More Ideas On Joining Leica Photography
05th July 2024
In: News, Short Stories
If you visit our site regularly you will have seen articles about how to start taking photographs with Leica based equipment without putting yourself in the debtors prison.
The following item by Cled Lewis shows that you could begin taking film photographs using a screw thread body and lens for a few hundred pounds.
Cled has visited the National Museum of Wales (a wonderful day out) and has seen some stunning work by Robert Frank depicting the Valleys
Unfortunately we cannot show any photographs but at the end of the article you will find a link to the Museum's website:
Leica on a Budget.
The National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, is currently staging a photographic exhibition depicting the Welsh Valleys.
One of the sections is a series of photographs taken by Robert Frank (Swiss/American). Born 1924. The photographs displayed are from his series Welsh Miners 1952/1953. The prints are gelatine/silver approximately 15” x 10” and can only be described as incredible, the quality is superb but the pictures themselves draw you into the story on an emotional level.
Although familiar with some of the images, to see a small collection of the prints in real life was an experience not to be missed.
However, the purpose of the article is to highlight the fact that these incredible photographs were taken on a Leica screw mount camera with either a Summar or a Summarit lens.
I honestly think that if Robert Frank had used the latest incredible M lenses the pictures could not have been any better.
These lenses together with a screw mount Leica can be bought for less than £500 which might be an attractive proposition for someone wishing to experience Leica quality.
https://museum.wales/news/1362/The-Valleys-New-Exhibition-opens-at-National-Museum-Cardiff/
The following item by Cled Lewis shows that you could begin taking film photographs using a screw thread body and lens for a few hundred pounds.
Cled has visited the National Museum of Wales (a wonderful day out) and has seen some stunning work by Robert Frank depicting the Valleys
Unfortunately we cannot show any photographs but at the end of the article you will find a link to the Museum's website:
Leica on a Budget.
The National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, is currently staging a photographic exhibition depicting the Welsh Valleys.
One of the sections is a series of photographs taken by Robert Frank (Swiss/American). Born 1924. The photographs displayed are from his series Welsh Miners 1952/1953. The prints are gelatine/silver approximately 15” x 10” and can only be described as incredible, the quality is superb but the pictures themselves draw you into the story on an emotional level.
Although familiar with some of the images, to see a small collection of the prints in real life was an experience not to be missed.
However, the purpose of the article is to highlight the fact that these incredible photographs were taken on a Leica screw mount camera with either a Summar or a Summarit lens.
I honestly think that if Robert Frank had used the latest incredible M lenses the pictures could not have been any better.
These lenses together with a screw mount Leica can be bought for less than £500 which might be an attractive proposition for someone wishing to experience Leica quality.
https://museum.wales/news/1362/The-Valleys-New-Exhibition-opens-at-National-Museum-Cardiff/
Comments
By Alan Humohries: Thank you Cled for a very .interesting piece, I think your penultimate paragraph says a lot, not just about the equipment but also the skill if Robert Frank. By Ken Davis: Thanks Cled,
I too have used these cameras to remind myself of how photographers would work in the 1950s.
Some members may think that using lenses of this period comes with performance limitations but obviously Robert Frank and his darkroom printers minimised any limitations and showed the best qualities.
If members would like to experience film photography using these bodies but with more modern lenses it is always possible to buy used Voigtlander or other OEM lenses for more modern rendition. By Don Morley: I certainly agree with Cled's comments about still being able to use such old screw thread Leica film bodies; indeed I still have several such and love them. Also, for what it is worth, I have old Leica M bodies too. Instead of anyone also choosing to use such old Leica lenses to go with such camera bodies I think there are better alternatives.
The old saying 'A camera body is just a receptacle for film, and it is the lens that matters most' still being so true. Hence my suggestion for anyone new to Leica and intent on shooting film would be, yes the screw thread bodies are still great BUT far better to fit them with a still better performing, computer designed modern lens of almost whatever make. This is because not only will it perform better on film but, possibly even more importantly, they will be vastly better performing on digital should the buyer also ever wish to use it on any suitable digital Leica body as well.