Tag Archives: Leitz

tiny, I can see you

Posted on October 12, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. The makers of rangefinder cameras such as the Leica went to great lengths with accessories to allow the cameras to be used for any photographic project. On page 85 of the April 1951 Popular Photography magazine, Leitz NY ran … Continue reading →

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introducing a photographer to minicams in 1938

Posted on October 2, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. When Leitz announced the Leica mid 1920s, most photographers used larger cameras and rarely needed to enlarge their negatives. In 1926, the German government arranged for Zeiss to form the mighty Zeiss-Ikon conglomerate in Dresden to rationalize the German … Continue reading →

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look-a-like-a-leica

Posted on September 15, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. After WW2, the world was inundated with Leica lookalikes. Some were  flat out copies like the Russian FED and Zorki models; some were copies of Leica features like Canon; and some were marketed as improvements on Leica like the … Continue reading →

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what’s up doc?

Posted on August 16, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. .. as that wascally wabbit from Brooklyn said to Elmer Fudd in the movie cartoons of yesteryear. From its very beginning, photography has been a huge asset for medicine and dentistry. This Southworth and Hawes plate at left shows … Continue reading →

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Leica in Peace and War

Posted on May 30, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Before and for awhile after the second world war, the Leica was the most popular high-end 35mm camera sold. As many readers know, before WW2, the German camera industry was the undisputed world leader. During WW2, German technology was … Continue reading →

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if not for you …

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. … my lens would unscrew. Photographers know that the infinity focus setting sets the lens at its closest to the film/sensor plane. For close-ups, the lens is extended further from the film/sensor plane. Box cameras for film often had … Continue reading →

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a camera fit for a Queen

Posted on April 6, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. The German optical firm of Ernst Leitz began as a maker of optical objects including microscopes. In the mid 1920s to keep its factory open and staff working, Leitz began the sale and manufacture of the 35mm Leica camera … Continue reading →

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the long and the short of it

Posted on January 21, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. In the 1930s, Leitz sold a special short mount coded as COOED for the ELANG 9 cm f/4 Elmar lens head. This strange focusing mount and lens head were intended for use on the rotating focusing stage coded OORES … Continue reading →

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hey, hey, hey, it’s fat Elmar

Posted on January 20, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. In 1930, Leitz began marketing the tiny Leica with an interchangeable lens mount. According to Dennis Laney in his “Leica Collectors Guide” of September 1992, The medium telephoto 9 cm Elmar was one of the first three lenses added … Continue reading →

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a loopy idea

Posted on January 4, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. I show three magnifier loupes at the left. The first is a Taylor, Taylor, Hobson brass loupe used in the late 1800s to focus a lens on the massive old field/studio cameras so that the subject was sharp on … Continue reading →

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