Leitz 135mm f/2.8 Elmarit-M + Visoflex III - Photo Gear (7)

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In search of a weird-looking camera and lens combination?

Leica M2 + 135mm f/2.8 Elmarit-M with Optical Viewing Unit

Leica M2 + 135mm f/2.8 Elmarit-M lens head with Visoflex III

During several decades now, Leitz / Leica have introduced a wide selection of 135mm lenses for their rangefinder cameras, with various formulations and names: Hektor, Elmar, Elmarit, Tele Elmar and, at last, Apo - Telyt.
Some designs have four elements, as the Hektor and the Elmar versions, the later releases support a five elements construction.

The lens in question here was introduced in 1963, and it's design is identical with the early type of the similar lens for the Leicaflex (so I read, never owned a Leicaflex).
It was built by Leitz Canada and had a special view and rangefinder attachment that improves focusing and framing accuracy.
Image size is thereby increased by a factor of 1.4.
Besides, the use of these "goggles" or "spectacles", allows the use of this lens with the Leica M2 camera model: the finder magnifies the 90mm frame to correct field of view for the 135mm (the Leica M2 finder does not show the markings for this focal length).
The lens mount is non rotating and has a socket for tripod use.
Minimal focusing distance is 1,5m or 5".
Minimum aperture is f 32.
The diaphragm has full and half stops, and the lens hood is built in and collapses over the lens front.

When I decided to buy the 135mm lens for the Leica, it was hard for me to choose between this model and the 135mm f/4 Tele Elmar, which is smaller and lighter (meaning not so clumsy), making it much easier to backpack.
The Tele Elmar also has the convenient filter size of E 39, which is shared by some other Leitz lenses I own.

Rightly or wrongly, I opted for the 2.8 version, as I very much enjoyed photographing concerts at the time.
I also never really liked the "small view" you get when you look through the 135mm markings on the Leica finder (The M3 finder is better suited in this respect, but it also benefits from the use of this goggled lens, as the finder magnification also gets even bigger with this camera).

As I explained before, it was also an advantage for me to have the possibility to use the lens on the Leica M2, without needing to acquire an external brightline finder.

The Visoflex III reflex housing converts rangefinder M Leicas into SLR cameras.

The Visoflex reflex housing overcomes some of the limitations and shortcomings inherent to the rangefinder camera design. It extends the M Leica's versatility into the photomacrographic range, and allows the employment of long telephoto lenses. The groundglass screen permits parallax-free composition, and the choice of two different magnifiers increases freedom in telephotography and close-up work, including copy work. Furthermore, you can use the Focusing Bellows II or several extension rings with the Visoflex III.

The Visoflex III has a quick-mount bayonet similar to the cameras, and you can use it with any Leica M camera (on the Leica M5, simply unscrew the bottom part of the release button).

You will notice on the picture above, a round knob with three colored dots: red, yellow and black.
It is the setting knob for mirror movement, and you can choose the position that better suits your photographic task.
Yellow dot: the mirror moves rapidly and immediately before shutter release (although not exactly a quick-return mirror...).
Black dot: the mirror is swung out slowly with the lever movement, so avoiding camera shake with high-magnification equipment or long focus lenses.
Red dot: the mirror remains locked in the upper position.
(Please notice just near the release lever, the very convenient existence of a thread for cable release).

Although by far not so confortable as a modern SLR, it really widens the scope and practical application possibilities of the Leica M camera.
It is a pity that we don't find it no longer in the Leica Catalogue. If you want one, you have to look for it in the secondhand market.

On this image, you can observe the very different position of the Visoflex eyepiece vs. camera eyepiece.

The release lever acts directly on the release button of the Leica.

The 135mm Elmarit with extended lenshood ready for picturetaking.

The Visoflex III shown without the right-way-round 4x observation magnifier
(exchangeable with straight 5x magnifier: side-reversed image).

The lens head separated from the goggled mount, and the helical focusing mount 16462 for use with the Visoflex.

Lester Bowie (1941-1999) performing with the Art Ensemble of Chicago
(pictured with the 135mm Elmarit in Mannheim, Germany, 1980).

Escalhão, Portugal, December 31, 1983
(Leica M4-2+135mm f 2.8, Kodak Tri-X, dev. in D-76, dil. 1+1).

Me with Leicas in Escalhão, Portugal, December 31, 1983
(Leica M2, Kodak Tri-X, dev. in Kodak D-76, dil. 1+1).

The Leica that you see hanging on my left shoulder is the same M4-2 and Elmarit 135mm that I used to photograph the young "musician" above, on the very same day and on the very same village in North Portugal, not far away from river Douro, the region famous for it's wine, most notably Port Wine, one of the trademarks of our country.

I can't remember who shot my portrait (maybe my ex-wife?), but that person used the very same Leica M2 depicted on this post, probably equiped with a Summicron 50mm.

The other camera hanging around my neck looks like the Leica M3 with the 90mm f/2.8 Tele-Elmarit with rubber lenshood (I don't have the original negative with me here, and the poor resolution of the image is not enough to clearly see, it could also be a Leica M4...).
It is not hard to conjecture that the big Lowepro also transported some other interesting pieces of Photo Gear...

I still own, and try to regularly put into service, all the above equipment.

Only the Minolta Autometer didn't survive the passing of time... I lost it.
(The Lowepro - most likely the original Magnum model, I got rid of the labels - nowadays serves to carry a relatively small flash unit, like the Hensel Monoflash 800, or the lighter, newer version with 500 Ws, the Contra 500).

We spent some pleasant days in Escalhão, in the company of good old friends.
It was rather cold outside, and it was a joy to sit in the evening by the fireplace in the kitchen, tasting some food and wine, just jiving unconcernedly.

A quarter of a century has faded away...

The Leicas remain...

(P.S.: without wish of offending, the first photograph on this post makes me think of a portrait of Jean-Paul Sartre...).

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"Die neue Foto-Schule" - 1937

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Visiting my mother, I came upon this interesting book, "Die neue Foto - Schule", lost in the middle of many other books that I had long forgotten.

That's the charm of old books: you forget about them, and then you rediscover them.

Again and again...

Going through the pages of this exemplar, one gets the chance of making a little trip back in time, to the world of photography in 1937!

And how the world has changed...
Beeig an admirer of german engineering, it is sad for me to see that most german brands, top brands, have long ago disappeared. A glance at some of the pages of this volume, clearly shows that.
Germany has long ago lost it's leading position in the photographic business, and the tradition of building handcrafted cameras is slowly waving goodbye.

We, photographers, are defenitively the losers!

The most important camera types (up to 6x9).

Eight small, but important helpers.

How to accomplish correct tonal value...

Handling the small camera...
(40 photographic rules for the 35mm format).

Cropped negative...

1936 was the year of the Olympic Games in Berlin, where the german photographic industry had the chance of showing off it's new photographic marvels, like the Carl Zeiss Jena 18cm (180mm) f/2.8 Olympia Sonnar Telephoto lens for the Contax camera.

Adolf was becoming more and more popular...

This page still makes the heart of any rangefinder enthusiast beat faster...

Something to read about shutter types...

Some advertisements that make me sigh...

Who remembers Perutz or Plaubel?

Rollei and Agfa are also gone...

We still have Leica, Zeiss and Schneider, but for how long?

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Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM - some photographs

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Now, you better fasten your seat-belt.

This is going to be a long post!

On my first post about Photo Gear, some months ago, I showed you the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM lens (what a long, complicated name: yes, I admit that I must look it up!).

Now I wish to show you some images I shot in the meantime with that lens.

Even though it's maximal aperture might be for some more sophisticated tastes than mine a little dark (also possessing a much heavier purse than mine!), I find the image quality of this lens rather outstanding.
It is also not such a heavy load, so that I can carry it around for some hours without feeling like committing suicide...

I don't miss Image Stabilization on this apparatus. As I said before, it nerves me a little to feel it working.
If I feel like having a purring sound, I will pick up my tender cat instead!

Please bear in mind, that all these photographs were shot with a Canon 30D, with a crop factor of 1.6x.
That means that the focal length of this lens, when used on the 30D, is equivalent to a 640mm lens used on a full frame sensor or a 35mm camera!


Just to make things a little easier for me, I will divide this post in parts, explaining some of the situations I find useful enough, or interesting enough, that I bother at all to use such a lens.

1) I choose to start by the most obvious reason: to get a far away object depicted bigger in your finder (as if you could get near, but with a different perspective).

You may wish to do that just to be able to photograph, paparazzi-style, a faraway hidden beach celebrity such as the prime minister on holidays, for example.

Or you may choose to picture a shy creature like an undomesticated animal.
(You could also easilly turn it around and you suddenly become the shy photographer: picture yourself in the middle of the african savanna snapping a wild enraged lion... ).

Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), having lunch...

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) desiring to catch some lunch...

No, I don't intend to compete with all the serious nature photographers and ornithologists out there. Bird watching might be very enjoyable and instructive, but I wasn't practicing it when I found these birds.
I was working on assignment in the town of Tomar, last April, when I saw them, at two different days, down by the river. I just was lucky to have the 400mm with me...

The experts shall, please, forgive my humble efforts.


2) Now, this is where the fun genuinely starts for me: I like to use a long focal length to produce more or less abstract compositions where the main subject stands out against a blurred background, sort of visual isolation against a featureless immaterial and dreamy backdrop.

So I use the 400mm almost like I could use a macro-lens.
It is a pity that it only focus down to 3,5 meters. I would very much appreciate a little closer, so I wouldn't need to use an extension tube.

I find this kind of images most effective if you use back light.

(Most photographs on this post, if not all, shot at 5.6).

3) I guess that it sounds a little crazy, but I like the 400mm (640mm on the 30D!) to shoot (YES!) portraits...

I can almost hear the purists laugh, but how could they know that the background on both next photographs is made of trees?

My son Luis on the 11th of April 2009.

Please, allow me to say hello to him and congratulate him. Today, 18th of August, he celebrates his birthday. He was born 26 years ago in Heidelberg, Germany.
(Like my all other kids, I can honestly say that he is a nice guy! I am a lucky father...).

Maria Helena on the 14th of July 2009
(The woman who has enough courage to stand by me. I am a lucky man...).

My friend the cat, Mico, on the 21st of November 2008
(I can call him some other names, like Nicolau Mircolino, he will always answer.
I am a lucky cat owner...)

Shot hand held at 1/80!

I know that there are certain rules, like the one that says that you should not use a slower shutter speed than the focal length of your lens, in this case 1/400 (or something like that...).
But you know what I love most about rules?

I can break them!

So I decided to shoot all the photographs on this post without the help of a tripod.
I know that I could have achieved better (sharper) results sometimes, but I would have probably lost some shots...

The Nycticorax nycticorax wouldn't endlessly pose for me losing it's appetite, my cat would certainly fall asleep with eyes closed, the wind would blow the flowers away, and my back would hurt a little more...

Please, don't misinterpret me, I am a big enthusiast of tripods. Most cameras I use need one.

But as I said, I also love to break rules.

(On the photograph above, I suspect that some of the unsharpness is also caused by the wind shaking the plant, and not only by me. The answer, though, remains to be found...).

The Canon 400mm is not a telescope...

... but look how nice the moon shines, high above in this (strong) crop, just to bid you good night, sleep tight...

(also shot hand held by the way... I won't lie to you, the sky was not so dark, and the shot was made at 1/1250 f/5.6, at ISO 500. Underexposed one stop. The moon shone right above me).

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Kiev 4a - Photo Gear (6)

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Kiev 4a + Jupiter 8M

There are lots of interesting articles on the Internet about the soviets taking over the Contax production line as war reparations, after World War II. The facilities in Dresden, already almost destroyed by Allied bombing, were expropriated and dismantled, beeing transfered to the USSR, namely to Kiev, Ukraine, at the Arsenal factory.
That is how the soviets started producing a copy of the Contax II, launched in March 1936, together with several copies of interchangeable Zeiss lenses and other accessories.
Because of the Russian occupation of East Germany at the end of the war, Contax rangefinder production ceased, until the new West German Zeiss Ikon in Stuttgart launched its redesigned Contax IIA in 1950.

Beeing a deep lover of rangefinder cameras, and through my modest participation in Rangefinderforum, I became aware of the existence and possible quality this Former Soviet Union (FSU for short) cameras are able to deliver. My curiosity just kept on growing, until I finally was able to get a Kiev 4a and a Zorki 3-C.
Both cameras are equiped with a soviet copy of the standard Zeiss Sonnar lens: the Jupiter 8 1:2 f 5cm from 1956 in the case of the Zorki, and the Jupiter 8M 1:2 f 53mm from 1980 in the case of the Kiev. Both having a six elements in three groups design. Both focusing down to 0,9m. The Zorki Leica Thread Mount model has no click stops and has a non-rotating mount.
The version in Contax/Kiev bayonet mount has click stops and rotates.
Both lenses are coated.

I now utterly suffer from one more serious disease: FSU camera addiction!

I am doomed to deserve no salvation!

All photographs taken in Guimarães, North of Portugal, on the 21st of June 2009.
Kodak Tri-X film developed in Kodak D-76, diluted 1+1.

The day after we saw Judy Collins in concert, we made a short visit to Guimarães (World Heritage Site, emergence of the portuguese national identity in the 12th century).

In the North the wind typically blows a little cooler breeze...
Not so this time: the sun was hot and burning like if we were back home in Alentejo.

I started dreaming of a cool glass of bier...

Instead I kept shooting with my poor man's Contax!

My Kiev 4a is a type 2 (c. 1974-1980): the top shutter speed is 1/1000 sec.
Former versions were marked with a top speed of 1/1250!

Note the shutter release concentric with the film winding knob.
The rewinding knob shows a number: it serves only as a reminder. It has no connection with a light meter, as the 4a has no light meter!
You also have to manually reset the frame counter.

Please, also take note on the little wheel to the right, just before the rangefinder window: you can focus standard lenses by turning it with your middle finger, while your index finger rests on the shutter release. Beware not to cover the rangefinder window with your ring finger!
That's why you have to practice the "Contax hold" until you feel confortable with it: that is the price you have to pay for the uncommonly long, and theoretically more accurate, Rangefinder Base of 90mm...

Viewfinder Magnification: 0,9x.

Time to glimpse at the focal plane, vertical moving shutter with metal curtains.

Time to glimpse at the Contax/Kiev bayonet.

My Kiev shows some problems with light leaks, apparently a common problem with this type of cameras. Well, we should not forget that these cameras are now some decades old, and that they presumably had in their vast majority a rather poor maintenance.

Light leaks should be relatively simple to repair...

So, now the big question: is it worth to photograph with a Kiev?

Look at the face of the man in the photograph below, and find the answer for yourself!

I would like to kindly dedicate this post to all the nice and supportive people who have come to regularly enjoy my blog.

Your admiration is my energy to keep on moving.

Thank you very much for your kindness!

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