowing. With encouragement from my local Leica buddies, I used a swab (and a tiny drop of cleaning fluid on the swab) and cleaned the sensor. Much less traumatic than I feared!

London. M10 with Summicron 35mm. Still need practise on "pre-focus" for these unexpected moments.

Door knocker, rome, 35mm Summicron

Summilux 50mm. Garage fire in the 'hood on Sunday.

Leica M10, Summicron 35mm

Thanks for the warning.... I'll stick to a safe option.

Will a Vivitar 285 Flash work on an M10? Can it fry the M10 circuitry?

Summilux 50mm. This restaurant closes today. Very sad to see it go.

Unusual snow-dump up here. 50mm Summilux.

Cheers! (M10, Super Elmar 21mm)

Another in my "Vanishing Vancouver" series. Summilux 50mm.

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried again using a tripod with delayed shutter release. The 50mm seems to be spot on. The 75mm seems to way off - more than 8cm anyway. I took exactly the same care focusing with both lenses. I have not tried infinity yet. In the shots below, I used the split lines on the small circle near the 0 mark - very carefully. The result confirms the gut feeling I have had about the 75mm lens from the start. I have emailed the Leica service department. The 50mm shows a very slight behind bias, so it may be that the rangefinder needs a slight tweak too, but more likely within the error bounds of my eyes: The 75mm is really off: Here is the 75mm deliberately focusing in front of the target:

I have always had a bit of trouble with focus of my 75mm Summicron. A friend recently sent me this link: Squit Photo to a focus chart. I tried it with two lenses: a 50mm and a 75mm. I sat on a chair in almost the identical position. The 50mm is spot on accurate. The 75mm seems to focus very slightly behind what the rangefinder tells me. Is this a defect in the lens? Can it be repaired?

Coffee with my Leica friends. 75mm Summicron. Taken to examine depth-of-field, but the shot captures the moment for me.

If you have not seen this, it is a good story about a Leica M2. Camera Historica: The Sean Flynn Leica M2 - Japan Camera Hunter

Hope in the Shadows is still going strong.

Vancouver BC is changing profoundly because of real estate craziness. One consequence is that the future of many businesses in low rise building is in doubt. I decided to start taking pictures of some of my favourite commercial strips of this sort for a series I am going to call "Vanishing Vancouver". Below is a section of Robson Street, taken with a 21mm lens.

Sedona, Arizona. 21mm Super Elmar

Why be a prisoner of cropping ratios? Spanish Banks, Vancouver, New Years day, cold! 35mm Lens.

I was put off a 21mm by the need for an external viewfinder. However, I wasn't that happy with the magnifier when using my 75mm lens, so I decided to get a Visoflex - to be used only with the 75mm. Well, once I had a Visoflex, the need for another external viewfinder went away, and I decided to get a 21mm Lens. Wow! Yet another great Lens. While trying it out this morning, I realized that it can focus as close as about 2 feet, so I tried it out when I saw an abandoned toque. I thought that someone thinking about the Super Elmar 21mm might be interested. The image is exported to JPG from DNG using Lightroom, but is otherwise unprocessed. Other comments on this Lens would be most welcome.

Some of my 2017 Favs.

Vancouver, New Years day at the beach (Spanish Banks). It was cold! Summicron 35mm, M10.

Best of the season to all.