christopher_junker1

<p>Greg's response +1. Also, if you tension the film by rewinding too tight you stand the chance of leaving stress and abrasion marks on the emulsion. </p>

<p>Robin, great shot, nice "patina".</p>

<p>Peter Meade's photo portfolio presents a wide range of subjects that are nicely done. Having a professional photographer being willing to try a Leica LTM for the first time is new to me. Hopefully he'll soon find a good LTM and share his Leica experience with us. </p>

<p>The comments above are accurate. I've used Leica IIIc, IIIf and IIIg LTM bodies for many decades, but rarely now as I have a good M3 body which I prefer. Of the Leica film rangefinders, the M3 with a 50 Summicron is a great shooter. Although not a problem with the M3, if you wear glasses you will be pressing them against the LTM rangefinder/viewfinder windows as there is little eye relief, the M3 has a much better and brighter combined finder window. If you prefer 35mm lenses to 50mm, the M2 is the preferred setup as it has a built in 35 viewer frame. All LTM bodies frame the 50m lenses, not 35s. I note that you shoot equestrian sport pictures. Shooting moving subjects is not easy with a standard LTM body. An LTM body with the collapsible Elmar is useful as a casual back up camera and doesn't take up much space. No LTM is metered so you'll have to be ready to meter subjects. There is one advantage the LTM bodies and M2/M3 have over digital, there is no shutter lag. Robin made a good point regarding the Canon P. Good camera, and if it has a Canon f1.4 50, that is a good set up. I use the Canon 1.4 50 with an LTM to M adapter on my M3 and have consistently excellent results.</p>

<p>What happened to the Cord dash picture?</p>

<p>As I am curious, what is the difference between an Elmax and the later Elmar lens?</p>

<p>Nice panning shot Bill. I inherited R & T photographer Alix Lafontant's Leica IIIg after he switched to Nikons in the early 60s. I still have it, patina and all.</p>

<p>Larry H-L. Great bird picture. Based on your result, I'll be taking my Canon f3.5 100 LTM out of the bag for some shooting. The 100 f3.5 is one of those almost forgotten lenses until you use it and again realize how nice it is. Bill Bowes, good picture of Pete Lovely's "Pooper". Back in the '50s and early '60s all sorts of road race specials were built in CA. I'd like to see the "Flying Shingle" again.</p>

<p>All three of my medium focal length lenses are rangefinder coupled. However as they are LTM lenses I use a 90 Leica M adapter then mount them on an M3. I have two problems using them, first, focus is critical due to the shallow depth of field when used close up. Accurate focusing is not a severe problem with the Elmar 90 and Canon 100 at f3.5-4.5, but it is with the 85 Nikon at f2. The M3 has a .95 bright finder making it easy to focus, but the Nikon at f2 leaves little room for focus error due to the shallow depth of field. Secondly, stopping down to increase depth of field requires slower shutter speeds so camera movement needs to be minimized or you have to go to a faster film. Camera movement becomes more apparent as you use longer focal length lenses. Due to the weight of the Nikon on the M3, I use a monopod and a softie shutter release button and that helps steady the camera. I love the portrait results but I have to concentrate when using these focal length lenses. You may wish to consider practicing by dry shooting with the camera/lens combination prior using film. Best wishes.</p>

<p>A second to Mukul's recommendation of the Canon black 100 f3.5 LTM lens. In addition to rendering a good sharp image, it is light with white on black distance markings together with click f stops. I prefer it to the 90 Elmar LTM.</p>

<p>JT's problem is exactly why I continue to use a beater IIIg with the 35 finder in the accessory shoe as I have to wear glasses. There may be another possibility, but I haven't actually seen it done. There is a accessory shoe clip with two clip in slots. I recall a picture with a Leicameter3 and a bright line finder mounted in the two slots.</p>

<p>Per Brian, I use a black Sharpie often. Lens hoods, especially on the outer edge get banged up, nicked or otherwise worn through so there is a bright reflection point on the edge. The sharpie blends right in and can be easily renewed. Don't try flat black model airplane paint: messy, chips, wears right off, won't stick to chrome.</p>

<p>Robin, nicely done. Larry, the green shirts and the green out of focus area go well together. The Canon 100 f3.5 LTM is one of my favorite lenses due to the very sharp in focus areas and the smoothly separated out of focus backgrounds.</p>

<p>Sorry to read about your Dad's passing. Finding a special lens by itself such as your Dad's is a bit unusual. If he enjoyed photography as a business or hobby, you may wish to do a thorough search of his effects to see if there is a camera or other photographic equipment that makes up a set. The above comments are very good advice.</p>

<p>I can't speak to Summar lens repairs, but John Van Stelten rebuilt my f1.5 Summarit 50 LTM several years back. It was dirty inside with a slightly abraded/no deep scratches front lens element. Most of the coating was still on the lens, but clearly abraded. I contracted for a CLA with polishing and recoating of the front element. John informed me that he wouldn't guarantee the lens or recoating as it is a heating process and he had had lenses crack during the process. I took a chance and everything came out fine. At f1.5 and 2.0 the lens is low contrast and soft focus, but images sharpen and contrast improves at f4 and beyond. I was able to buy a Summarit cast lens hood for $6.50 at a bankruptcy sale and it does help reduce flare. Within the limits of the lens, I thought Focal Point did good work and I wouldn't hesitate to use them again. With reference to the f2 Summar I have an original Leica brochure describing the lens and it must have been exciting to have one back in the mid 1930's. Grandfather to the f2 50 collapsible Summicron of fame.</p>

<p>Interesting post. I just found some EK 800 Gold 24 exp hiding in the back of the freezer. It's been a year since I've run any film through my 1963 "No Name" Kiev so I loaded it up to shoot over the lunch hour. The rangefinder is just so easy to use with either the Zeiss f2.0 50 Sonnar or the 1.4 Nikkor S-C 50. Luckily I have small hands so I avoid "rangefinder window finger" without a problem. I'll be trying it both with and without the lens hood. </p>

<p>If I was using ultrawide Leicaflex lenses like the f3.4 21 Super-Angulon, I'd stay with the Leicaflex body with a 21 finder. You'd have to use the external finder on the IIIC anyway with a hand held meter, so the only issue is comparing the cost of a user Leicaflex without a working meter to the adapter R+M setup on an even older IIIc. I haven't measured, but with a R superwide with lens hood, you will probably be blocking part of the auxiliary finder on a IIIc. The finder will sit higher on a Leicaflex body and not be blocked by the lens shade.</p>

<p>Emir, great expression, neat way to frame the face.</p>

<p>Howard's analogy can be developed to say: I know I'm going to drive 30 miles per hour, therefore I only need third gear. An autofocus zoom would be like an automatic transmission.</p>

<p>JDM's comment caught my attention and I'd like to comment. My first adjustable camera was an Instamatic 500 with the f2.8 Xenar 38 lens. I shot 100's of 126 test cartridges for EK in the 60's and got used to the square format. Testing 35 film, I was then given a Rollei 35S with the optional f2.8 Sonnar 40 lens and liked that focal length results even more. The 40 format seemed to fit what I wanted to photograph and I still feel 35 is wide and 50 a bit tight. But now I shoot mostly with 50 Summicrons as people seem more comfortable if I back away. I get weird comments shooting with a film camera as many young people have never seen professional film cameras up close. If really interested, I usually have a couple of B/W prints with me. Monochrome images are a whole new world to young people.<br> A total of all the years of photograph experience and 35 rolls shot by the above forum commenters gives good insight to our varied outlooks on photography. One thread came through overall, the images you want to make will point you toward the setup that fits you best. This subject has generated some of the most thoughtful posts I've seen on this subject, I hope we've been of guidance and help. </p>

<p>Raid, The 50 Summicrons, collapsible, M version 1 rigid and Leicaflex R ver.1 are the lenses I also use the most. The collapsible 'cron is used only with B/W film as it is an early thorium oxide lens in immaculate condition except for the tea colored gamma ray deterioration. The collapsible 'cron renders a lovely B/W image but there is an overly warm color balance using color film. The other 'crons are all I could wish for. I look forward to using the M rigid on a digital.</p>

<p>James, I sent two meters to QLM, a Leica Meter 3 and a MR-4. This is the second time in 20 years I've used their services and I highly recommend their work. The Leica Meter 3 needed a new cell and corrosion cleanup and the MR-4 the same with some work on the pointer system. I asked that the MR-4 be calibrated for 1.35v as I have been using the Thai 1.5 to 1.35 adapters with silver oxide batteries rather than the short life Wein batteries. I had to go this direction with the MR-4 rather than just reset it for 1.5v batteries as I have a Leicaflex ver.1 without the battery switch, a Leica CL and the MR-4 that all use 625 size and I need longer battery life. The rebuilt meters and a Toshiba hand held meter match readings for normal use. Available light B/W ASA 400 is beyond the low light accuracy capability of the Leica Meter 3 but at the low level setting, the MR-4 and the Toshiba have identical readings down to f1.4 @ 1/15. The meter readings through the Leicaflex and the CL also match using the Thai adapter which is remarkably well built and gold plated to resist corrosion problems. Ordered through Amazon, the adapters took three weeks to arrive from Thailand.</p>

<p>James, thanks for the comment on the APS C sensor as I also have an early Summaron 35 LTM I use with the LTM to M adapter. I use it on a rebuilt Leica CL through the 40 frame lines as they are just a bit tighter than the 35 coverage. I'm looking forward to using it on a digital body. The CL/Summaron 35 makes for a very light, compact carry around travel camera. And speaking of meters, Quality Light Metrics in CA recently rebuild my MR meter and they did a wonderful job. The photo cell eventually wore out and there was some internal corrosion that had to be removed but at least the meters can be rebuilt. Sandy, be very careful if you ever have to clean the front element on your Summicron. It is very easy to damage both the lens coating and the very soft glass front lens by incorrect cleaning methods. Look for guidance on this site on how to correctly clean a Summicron lens. </p>

<p>Your Summicron lens, although manufactured in the early 60's remains highly regarded even today. If you search the net for Leica Lens Serial Numbers you will be able to find a chart with your lens' year of manufacture enabling you to research your lens in greater detail through other sites. As noted above the Ken Rockwell site is a great place to start and gives a great review of all the 50 Summicron lenses. I have 4 Summicron 50 lenses dating from 1952 through 1968 and continue to have wonderful results from all of them. The Summicron 50 series are my favorite lens and I am looking forward to doing exactly what you have done, namely start using my Leica lenses with an A12 mount on a digital body. The current version f2 Summicron 50 ASPH lens is widely regarded as one of, if not the very best 50 lens ever made. Welcome to Photonet and the Leica forum.</p>

<p>Ofey, great picture of lovely Jasmine. I hope the next cat that adopts you is as lovely. Skeeter and Knut, I've never seen wave clouds where I live near the US great lakes. Where do you find them and under what conditons?</p>