A c1970s Leica M4 brochure
Toronto. I bought my first 35mm camera – a Minolta Super A around the late 1950s. I was amazed at the clarity of the f/2 Rokkor lens. About a year later I moved on to an SLR Exakta. It had a relatively huge view through its waist level viewer.
My wonderful Exakta developed a serious shutter issue so I picked up an older used one. Focussing, especially for normal and wide angle lenses in less than bright light was growing difficult as my eyes aged. Design for shorter focal length lenses was complex as the designer had to allow the SLR’s mirror to move freely while allowing the lens to focus to infinity.
In 1973, I bought the massive 15th edition of the Leica giving me a great resource for reviewing Leica features by model. Shortly thereafter, I bought a Leica M4 with a 5cm f/2 lens and later a 35mm f/2 lens as well.
Other lenses I picked up were all used, some with anti-reflection coatings, some without. I joined the then nascent PHSC to find more used lenses and accessories. I became intrigued with photo history and other kinds of cameras. Suddenly I was a camera collector!
The other day, Clint dropped off a bag of Leica gear ready to be auctioned. To my surprise, included was an M4 body like mine, but manufactured earlier in 1968/9 (auction lot 862). Cameras like the M4 (and lots of other photo collectibles) often show up at our events (see PHSC EVENTS at right). You can email our president Clint at fair@phsc.ca if you have any questions. The next event is our May 4th auction.
While you are here, why not join the PHSC? See MEMBERSHIP above and at right. Any membership questions can be emailed to our membership secretary Lilianne at member@phsc.ca.
NB. The title of this post is a riff on the title of a 1988 movie, “The Accidental Tourist“.
