Film Cameras For Lovers - Leica M5 (Photo Gear 16)

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The Leica M5 remains, after all these years, a controversial Leica.

Opinions about this camera tend to passionately diverge between love and hate.

Some people enjoy it precisely for the same reasons others despise it: a different shape and larger size than previous M’s, its vertical hanging from the two carrying-strap lugs at the left end of the body – later remedied with an optional third lug for horizontal transport −, rapid rewind-crank on the camera baseplate, are some of the grounds for the enthusiastic quarrel among the Leica rangefinder cognoscenti.

Paradoxically, quite a few of these changes in the characteristic shape of a Leica M are the direct consequence of some of the best and most innovative M5 attributes: through-the-lens spot metering (Cds cell), shutter speed and exposure information on viewfinder, are only some arguments impressive enough to treasure the Leica M5, which undeniably deserves a special status in the long Leitz/Leica tradition of manufacturing first-class tools for the discerning photographer.

 



 

 

 

Summicron 2/35mm

 

 

 

 

Tele-Elmarit 2.8/90mm

 

 

 

Elmarit 2.8/135mm

 

 

 

Four decades later, this groundbreaking camera is still capable of producing first-rate photographs on film.

No matter what criticism it may arise − or praise, for that matter −, in my opinion the Leica M5 is the last true classic camera from Leitz Wetzlar, a beautifully made apparatus and a great performer on competent hands.

I will make a small transcription from a book that I bought many years ago:

 

“The Leica M5, introduced in 1971, is still what Leicas have been since 1932 – a rangefinder camera that combines the highest optical and mechanical standards with the greatest ease of handling. It is the first rangefinder camera to combine interchangelenses with a through-the-lens metering system.

The M5 has a rugged die-cast chassis like those of earlier M Leicas, redesigned and slightly enlarged to accommodate the metering system. It remains a compact and handy camera that can use most of the earlier M-Leica lenses and accessories”.

Leica Manual – 15^th Edition (The Complete Book of 35mm Photography)

© Morgan & Morgan, Inc., N.Y., 1973.

 

I couldn’t say it better.

 

Long live the Leica M5!

 



 

Toquinho, Serpa, June 2009

(Toquinho is a wonderful guitar player who made countless memorable records with Vinicius de Moraes - Thank you for the invitation Fred and Ana!)

 

 

 

Crossing the river Sado from Setúbal to Tróia, March 2009

 

 

 

My best friend "Pakica", Évora, March 2009

 

 

(Photographs made with the Leica M5)

 

 

 

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Film Cameras For Lovers - Rolleiflex SL 35 (Photo Gear 13)

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Carl Zeiss Planar 1.4 / 50mm HFT (Germany)

Rollei Planar 1.4 / 50mm HFT (Singapore)

Rollei Sonnar 2.8 / 135mm HFT

Rollei Tele-Tessar 4 / 200mm HFT

Rollei Quick Bayonet Mount

Attachable Accessory Shoe (sold separately)

Carl Zeiss Sonnar 2.8 / 85mm

Rolleiflex SL 35

Introduced in 1970, the Rolleiflex SL 35 was the first 35mm single lens reflex manufactured by Rollei.

The camera was supplied with lenses made by Carl Zeiss - or made by Rollei under license from Zeiss - and Schneider Kreuznach.

A economical range of lenses was also delivered by Japanese makers - notably by Mamiya - and sold by Rollei under the brand name Rolleinar.

Camera type: 24x36mm single lens reflex camera with exposure measurement through the lens and mechanical focal plane shutter with rubber blinds.

Shutter speeds: 1/1000 to 1 sec and B, electronic flash synchronisation up to 1/60 sec. Continuous rotable shutter speed dial.

Lens bayonet mount: Rollei QBM (Quick Bayonet Mount) – also used on most Voigtländer VSL models.

Exposure measurement: through the lens system with CdS cells, centre-weighted, at working aperture. Meter needle centred with index in finder. Meter switched on by stop-down key on camera top. Film speed range: 12 to 6400 ASA / ISO.

Finder system: Pentaprism, instant return mirror. Focusing screen with central microprism grid, matted screen ring and matted screen with Fresnel lens. Rectangular finder eyepiece with fitting for eyepiece cup and correction lenses.

Weight and dimensions: 585 grams / 141x93x50mm without lens.


Please note:

HFT (High Fidelity Transfer) is a multi-layer anti-reflection coating co-developed by Zeiss and Rollei, similar to the Zeiss T* coating.

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Rollei 35 S - Photo Gear (11)

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Not much bigger than a packet of cigarettes, the Rollei 35 is one of the smallest full-frame 35mm cameras, ever built.

Compactness was mandatory for its innovative design, the HFT Sonnar lens and the Rollei Compur shutter (on this version) being the guarantee for high- quality performance.

Coupled to aperture, shutter and film speed, the CdS exposure meter was of the match needle type. Like all classic cameras (the 35 S was built 1974 - 80), mercury batteries can be a problem to substitute, generally forbidden because of environmental issues.

I simply overcome the nuisance by using no batteries at all in such cameras.

I bring an external light meter instead!

You will notice that some dials and levers work differently, and are placed differently, than on most 35mm cameras:

Shutter speeds (1/2 s – 1/500 s, B) and aperture values (f / 2.8 – 22) are set by the two dials on the front of the camera;

Film transport lever is on the left side and winds to the left;

The film cartridge goes in the right side of the camera and the film travels to the left;

The rewinding crank, the exposure counter, and the acessory hot-shoe for flash are located on the underside of the camera;

Removable camera back to facilitate loading and unloading film;

You can release the lens by pressing a button, and turn and push it back into the body. It is then small enough to fit into a pocket (filter size 30,5mm)…

The Rollei 35 S is the smallest camera I use. Not much, I must confess…

Although the viewfinder is very satisfactory, and the shutter very silent, I miss the possibility of using a rangefinder (of course, it would make the camera bigger!) for exact focusing.

I can live with it, but 40mm focal distance is not really my dream for estimating the distance of my subjects…

For a little bit more size and weight, I definitely prefer to carry the robustness of a Leica M…

Nevertheless, the Rollei 35 might be an option in case you are looking for a small film camera with a price tag that can be better accepted by an average / not insane human being.

Long live the Rollei!




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Gandolfi Precision 20x25cm/8x10 inches - Photo Gear (10)

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Self-portrait showing off with Gandolfi cameras
(Gandolfi Variant 4x5 + Gandolfi Precision 8x10)

No!, you may bet on that my intent is not to show off!
I am posing on the photograph above to transmit an idea of scale and, most of all, to make it a little bit richer in terms of human communication. That is crucial for me, I like you to know how I look like, what I think and what I care for.

I don't wish to be an anonymous being in the cosmic ether...

Communication must come on strong! It is, after all, the main purpose of this blog, as it is the main purpose of Photography.

The subject of Large Format Photography is extremely vast, and many more competent people have written about it before (Ansel Adams, Bruce Barnbaum, Leslie Stroebel, are names that quickly come to mind), so that I don't even have the chance to pretend that I can add something new or more important that was not said before.

Nevertheless, I think that I have the obligation to use the opportunity of running this blog, to be a certain kind of film crusader, not a prophet for sure, only somebody that should take the chance to spread the word...

Many people were born in the digital age and have exclusively used digital cameras for their entirely life (or maybe even used film in smaller formats); so these folks are not aware of all the potentialities of cameras that allow for movements in Large Format Photography.
Please, don't confuse my large format terminology with the often encountered new-meaning of large, or wide, prints made by some inkjet printers, or whatever printers that may be...
I mean cameras that produce large format negatives and transparencies! Negatives in the size of 9x12cm/4x5inches are usually considered the smallest size to be classified as Large Format Photography.

It doesn't matter how good your Nikon, Canon, Leica, Hasselblad, Mamiya, etc. is, the large format camera with movements is another kind of beast: it does things that nothing else can do. And that, since the beginning ages of Photography!
Likewise, it also has its own limitations, for sure. That's why I love to use (almost) all of them... cameras

I hate to feel limited! I enjoy them all!

Ansel Adams wrote:"The view-camera provides adjustments that allow us to alter the relationship between the lens axis and the film plane. With a non-adjustable camera this relationship is fixed: the lens axis is always perpendicular to the film plane, and passes through the center of it. The view-camera adjustments (sometimes called camera movements) permit shifting and tilting of the lens and film up and down or sideways in relation to each other. Knowing how to use this adjustments gives us an extraordinary degree of control over the content and focus of the image" ("The Camera", Little, Brown and Company, 1980).

View camera movements (Swing, Tilt, Rise, Fall, Lateral Shift) allow us to choose and control the Plane of Focus, to control the Shape and Sharpness of the image: that means that you can avoid converging lines, can accentuate the shape of objects within the picture, can influence the depth of field and perspective, can relocate the position of objects within the frame, etc.
Versatility is the key word!

In his book "View Camera Technique", Leslie Stroebel (Focal Press, 1993) points out the major features normally associated with the name View-Camera:
1. Ground-glass viewing for composing and focusing.
2. Lateral, vertical, and angular adjustment of the lens and back.
3. Accomodation of interchangeable lenses.
4. Flexible bellows connecting the front and back of the camera.
5. Large film size, usually in sheet form.
6. Designed to be used on a tripod.

Of course, not all cameras necessarily have all these carachteristics in one model, some do!, and some view cameras were even designed with handheld use in mind: press cameras (like the Graflex Speed Graphic, Linhof Technika), are some of the examples that I could point out.
Some large format cameras don't even possess movements at all! (Sinar Handy, Fotoman). I would state that, aside from a larger negative size, such cameras don't deserve much attention, being a niche inside a niche, except maybe for very limited applications...

To be honest, I have to remark that it is still possible to enjoy some view-camera kind-of-adjustments with 35mm or digital cameras: think about shift-lenses from Nikon, Canon, Schneider, or medium format shift-lenses and adapters.
Better yet, we should remember special shift-cameras like the Corfield WA 67 or the Horseman SW612 Pro that I have introduced before.

Ansel Adams in his aforementioned book, broadly defined Large Format camera types in three categories:
1. View Cameras (divided in "monorail" construction, like a Sinar camera, usualy of modular design, and the "flat bed" construction. I will say that both cameras on the photograph above belong to this type, although the Variant model offers much more significant movements, or adjustments as Ansel called them).
2. Press Cameras ("...intended primarily for hand-held use...a similar design, often called a "technical" camera, extends the adjustment capability of the classic press camera, but retains the ability to be operated either hand-held or on a tripod", in Adams own words. I have named some models above).
3. Field Cameras (The term field implies that is designed to be easily portable. This can be either a monorail or flat-bed design, constructed in such a way that it folds into a relatively small unit. Inevitably, some compromises are required in these designs, usually in the form of limited adjustment capability".).

For me, the third category is redundant...

So, why do I consider of great significance to talk about such cameras, don't they belong to an obsolete past?
As a matter of fact, I maintain that only well-intentioned ignorance can excuse and explain such a question...

The demise of View-Cameras and their respective paraphernalia (Canham, Deardorff, Ebony, Gandolfi, Horseman, Linhof, Lotus, Phillips, Shen Hao, Sinar, Toyo, Walker, Wista, Zone VI, etc. - some of these names may no longer be active among us!) ,would be a great loss to Photography and its heritage.
A valuable idiom would vanish, a visual and artistic language could be endangered, a whole tradition would inevitably be condemned, in the end the keeping flame of a cultural treasure would be forever lost!

Tracing a parallel to the musical world (so dear to Adams and many photographers, myself included), I could ask about your sentiments regarding the possible disappearance of such musical master instruments like Bösendorfer grand pianos, Ramirez guitars, Selmer saxophones...

Imagine the world without first class acoustic instruments... Everybody plays electronic keyboards!

What a shame and a pity it would be! We would unquestionably be confined to a poorer place to live in...

Rodenstock Grandagon-N 115mm f /6.8 (Centerfilter) + 13x18cm/5x7inches reducing back


Before I start describing the Gandolfi Precision, let me explain that you are not looking at an antik camera!!!

In reality, I commissioned this wonderful apparatus in Mahogany in 1995.
Gandolfi Cameras was founded by Louis Gandolfi in 1885, making it England's oldest camera manufacturer! Yes, you read correctly, that was 126 years ago!

After the Gandolfi brothers retired (the children of Louis: Tom, Fred and Arthur, the last one of the camera-making brothers who died in January 1993), the company was run by Sir Kenneth Corfield and a very kind gentleman called Brian Gould, Managing Director. It was with him that I exchanged countless faxes about the specifications that I wanted the camera to have (Sinar Front to match camera, Front Swing, Additional Front Locks), and about the Corfield WA67. I bought both cameras from him.
I was delighted to meet Mr. Brian Gould in person at the Photokina, but sadly he passed away a short time after.
We are fortunate that the company is now kept alive by present owner, Mr. Edward Hill.
Mr. Hill still produces a similar model under the name "Traditional", and was very helpfull sending me some lens boards and a lens panel adapter last Summer.

The Precision bellows is not exchangeable, but the camera is absolutely wide-angle capable! Notice the bed drop to allow for better bellows compression and avoid image vignetting.
Although this compression won't permit enough room for ample adjustments, a clever and simple device allows for some lens shift, a feature important for Architectural Photography.

The Rodenstock Grandagon-N 115mm f/6.8 is a lens specifically designed for the 13x18cm/5x7inches format.
In this version, with maximum aperture 6.8, it has six elements, and its field angle is around 100 degrees.
Image circle at f/22 and at infinity= 291mm.

Using the 115mm Rodenstock Grandagon-N lens in 13x18cm/5x7 inches, is equivalent to equiping a 35mm/full frame sensor camera with a 24mm wide-angle lens.

This lens doesn't quite cover the whole 20x25cm/8x10 inches format, even without adjustments...

Rodenstock Apo-Sironar W 210mm f/5.6

Now we are getting into 20x25cm/8x10inches Photography...

This very remarkable lens, albeit heavy and large, is a complete joy to use!
Not a very common lens to find (now discontinued!), The Rodenstock Apo-Sironar W belonged to the most exquisite models of the Rodenstock catalogue.
It allows for generous movements, making it praticable to use the lens on the next bigger format.

The 210mm focal distance is considered the "normal" lens for the 13x18cm/5x7inches format. The very large image circle of this particular design, makes it suitable to use this specimen on 20x25cm/8x10 inches with ample movements for adjustments.

The Rodenstock Apo-Sironar W 210mm f/5.6 with the field angle of 80 degrees, is a 7 elements/5 groups design.
Image circle at f/22 and at infinity= 352mm.

It is equivalent to using a 30-35mm lens on a 35mm/full frame sensor camera, making it a nice and moderate wide-angle.

Schneider G-Claron 305mm f/9

This is the camera on it's regular aspect, meaning that the use of this focal length is correspondent to a 35mm/full sensor equiped with a 45-50mm lens, the so-called "Normal" lens.

The Schneider G-Claron 305mm is a lens of symmetrical design with six elements in four groups, optimized for 1:1 reproduction. Stopping the lens down to f/22, the G-Claron may be used for distances up to infinity, and has an angle of view of 64 degrees.
Image circle at f/22 and at infinity= 381mm.

Although its maximum aperture is a little modest, even in terms of large format stuff, I very much like to use the G-Claron. It is a relatively compact lens, and f/9 really isn't a big issue: I only use this aperture for framing and focusing, so that the ground glass doesn't get too dark.
Viewing with the lens at maximum aperture, enhances the accuracy of focusing. The lens will then be stopped down to the picture-making aperture for a visual check of the depth of field. There is no such thing like automatic diaphragm on this type of gear!

For shooting, I invariably close the aperture down to f/22-f/45, according to the required depth-of-field and the format in question. That is common practice in Large Format Photography.

Taking a look at the ground glass of the Precision, you will observe the four corners cut off. It permits air to escape when you change the extension of the camera or close it for transport. Even more important: it allows you to check if the entire aperture is visible, with working-aperture, looking through these corners and through the lens. Should you not be able to see the entire aperture, vignetting will occur. Similary, you can also check by looking from the front through the lens, to see if the corners and edges of the ground glass are visible.

The most attentive of you will have by now noticed, that I am presenting the Gandolfi with a certain method: I started with the shorter focal lenses and I am progressing towards the longer ones.

In each case I have pictured the camera as focused to the distance of infinity, so that you can have an accurate idea of the dimensions the camera assumes with each focal length, like if the camera would be shooting a landscape, for example.

Rodenstock Apo-Ronar 480mm f/9

This one is another favourite of mine!

The Rodenstock Apo-Ronar is the classic process lens, but like in the example before, its range goes beyond process and product shots. With a field angle of 48 degrees it is capable of performing like a first-class long lens.
Its characteristics also make it appealing in the close-up and macro range (of course, in this particular focal length that would cause very large bellows extension, making it less appropriate...).
Optical design: four elements / four groups.
Image circle at F/22 and at infinity= 396mm.

This particular lens is Multi-Coated (MC), a feature not always encountered in Apo-Ronar lenses and process lenses in general, as far as I understand.
Apo-Ronar lenses are well respected for their outstanding definition. They are relatively light and compact, and still superior in field angle to tele lens designs.

The 480mm equivalence in 20x25cm/8x10 inches for 35mm/full frame cameras, is 70mm.

Using the Apo-Ronar 480mm with the 13x18cm/5x7 inches reducing back is like using a 100mm on a 35mm SLR.

Not bad, for such a "little" back pack...

So behaves the bellows between the Grandagon-N 115mm and the Apo-Germinar 600mm

Docter Optics Apo-Germinar 600mm f/11.5

Another rarity and gem, this lens is in the same league as the Apo-Ronar.
Of similar optical construction, it consists, in this focal length, of six elements in six groups, also symmetrical design.
Image circle diameter at f/22 and at infinity should be about 510mm
(There is very little information about these fine lenses, please don't take this number for granted. It seems plausible for me, although I haven't made any tests. I assure you that the lens has more than enough movements capability at infinity).

Docter Optics was founded in 1984, in Wetzlar, Germany.
After the german reunification, Bernhard Docter took over (in 1991) the VEB Carl Zeiss Jena Werke in Saalfeld and Schleiz (or at least the division that made large format lenses), located in the former German Democratic Republic.
Docter Optics continued to make Carl Zeiss classic designs, such as the Tessar and Apo-Germinar, until Dr. Bernhard died in the mid-nineties.
The company subsequently was sold in 1996 to Rodenstock, Bosh and Hella KG, and the manufacture of Docter large format lenses came to an end.
Despite that, Docter Optics is alive and well, producing components of virtually all types of commercially available optical glass: spheres, aspheres, freeforms, prisms, mirrors, etc., including some specialized components for the automotive industry. They have expanded to the USA, Japan, China...

Unfortunately, there seems to be no profitability with large format lenses...

Our loss!

Back to the Gandolfi:

The 600mm focal length in 20x25cm/8x10 inches is equivalent to 88mm in 35mm/full frame cameras. Make it equivalent to 127mm with 13x18/5x7 inches reducing back!

Please take note of the detail picture showing the Docter Apo-Germinar, and what I meant before by Additional Front Locks: the Precision, or Traditional, up to 8x10 inches, typically only displays one locking wheel. I agreed with Mr. Brian Gould that it should be made stronger, because of the heavy lenses I was planning to use. The Copal 3 shutters are indeed big and heavy, likewise the big pieces of glass!

You should also think that, contrary to the usual Single Lens Reflex lenses that are all visible outside the camera, the lenses you see here are only half visible, especially the symmetrical designs. The other half hides inside the camera (except for the shutter, of course!).

The last photograph displays the maximal bellows extension achieveable with the camera. Better let the summer breeze stand still...

The Leica M3 body gives some scale to the true dimensions of the extended camera... Bear in mind, though, that if the Leica would point in the same direction as the Gandolfi, it would look much slimmer...

Now, if you read the whole story, then I know that you are genuinely interested and curious about Large Format Photography.

Congratulations!!!

You are looking at the icing on the cake, you are looking at me!



P.S.: Sorry, but I forgot to photograph the pearl closed inside the shell...

Good night!



Technical data on the photographs:
Camera - Canon 30D
Lens - Leitz Elmarit 135mm f/2.8
Lighting equipment - Hensel Studiotechnik, Würzburg, Germany.



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Leica R5 - First Impressions - Photo Gear (9)

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Leica R5 + Elmarit 135mm + 16462 focusing mount + 14167 adapter
(image complements my post about the Elmarit + Visoflex)


The Leicaflex SL always was one of my dream cameras!

My heart throbs a little faster anytime I see that "thick as a brick" camera, which most apparent attributes seem to be simplicity and robustness.
Its rather classical and understated design appeals very much to my taste, so much that, up to this day, I find the Leicaflex SL2 to be the most wonderful of all 35mm SLRs!

Then again, I refrained from acquiring Leica reflex cameras, simply because I preferred Leica rangefinder cameras!
These M-cameras alone, represented a barely justifiable investment for my usually empty taxi driver wallet...

Restricted funds schrank my insanity!

Second version of the R5, after Leitz became Leica
(Wonderful depth of field lever. First R5 version had Leitz red logo on the left, R5 on the right. Some other small modifications)


I have a "Leica Preisliste - gültig ab 1. Oktober 1990", in front of me.
The price of the Leica R5 was quoted with 3.598 DM (something on the order of 1.800 Euros. For the body alone, versteht sich...).

Maybe the only benefit of the digital "revolution" that I can discern for us, film photographers, is that (used) film equipment is much more affordable these days!

Considering that Leitz ceased production of the Leicaflex SL2 in 1976, I decided to try a somewhat newer R model: the almost pristine camera that you can admire on these images is from 1991, a "young blood", so to speak...

Exquisite cameras are indubitably like delicious Port: they get better with age and usage!




Notice film type window, thumb's rest (second version only, not sure if I like it), eyepiece blank, eyepiece adjustment wheel (+- 2 dioptres)


I have to concede that, purist as I am, I would have maybe preferred an all-mechanical camera, like the Leicaflex or the Leica R6. Electronic gear just seems to frighten me!

Bearing in mind that all my Leica Ms, as well as most of my gear, are all "old-fashioned" mechanical cameras, the majority of them without an exposure meter built-in!, I concluded that some sort of comfort could do me no harm... Actually, there are circumstances when automatic exposure is a blessing!

Asking Mr. Nunes's opinion, which I very much respect and trust - his words are sacred to me!, I was astonished that he promptly replied "the R5", when I asked him which was his Leica R of choice.
Mr. Nunes is the very competent repairperson of Leica Portugal, also specializing in Hasselblad and other mouth-watering names of the photo industry.

I trust him my valuable cameras for many years now!




Intuitive to use controls and levers. Program selector with locking button above shutter speed dial



My main concern was the exposure accuracy of the built-in light meter: the dual exposure system - integral and selective metering option, was intriguing me. Could I trust it, so used as I am to hand-held metering?

Suffice it to say that I find it to be outstanding! Selective metering on the Leica R5 is absolutely superb!!

As a matter of fact, the whole camera surpasses all my expectations, and is a joy to use! Everything works butterweich, typical Leica!
The apparatus is very well-balanced, instantly giving you that confident and trustful feeling of having high-grade stuff in your hands.

The finder is possibly the best one that I saw on any SLR, giving a crisp, easy to focus image.
Thanks to it, I could see that the lamp in our living-room has some cobwebs on it. I couldn't detect them with the Canon EOS-1n!
At first I thought that the focusing screen was scratched...

Please, bear in mind that I am using this camera "the hard way", that is without lenses with automatic aperture.
In fact, the only lenses I used so far, are lenses made for the Visoflex: 135mm/2.8 Elmarit (1979), 200mm/4 Telyt (1961), 280mm/4.8 Telyt (1978), all of them with Leitz 14167 adapter ring, and the 400mm/6.8 Telyt (1973), also a non-automatic lens.
None of these lenses is "high-speed"...
None of them can be called "modern"...

I am eager to get my hands on a Summicron-R 50mm, or similar, to fully test the potential of this excellent, intuitive camera!


Dislikes?
Not easy to find, but here I go:
- maybe a little too small, even for my small hands...(I believe that it must balance very well with a Motor Drive R... But there I go again, making easy things complicated again!).
- For the original price, the leatherette could be a little softer and provide a more exquisite feeling...

That's all?

C'mon, give me a break! Let me have my fun and enjoy!



P.S.: Some days ago, I posted several photographs made with the combo displayed above. Some months ago, I also posted about the Elmarit 135mm used with goggles on a Leica M, and with Leitz focusing mount 16462 on the Visoflex.
Should you be curious, please take a look on these former posts.



Good night, sleep tight!



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Hasselblad 500 EL/M - Photo Gear (8) Hommage à Peter Borkenhagen, Uwe Feigenbutz, Friederich Hackstein and Horst Kunnert

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I have very often expressed, in various Photography Forums, my dislike and discontent over the trend of the photographic industry to produce countless, and meaningless, limited editions of camera models.

I would speculate that my annoyance with such fashionable ways, comes principally from the fact that most of them are, well, meaningless...

So, I should possibly feel a little embarrassment, admiting that I also purchased a couple of these cameras along the years... I think that I don't have to feel contradictory, but please, read on.

My first ever Leica, was a "Leica CL 50th Anniversary", one of those special edition models that Leitz introduced in 1975, marking the 50th Anniversary of the manufacture of the Leica.

I got the complete set, used, with Summicron-C 40mm and Elmar-C 90mm. I must say that I was delighted with the camera: exceptional optical quality in a very compact set! For someone who was coming from the SLR corner with big and heavy cameras and lenses, it was a revelation! I had seen nothing better or more efficcient for my humanitarian street photography.

Then, I made the "mistake" of touching a Leica M, and there could be no return: the CL was traded for my M4-2. That was in 1979, and I never felt sorry for that decision. Somehow, every time I see a CL, my heart beats a little faster...

By the way, I do think that 50 years of Leica production was reason enough for the Leitz company to celebrate with some special edition cameras!

Another uncommon camera I got around that time, was the Hasselblad 500 EL/M "20 Years in Space" that I have pictured on these photographs. It was produced to celebrate the use of Hasselblad cameras by the NASA, between 1962 and 1982: 2 Hasselblad EL electric cameras were used for the first time on Apollo 8, in 1968, bringing back 1100 photographs from the mission. Kodak was even asked by NASA to develop thin new films with special emulsions! Needless to say, many of these improvements on equipment, and films, have found their way on our consumer products.

The "20 Years in Space" consisted on a limited edition of 1500 cameras with grey leather covering, in the style of the cameras used by the Apollo Space Program (The leatherette was actually removed and replaced by metal plates, on the cameras sent to space. At first, the cameras had black anodized surfaces to eliminate reflections. Later on, the outer surface of the 500EL data camera was colored silver to help maintain more uniform internal temperatures in the extremes encountered on the moon. The conventional lubricants were also replaced with low friction materials, or eliminated, because they would boil off in the vacuum).

About a dozen Hasselblad/NASA cameras were left on the surface of the moon. Only the film magazines were brought back... Who gives me a ride to Tranquility Base?

The special edition you see here is, of course, the "normal" camera, except for the leatherette and the shutter-release button, which was also unusual for the 500 EL/M that you found on the normal consumer market (the subsequent civilian models also adopted the astronaut style, I should note).

The camera was supplied with the first-class Planar 2.8/80mm by Carl Zeiss, and A12 film magazine. It came in a special golden box, with certificate and battery charger.

Being rather "affordable" these days (the normal version, I mean), the main drawback of the Hasselblad 500 EL/M, is that it needs special rechargeable batteries, and they are hard to find and expensive. It is also not cheap to convert the cameras to use other types of batteries.

Only in 1988, with the introduction of the 553 ELX, the electric Hasselblads started to use five AA/R6 alkaline battery cells with 1,5 volts. Please, be aware of that.

Above shots made with Canon 30D + Leitz 4/200mm Telyt

(lens made in 1961! For the Visoflex)

+ 14167 Leitz Adapter + Enjoyyourcamera adapter

Both Leica CL and Hasselblad 500 EL/M, were sold to me by a great photographic artist, namely Peter Borkenhagen. Being a trained portrait photographer, Borkenhagen worked in some fine Fotogeschäfte in Heidelberg. He was the best photographic equipment seller that you can dream of: not only friendly and honest, but also knowledgeable and extremely competent. You can surely trust Peter's opinion. All photographic community around Heidelberg respects him very much.

At heart and soul, Borkenhagen is an Artist!

I didn't see, or have any contact with him, for some years now. I can imagine that he maybe is retired from his salesman activity...

I have no doubt, though, that his Art is going strong, and that he keeps being an engaged Artist, with capital A !

Uwe Feigenbutz was a friend of ours. He ran a kind of itinerant gallery ("x. producer's Gallery"), and he organized some exhibitions of our work, very often having the support of a jazz combo, in the pursuit of a broader artistic experience.

Together with Friederich Hackstein who, I believe, still runs London Pub in Lampertheim, Bundesland Hessen, we constituted a curious quartet of different photographic styles: Peter Borkenhagen would heat his Polaroids or literally burn his negatives (chemically and with fire!), before making his own prints, Hackstein would show his abstract Polaroid nudes, Uwe would typically display serigraphies, and I was the "conservative" one, with my straight photography.

We went to Ljubljana, Lisbon, Lampertheim, Heilbronn... Sometimes all four, other times just two of us, some other times maybe alone. Nevertheless, I think that we made a skilled group of talents!

Then I came back to Portugal, Uwe sadly passed away...

The above exhibition was made possible with the help of the american photographer Kristi Eisenberg, Coordinator of the Photography Program at Cecil Community College, Maryland, USA.

Thank you Kristy, it was very kind of you!

Mr. Horst Kunnert wrote an article about my photographs on the magazine "Leica Fotografie", nr. 3/1983 (Umschau Verlag, Frankfurt/am Main). I only have the french edition with me, where the article is entitled "Un Amateur Engagé". I remember spending a nice afternoon in Mr. Kunnert's home, in the balcony, while some enthusiastic conversation about Photography was going on.

"Ses photos noir et blanc m'avaient vivement impressioné et éveillé ma curiosité. Qui pouvait-il être, celui qui avec autant de doigté réussissait d'aussi subtiles photos de personnes?", started the kind words of Mr. Kunnert. I was 27 years old...

On my part, I mentioned Josef Koudelka, Cartier Bresson, Robert Frank, William Klein, Bruce Davidson, Eugene Smith, André Kertesz, Robert Doisneau, Don McCullin, as my biggest influences then... I think that I certainly had good taste at 27...

I wasn't yet into large format. As you might imagine, the list grew a little longer along the years...But those names still remain among my favourites, I should tell!

The above portrait of Mr. Kunnert was photographed some years later, on April 1st, 1990.

Both headshots were made during a workshop with Fotoclub Meckesheim, organized by Peter Borkenhagen. He would do his experimental photographs and Polaroids, I would teach some lighting technics for portrait photography. Obviously, on both examples, I was demonstrating how to use only one light source (Hensel Monoflash 800) with a normal reflector...
Film material was Kodak T-Max 100.
Shooting camera was also a Hasselblad, this time the 500 C/M, with Carl Zeiss Sonnar 4/150mm.

Such a workshop would take a weekend of work, but it surely was rewarding to see the enthusiastic involvement of all participants.

I am sorry to say, but I forgot the name of the gentleman with the wonderful moustache. He absolutely looked fantastic!

Above image shot with Canon 30D + Micro-Nikkor 2.8/55mm

+ enjoyyourcamera adapter

Another shot of the Hasselblad 500 EL/M, in the way that I prefer to use the camera: with the traditional EL shutter button and, simultaneously, with electric cable release, so that I can quickly switch between both at will.

I am not that big fan of the square release...

To conclude this already long post, allow me to say hello to all the nice people involved: it was good to know you all, and I hope that we meet again soon!

Tschüss!

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