Author Archives: Robert

retrofitting lenses

Posted on September 2, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. When Leitz came out in 1954 with the wildly popular M3 camera, they took into account the money Leica fans had tied up in auxiliary lenses and accessories. While the M series camera bodies were thicker than the older … Continue reading →

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do you see what I see

Posted on September 1, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. When Leitz marketed their famous little Leica in 1925, it had a squinty little 5cm viewfinder that remained unchanged for the life of the screw mount cameras.  Worse,  by 1930, Leitz had added lenses of other focal lengths and … Continue reading →

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made in the shade

Posted on August 31, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. Stompin’ Tom wrote a song of the same name in 1986. (And, yes, I have the CD too.) Before the second world war, lenses were uncoated as optical coating was still to be invented. When Leitz made the Leica … Continue reading →

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nearer your destination

Posted on August 30, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. When Oskar Barnack created the Leica he used lenses focussing from 1 metre to infinity. Many users wanted to use the tiny marvels closer than 1 metre. This was solved for copying by various devices and stands. To use … Continue reading →

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… getting to the end of the day.

Posted on August 29, 2018 by Robert

Toronto.  Dennis Waterman sang these words as part of the New Tricks theme song. They are very appropriate as a tag line for 35mm film. The late Jack Naylor noted in his brochure that many cameras before the Leica used … Continue reading →

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some thoughts on rangefinders

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. Did you know Leitz made telemeters, or rangefinders before making their famous Leicas? The Leitz telemeters had a 1 metre or half metre spacing and were used to measure distances. In the days of view cameras, rangefinders were unnecessary … Continue reading →

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an automatic camera in 1932

Posted on August 27, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. Today we don’t even think about focussing. On our digital camera or phone we just move the little green or yellow outline to the desired spot to focus, set white balance, set ISO, etc. The example below is from … Continue reading →

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what the heck is a WINTU?

Posted on August 26, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. A popular means of disguising a camera is to take a photo at right angles to your position. This was often done with still camera viewers in the late 1800s and early 1900s. One such right angle viewfinder was … Continue reading →

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two female Canadian war photographers

Posted on August 25, 2018 by Robert

Toronto. George Dunbar sent me a note the other day celebrating two Canadians who photographed part of the second world war in Europe. Jenny Whitehead was a  leading WREN in the Canadian Navy while Irene Lockwood was a corporal in … Continue reading →

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Auto-Quinon f/1.9 55mm

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Robert

Toronto.  I chose this lens over a Zeiss Biotar for the standard lens of my late 1950s Exakta-VX IIa. The lens was a fast f/1.9, 55mm lens with full stop click-stops and an automatic stop down to the chosen f/stop … Continue reading →

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