Tag Archives: Zeiss

a Johnny come lately

Toronto. Introduced in 1924, the Leica by Leitz was a flat out success. Two years later, in 1926, its competitor, Zeiss formed the Zeiss-Ikon group to rationalize the German photographic Industry. By 1932, the first Zeiss Contax reached market – … Continue reading

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beyond macro

Toronto. In the days of minicams (mainly 35mm),  subjects could be focussed from infinity down to about a metre. Any subject closer needed accessories like front element lenses, extension tubes, bellows, or special closeup stands. If a lens was asymmetrical, … Continue reading

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shining Leitz on the human condition

Toronto. Before photography, we relied on paintings and sketches, like those of Hogarth in 18th century London, to depict the human condition. Later in the 19th century when photography found its legs, some enterprising photographers, like Mathew Brady  (American civil … Continue reading

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a lens for all reasons

Toronto. When Leitz first marketed the Leica in the mid 1920s, it was an innovative success. By 1933 other makers had competing cameras out. The mighty Carl Zeiss organization not only marketed cameras, but their Tessar lens was a excellent … Continue reading

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boys will be boys

Toronto. Most of us have heard of the rivalry between Leica (Leitz, Wetzlar) and Contax (Zeiss, Jena) last century. On page 455 of the October 1935 issue of American Cinematographer,  Leitz, New York placed this ad to extol the virtues … Continue reading

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Bob’s Zeiss Miroflex

Toronto. Our late editor, Bob Lansdale favoured Canadian photographic history and photographs, especially Chromotypes, over cameras and hardware. He was always concerned that there would be too few hardware/camera articles in each issue of Photographic Canadiana. To this end, Bob … Continue reading

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an Exakta in my future

Toronto. After a few months in Labrador, a few of us decided to buy a top quality camera. Many nights were spent discussing the pros and cons of various German makes, especially Exakta and Leica. A visitor had a IIIf … Continue reading

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where there’s a will …

Toronto. … there’s a way. This old chestnut came to mind when I saw George’s email showing the famous NYC store, Willowbys, advertising the anvailability of Hasselblad cameras. A couple of words of explanation: Willowbys was a block-long 5th ave … Continue reading

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an inspiration for the Hassy?

Toronto. Bentzin made cameras in Görlitz, Germany beginning in the late 1800s. The firm collaborated with Zeiss over in Jena to make high end cameras to use Zeiss lens designs. Sadly, both Jena and Gorlitz fell in the Soviet sector … Continue reading

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eye of the storm

Toronto. It was ‘the best of times and the worst of times‘ between the world wars. After the first war, pent-up demand blossomed into unprecedented wealth in the first decade, followed by the worst depression ever in the next (world … Continue reading

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