Tag Archives: Leica

better than pearl …

Toronto. A young Peter Stackpole shot the construction of the Bay Bridge  (to Oakland) and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco with his Leica A – the first professional quality and successfully marketed miniature camera. The last edition of … Continue reading

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amazing Oskar

Toronto. In a recent Digital Camera World article, it was announced that Leica Camera AG had its best  (in revenue) year ever – this on the 100th anniversary of the first sale of Leicas ever. Like many firms in Europe, … Continue reading

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winding it up

Toronto. Film had a great run in photography, lasting over a century from Eastman’s roll film for his pivotal ‘Kodak” camera in the late 1880s to the APS (Advanced Photo System) early in the 1990s that drifted into early this … Continue reading

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July 2025 PHSC News issue 25-7

Toronto. Well Patrick did it again! This issue is a real gob smacker! Click on the icon of the cover at left to snag a copy.  This is the seventh in an eye-appealing series of monthly newsletters by  Patrick Gunn … Continue reading

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a century already?

Toronto. Wow! Leica has been around for a century now. It seems like only yesterday that the little camera saved a German optical house and revolutionized photography – all after WW1 ended. The camera, formally introduced to the world in … Continue reading

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when Leitz made Leicas and lenses in Midland

Toronto. Post ww2 Leitz decided to diversify their camera and lens production by adding a plant outside Germany. According to my friend, the late Bill Belier, the Canadian distributor, Walter Carveth, suggested Canada for the new plant  and in particular … Continue reading

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the old is new again …

Toronto. … or is nothing sacred these days? In 1975 I bought a 35mm summicron for my new Leica. I later (much later) learned it was the third iteration of  the lens and designed up in Midland by Dr Mandler. … Continue reading

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a better view

Toronto. In a recent post, I looked at the Visoflex  ‘chimney’ for the mirror box fitted between a Leica and its bellows. Even before the Visoflex series went to market, Leitz made mirror boxes like the PLOOT which came with … Continue reading

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not up in smoke

Toronto. Leitz came up with a mirror box housing that converted its famous Leica rangefinder to an SLR for close-ups and telephoto shots. The first version (Visoflex I) came with the 5x vertical magnifier (LVFOO). A 45 degree 4x magnifier … Continue reading

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one ringy dingy …

Toronto. Who can forget comedian Lily Tomlin and her hilarious send up of the telephone company? Leitz often separated the lens assembly from the focussing mount. To use the lens on the bellows, a ring would connect the lens (or … Continue reading

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