New Leica Cabinet Installed In Murray Street - Revolutionary Unique Design

Which is a blatant lie. It's a Leica Boutique cabinet - it looks the same as the Leica Boutique cabinet in the Stirling Street store. Which looks the same as the Leica Boutique cabinets in Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, and probably every other major city in the world. Black MDF cabinet, red interior, red dot on top.

Leica are smart people - and I am not talking just about the cameras and lenses and binoculars...they are smart with their branding. They realised early on that they had a name that was worth putting on a banner and were careful to cut the banner the same size for everywhere and put it on the same pole. As a business strategy it is akin to a national government deciding on a flag and making sure that it is seen everywhere. It re-enforces loyalty, and in this case it re-enforces the sort of loyalty that the customers actually want to pay for.

Brilliant.

Of course, each manufacturer has a characteristic colour combination, and you'll see that used in advertising and signage. The more adventurous ones have a bright colour that attracts the eye so that people snap to their displays in the shops. These days, they can repeat the hue on their packaging so that every discarded box becomes a free billboard. If they are bold they can make a logo physically bigger on the packaging or...gasp...on the product itself.

It can backfire...think back to the Minolta logo when it got all arty in the 1990's and people were hard pressed to figure out what it actually was...and that also meant that they were confused as to who Minolta were*. You can surrender to the blandishments of the design department a little too early.

It can be too conservative - harking back to the design styles of the film eras can be dangerous too. There is a major maker that has several logos in operation right now dealing with different divisions of their overall company that could look at this aspect - some of the brand presentation looks decidedly 1970's. It might be argued that the division of business that they are dealing with also harks back to the 1970's so the buyers of the goods would not be influenced by a modern logo. Perhaps this is the case, but I am glad to see that they have adopted a far more stylish nameplate for their newer cameras and lenses.

But they did not choose a bright colour combination. It will remain to be seen if their presentation can grab the casual shopper's eye.

Well, back to the Leica Boutique. The Murray Street shop walls are now complete and the stock that you see in there will be designed to appeal to the high-end buyer. I noted that the titanium M kit was there this week. Pick one up on the way home from the office...And there are no end of lenses that will be making an appearance.

One particularly attractive bit was on the island display - and you need not spend the annual budget of Brazil to buy it. If you are a Leica shooter treat yourself to an oversize shutter release button in one of a number of styles. They screw into the shutter button as it currently exists and make for smooth and comfortable shooting. I use one on a camera when I am doing waist-level shots at car show. I press it with my thumb and the shots are rock-steady.

* To be fair, a lot of people couldn't stop themselves from calling it " Minololta ".

The Personal Pick - Part Two - The Trigger Point

I often wonder what it is that will trigger a purchase in the camera shop. Price, of course, is often seen as the overweening factor. Novelty is another. Prestige, colour, and social status all can play a part.

And sometimes it is a very subtle thing...something that can be felt but barely articulated. A wisp...

I like to call it industrial nostalgia. The effect of design that recalls us to our history - even if we never experienced it before. Perhaps a call to desires that we once had.

Two products in the Camera Electronic Murray Street shop started the juices flowing. One by Fujifilm and one by Leica. See if you get the same feeling.

The Fujifilm X100F got a full write-up a couple of weeks ago. The chrome version was winking away in the Murray Street cabinet, looking for all the  world like a film camera of the 1950's or 1960's. It begs for a leather half case, a leather strap, and a slotted lenshood. And then it begs for a trip to Zermatt in winter or Lake Louise in summer. For good, comfortable travelling clothes and a schedule that has scenery and architecture and historic places. Also for morning tea, afternoon tea, and a good dinner...Well, suit yourself about that but a well-fed tourist is a good thing to be.

The person who uses the Fujifilm X100F to best advantage is the thinking photographer - one who brings themself close enough to their subject to make use of that 23mm lens. One who makes use of the Fujifilm X-trans sensor and the film simulations as much as possible. Say what you like about always using RAW files, the convenience of a really good JPEG camera that can go up to a high ISO is not to be sneezed at. If you are a person who combines a WiFi camera with a tablet and cloud storage you may well be able to take an entire office in a bag. Not that you want to work in the office if you are sitting on the hotel deck at Lake Louise with a nice afternoon tea...

Okay, one button pushed on one side of the shop. The other siren call came from the other side - the Leica cabinet. Someone in the Leica factory got all nostalgic and looked out an old lens design...

The Summaron-M is only 28mm focal length. It only opens up to f: 5.6. It closes down to f:22 and focuses to a metre. It has a tiny piece of glass inside a classic chromed brass mount ( with Leica code pads on the mount for modern digital cameras ) and it looks as if it comes straight out of the 1950's. It even has the classic push-button Leica infinity stop to park the lens when you put it away.

It also costs a bomb. But it is built with the precision that Leica have always employed for their optics and it is the perfect accompaniment for the Leica M10. Also recommended for that Swiss or Canadian trip but you won't have as much spare change left to tip the waiter. Particualrly if you also indulge yourself in Leica collapsible Elmarit 50mm and 90m lenses to complete the nostalgia kit. Oh, and the tan leather half case...

I wonder if dear old Walter Benser is still making leather boxes?

Quite Possibly The Leica For You

Leica cameras are not for everyone.

This is not just because of their price  - which is considerable. It is also because they may not be the exact tool for the job that you intend to do. If you are hanging out the side of a helicopter taking survey pictures of a forest you might be using a Hasselblad. If you are photographing polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba you may not want to do it with a wideangle lens from two metres...If you are doing technical architectural illustration you may want swings, tilts, shifts, a Bex, and a good lie down...

But.

 If you want the ultimate travel/tourist/photojournalist/street/life camera the Leica company very likely has the best one that you will ever own somewhere in its range. For the person who wants to do it all pretty close by and on one package, the Leica Q is really the answer.

It contains one lens, one sensor, one screen, and one viewfinder - which is not that unusual for digital cameras. Unlike some of the other Leica offerings, however, the lens on the Q does not come off. It also does not zoom in the conventional way...but nevertheless contains three focal lengths. and it is a macro lens.

Your own vision of what you want to take pictures of resides in your head - but on the Leica Q it is shared between the LCD screen on the back and the electronic viewfinder. No tilting screen - the whole thing is rock solid.

The lens looks at the world with the angle of view of a 28mm focal length all the time, but the viewfinder image is changed by a ring around the lens to show an internal cropping for either a 28mm, 35mm, or 50mm field of view. You can rest assured that the Leica lens and processor will deliver the resolution, contrast, and freedom from distortion that you expect at all those settings.

You also get a detented switch that will let the camera lens go down to an extremely close macro setting. So you are carrying four things in one - and you are carrying a closed system that will never need the repeated attention of a camera technician for screen cleaning and dust removal. You just go out there and shoot.

Now look at the heading image again ( Thank you to the Leica Club visitor who acted as an unwitting hand model. ). The controls are disposed on the camera exactly where you expect them to be. Aperture ring up the front - and you can take it off the click-detent automatic position through the manual aperture from f:1.7 to f:22. Shutter speed Automatic and then 1 - 1/2000 second. Manual or automatic focus - you choice.

That titanium finish is unique - you can also get it black. Plus a number of imaginative cases.
If you ever wanted to own one Leica - just one - and did not want to take extra lenses or accessories with you, this is the one. And I'll contradict myelf instantly by recommending that you also invest in a Leica flash as well...but that is because I am a flash shooter and know how useful the things are -  purists can disagree.

You May Have Been Fooled - At The New Leica M10 Launch

Last night at Camera Electronic's shop on Stirling Street he Leica company showed the newest of the M series cameras to an appreciative audience.

As is usual for these events, there was food and drink and cameras. Also industry representatives and a professional photographer who had been given a chance to use the new camera in the field. Several of he camera were in evidence...indeed one of the new M 10's has been in the shop for several weeks - you saw pictures of Saul unboxing it in this column a while ago.

There was a video presentation and I must commend the man from Leica for his use of the joys of mobile phone control - he commanded the whole procedure from his phone and it went flawlessly. It's a long long way from doing 35mm slides hows on the old hand-changg Pradovit that I own, and a lot better show.

But.

But if you were handling the new M10 during the evening - taking pictures and reviewing them on the rear LCD screen - you might have been fooled into thinking you were holding an old M2 or M3...Not that the M2 and M3 were all that good at taking digital photos. Oh, you could jump out of airplanes with them and go to Africa, Antartica, and 8000 weddings with them and they would never miss a beat - but they weren't good at digital photos...

So why would you think you were holding the older bodies? Because Leica has finally trimmed the front-to-back body dimension of the M10 to the same as the film cameras. And as a kindly little design exercise, they have put a neat lift-and-lock switch in the exact position that the old M2's and M3's had a rewind knob. It is almost like coming home to a familiar house.

It might be familar real estate, but prices have risen. As our professional photographer - and on-set stills shooter for major cinema productions - said, you are looking at about $ 10,000 for this model camera and lens. If you want the fancy Noctilux you can advance that price considerably. Of course, you will, as the gentleman pointed out, be advancing your low-light photography considerably too.  While you may not wish to rush into the 50,000 section of the ISO settings on a regular basis, his photos on the screen ceertainly proved that you can go to 6400 like strolling to the corner shop - free, easy, and with perfect confidence.

Apparently you can do it about 800 times on one battery charge, too, which is nice. Mind you, the old M2's and M3's never gave battery trouble either...

Note: the M10 has a camouflage cover available. You can just see it in this photo. The fact that it is only invisible in a Leica Boutique cabinet is neither here nor there. You might be photographing in the interior of a red-plush lined Victorian boudoir and it would disappear quite nicely. You have to be prepared for these things...

Touched By Human Hands - The New Leica M10

We are not immune from the magic down here at Camera Electronic - we get just as much of a thrill with the unboxing of a fresh product as you, the customers, do. When the product is absolutely new,  is the latest offering from and industry leader,  and has just arrived by special delivery it is an especial moment.

Today the product was the new Leica M 10 camera body. The chap tasked with opening it and putting it on display was one of our chiefs - Saul Frank. And the occasion was literally less than a half hour after it had been delivered.

The specifications are on Leica's website. They are on our website. They are long and illustrious, but there are a few main points that we could tell just from looking at the camera:

a. It is slimmer than heretofore in the Leica M Digital range - about 3-4mm difference. The body shape is much more reminiscent of the M-series Leica 35mm film cameras.

b. There is an external ISO adjustment dial that has been positioned in the same place that used to hold a rewind crank. It is a locked dial - to free it for adjustment you pull it up against a detent. Note the red ring to tell you it is in the variable position. When you're done, snap it back down..

c. The battery is slimmer - says Saul.

d. The strap included in the kit is proper full leather. Leica logo impressed into it and all...

e. The LCD screen is way bigger than the previous M-series screens. The viewfinder eyepiece is larger.

f. Leica have continued the characteristic ID mark on one edge of the hot shoe.

The internal improvements in resolution and processing are all in the official spec. pages. Pore over them daily, but do make some time to come in and see the new body in the shop. The one that you see here is for display only for the next 3 months but more salable stock will be arriving next month.

You'd be wise to email or phone some money in now - $ 500 secures a pre-order against a body price of $ 9700. There will be others wanting it as well, so be snappy.

There will also be an after-hours Leica introduction party here at 230 Stirling Street on the 8th of February - a Wednesday evening from 6:00 to 8:00. Go to our Facebook page and look it up, or if you are on our regular email list, be sure to check it over for details.

Note: Saul's hands were clean and careful. The Leica M10 is in perfect shape. And it is a perfect shape.

M Magazine - Doesn't Melt In Your Hand

You may be forgiven for thinking that the M Magazine from Leica is just the old Leica Fotographie or Leica Fotographie International magazine in a larger size and with a black and white cover. It is similar, of course, but there are subtle differences inside. 

Fewer pictures of dark-skinned people on beaches in mid-day sun with the contrast turned up high so that they appear blacker. Fewer photos of Hong Kong streets with laundry strung between apartment buildings. Fewer dewy-eyed children around perfectly safe and non-military German Christmas trees.

You can still count on New York street pictures with either beggars or lunchtime crowds and there is generally a riot available somewhere that yields good value.

At least the price has been kept reasonable - $ 20 per issue. This one is the third in the current series and by the way the company is going there should be a lot more. 

I'm waiting for the issue with the ghost gum in the paddock, the white cockatoos, and the rusted 1937 Ford ute. Ya can't beat a classic...

Online Catalogue/magazine at cameraelectronic.com.au

Lighter Leica - M Lite?

I asked my colleagues this week to tell me things that I could turn into columns for this weblog. I don't think that I can necessarily use " Go Away " and " Stop Pestering Me " as inspirational material but I did come away with the thought that we should talk about the racing Leica. The stripped-down version. The PRU model that zips over the target, takes a picture, and is gone in a flash. Not seen, not heard.

Note for the newbies. PRU means Photo Reconnaissance Unit - the RAF used Spitfires and Mosquitos that had been specially prepared and painted - they went higher, faster, and farther than other fighter planes because they took out the guns and other heavy bits and polished and smoothed the external surfaces - they were painted a peculiar light blue to blend in with the sky. I shouldn't wonder if they didn't fly over Wetzlar at some stage of the game...

Well, Leica AG haven't painted their M-series camera light blue - or waxed the outside, for that matter -  but they have slimmed down the specification, reduced the weight, and quieted the camera body. All to make it one of the most discrete of Leicas. If you are in the business of discretion you may be interested. Discretely...

The next model up in the Leica range - the Typ 240 - has a certain level of shutter noise in single - shot mode. The Typ 262 has less noise.

The Type 240 features video and Live View mode - the Typ 262 eschews these. You just get to take pictures quietly.

The Typ 240 has a marvellous top cover milled from brass and chrome plated in silver or painted in black. The Typ 262 has a marvellous top cover milled from aluminium...less weight.

The Typ 262 concentrates the Leica experience into the essentials without adding complication - the menu is just two screen pages. Compare that to some of the electronic sagas dished out on the back screen of other maker's top cameras. Leica shooters will be pressing the button on the top of the camera a lot more than the buttons on the back - and this is really how it should be.

The end result will be more well-timed images with the Leica trademark of resolution and clarity. Some of them will be possible because it is a Leica and some of them will be possible because it is a quiet, discrete Leica...

From Those Wonderful People...

Who brought you the M3 Leica.

They haven't stopped. Well, they haven't stopped making the M-series Leica cameras because there are a number of models of them in the shop right now, and an equally wonderful cabinet of lenses to go on them. Come down and buy a round dozen for the weekend...No, we're not talking about the M-series Leica rangefinder camera system.

We're talking about the new Typ 601 Leica SL camera - and the start of a new series of lenses for it. And also, surprisingly enough, the start of a lot of old series of lenses for it.

Okay - haven't seen one yet but here's a précis of 10 attractive points:

1. Its a mirror-less design with touch screen LCD and a very high-resolution eye-level finder built in.

2. Full frame sensor - 24 MP-CMOS.

3. No low-pass filter.

4. ISO 50-50,000.

5. Enough buffer to juggle 33 DNGs or 30 JPEGs and DNGs.

6. 4K video works inside plus smaller resolutions at a myriad for frame rates.

7. 2 card slots  for SD - one very fast indeed and one standard speed.

8. 4, 7, or 11 FPS on the continuos shooting mode.

9. Top LCD display with relevant shooting information.

10. Solid milled aluminium body.

As you are already at your computer reading this, you can rush over to D P Review and look at the images of the Typ 601 in their preview. There are also images of two of the lenses that will be made especially for this mount.

And here's the kicker. Leica realise that they have made a lot of other lenses in the past. Leica S, M, R, and T lenses come to mind, as well as the older screw-mounters. The T lenses will go onto the Leica SL straight away - Leica will make adapters to allow their other optics to be mounted on it. SO you are Leica all the way from early on to the future - you can participate in the current craze for a Hollywood movie series...

Leica have announced that the Typ 601 body will be on sale from the 19th of November 2015 together with the Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90 f:2.8-4 ASPH.

Looks as thought there will also be a big 'ol 90-280 lens and a 50 1.4 prime coming in 2016. - so save up your pop bottles and cans for the recycling works and make sure that you put a little away in the piggy bank in anticipation. This will be a hot camera.

Being Left Out By The Designers

I must preface this column with the statement that I am right-handed when writing and using power tools. I am also right-eyed while shooting a rifle or shotgun. Shooting a revolver involves closing both eyes and waving it about until the noise stops. This is really only effective if if am inside a barn and the doors are shut - I can then hit the barn at least once out of six shots.

I wear my wristwatch on the right arm because no-one ever told me not to. It does not seem to affect the passage of time. Round here at 4:30 it drags slower and slower...

But I am aware that there are many people who are left-handed and who are disadvantaged when it comes to operating things designed for the right-handers. The dear old Exakta film cameras are long gone - at least they gave Lefty a button to push to fire the thing, even though they still made him wind on with the right thumb. No-one since has been kind to them at all.

There are particular perils for the left hander who has a weak right eye - if the camera has a viewfinder window on the left of the body his whole face will be across the camera and if it has a central viewfinder window his nose will be so far over that his thumb will be in it. No wonder that people who try to do photography under these conditions might well consider moving back to the older SLR or TLR that has a waist-level finder and a hood to shade it.

If you wish to introduce the question of large stomachs or chests at this point I will withdraw to the back of the monorail 4 x 5 camera and look at the ground glass screen. You may join me under the black cloth. If you are claustrophobic I suggest you give up landscape photography and purchase postcards. I can do no more.

Uncle Dick

Leica - Read It In Black And White

No, literally - read it - or at least look at the pictures. Leicas are good for pictures...

Humour aside, Leica have always produced a very interesting in-house magazine. LEICA FOTOGRAFIE magazine was the staple read of the Leica fan for decades - a dinky little small magazine that featured new Leitz products as advertisements from lots of ancillary suppliers that could be turned to service with the Leica system.

It was a little Teutonic in the language, but nowhere near as much as GROSSBILD - the in-house magazine of Linhof. There was a wealth of information buried in the presentations so it was worth reading well and then saving on the bookshelf.

Eventually it got physically bigger and turned into LFI magazine. More colour, different advertisers, newer photographers. The shooters still did much the same things - chase trouble around the world, go on holiday to Rügen, visit Hong Kong - but there were more artistic abstract photos added. Sometimes these drew a crusty response from Leica photographers of an earlier era - and LFI printed the complaints with what must have been an impish editorial grin...

Well, we are now well within the era of the new Leica M digital cameras of various types. And we have a new Leica in-house publication started to go with the new aesthetic of digital photography. The thing is big and thick, but fortunately costs only $ 16 per issue.
 M MAGAZINE is what you look for - we stock it here at the Leica Boutique Store - and you can get in on the ground floor as we have issue 1 right now.

Don't be put off by the fact that it is sealed in plastic,. I don't think there are rude pictures in there. Unlike dear old GROSSBILD...

New Leica Camera Announced - Monochrom Typ 246 - Read It In Black And White

 

Shoot it in black and white as well - the new camera from Leica is a Monochrome model. The new Leica Monochrom Typ 246 is coming, and quite soon.

Leica enthusiasts will remember some of the past evocations of the black and white camera - the Ur Leica, the Leica "0", and the previous digital M Monochrom amongst them. The world seen in black, white, and innumerable shades of grey - and seen very sharply.

The new Leica M Monochrom Typ 246 will have a number of improved features:

* 24 megapixel monochrome CMOS sensor
* 2 GB buffer memory and Leica Maestro processor
* Sapphire Crystal Glass as cover plate for the LCD screen
* Low noise p to ISO 25,000
* Live View and Focus Peaking
* 3" LCD monitor screen with 921,600 pixels
* High-quality full HD video function
* New filters ( yellow, green, and orange ) available in July

Of course you'll realise that the monochrome approach means that Leica have been able to remove the coloured filter that normally overlays the sensor surface - and as a result there are very much sharper images with detail contrast that far exceeds what can be done with colour photography.

The processor means that the camera captures sequences far faster than its predecessor.

There is a low-vibration shutter release to help with he pictures taken at extremes of ISO - again sharper shots.

The focus peaking circuit for the live view is particularly effective as it draws the edges of subjects as colour on the lcd set against the black and white. You can see precisely what your Leica lenses see and there is no sharper view of the world.

Happily, all the superb leather and other accessories that serve on the Leica M ( Typ 240 ) are also compatible so you can carry this camera in style.

Monochrome thinking and seeing is often said to be the purest form of photography. Perhaps you should let this colour your plans for your next Leica experience...

Full specs and purchase options here

See our friend Thorsten's post click here

A Little Rough Around The Edges But...

Never mind building models of the Taj Mahal or Neuschwannstein. If you're reading this column you really want to build one of these!

Brought back from Japan by our managers and assembled with great precision and his tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth by Domenic, this little Nanoblock camera has the familiar shape of a...including the ASA reminder dial on the back of the body.

Please feel free to fill in all the pixelation, f:stop, interchangeable lens jokes you care to invent here:


We can only hope that these appear in the toy stores here in Perth - and can we hope as well for TLR's and DSLR's to further grace our display shelves?

The Darkened Theatre - A Viewfinder Debate Between OVF And EVF

At the risk of opening the valve on the geek tank and being inundated with internet expertise, I'll raise a question that presented itself recently.

 It was in a darkened theatre with some pretty exciting lighting on the stage. The occasion was a dance show and the organisers requested no flash photography.  Being restricted to the maximum aperture on my mirrorless-camera lenses wasn't too bad as I had a close view of the stage. The f:1.8 and f:2.8 lenses let in enough light with a high ISO.

The real problem came with framing the image - the camera body was a Fujifilm X-E2 . It has a very bright and detailed electronic view finder that seems to see deeper into the gloom than I can. Fine to use but one's eye becomes used to the bright image and then when you take it off to change setting on the camera or lens in the dark...you can't see zip...the dark adaptation has entirely gone.

Using the LCD screen would have been wrong as the glow of it would have disturbed other patrons.

In the end, I resorted to peering over the top of the X-E2's hot shoe, pointing in the general direction, and hoping for the best. It all worked out, but left the impression that it should have been done differently.

Perhaps the optical view finder of the Fujifilm X-Pro 1 would be a better answer - sure, it has illuminated frame lines within the OVF but these are bound to be less overpowering than the full bright EVF screen. And there is always the EVF on call with a touch of a lever.

I suspect that the X-Pro 1 might be the best professional answer - sort of a bright horse for a dark race...

Retro Is As Retro Does...Are We There Yet, Leica?

I have long struggled with the word "retro" in modern culture - in particular when it is applied to photography. I think I am expected to know what it means, but at my age I can't remember...

Actually, I can remember far too much. The clothing styles of the 1950's and 1960's exist in my wardrobe and are regularly worn - to the horror of the family. Whenever I see "retro" clothing styles I compare them to the actual garments and laugh - modern versions are nothing but cartoon sketches.

Likewise with lots of images that crop up in magazines and on the net. Unless you replicate the lighting and add a great deal of digital overlay, you can't quite get it - Instagram is not enough. You might get close with Alien Skin Exposure, but you're still going to have to have to know what the original looked like to know how far to go.

But.

If you really want the retro experience, the Leica company are your friends. They have been making cameras for 101 years. They have been at the forefront of the 35mm market for 101 years. They have pulled so far away from the rest of the trade with 35mm rangefinder cameras that they are the only ones out there.

They still make the Leica MP. 35mm rangefinder camera. Classic M mount. Classic lever winder and rewind knob. Aperture ring, shutter speed dial. Flash shoe. Tripod screw socket. And you have to know what you are doing every inch* of the way. When you do, you are rewarded with the best retro photography experience available yet in this century.

It will cost you. If you are a Leica enthusiast you know that this will be the case, no matter what the gear is. What you have to realise is that it will cost you time, study, and social skill to succeed:

1. You need time to purchase the film, load it, figure out the exposure, focusing, and framing. You need time to take the film for processing or ...gasp...process it yourself. You need time to decide what to do with the negatives or transparencies and then to do it. it is time well spent.

2. You Need To Know. There is enough Leica literature to fill a library and you need to read it. You also need to talk to other enthusiasts. It ain't on television - you've got to read.

3. You need to develop a deep and meaningful relationship with your processor and printer. If they don't know what you want, you won't get it, and if you don't know what you need to give them to get that result you won't get it. See no.2. above.

What do you get by going retro? Bragging rights, in some circumstances. A haunted look at other times. When you get really into it you'll need to explore the question of dressing the part.

Come to my house. I got this wardrobe...

*Inch. retro.

APOcalypse Now....with Leica

I love the smell of Leica in the morning. Do you know what it smells like? It smells like optical victory...

Here's the précis of announcements as of yesterday from the folks at Wetzlar. You can go to their own website and get to see the new stuff with their promotional blurbs. Think what you wish about some of the offerings, they do seem to have got interesting concepts. These all seem to be new - and will be available now or in the near future:


1. Leica M-Edition 60...imagine a Leica M digital camera with a new jazzy covering and a lot less engraving on the top. Now imagine the back of it with the old round ISO reminder dial that we saw on the M3. No screen. No navigation wheel. Records only RAW DNG. Only 600 to be made. Very likely the same price as my Suzuki motor car. Whoa, Nellie...

2. Leica MP...pro-oriented M digital camera with no red dot but a lot of tougher features.

3. Leica M-A...ALL mechanical Leica 35mm film camera - evocation of the classic Leica M series. No meter. If you can guess exposure, sell your other gear to buy this one. It is superb.

4. Leica X...a lot like the body shape of the X-vario but with a fixed focal length lens similar the X1 and X2. Darned elegant.

5. Leica X-E...an even more fancy finished X2.

6. Leica D-Lux 6...our beloved and well-respected D-lux with a little change to the front ring. Is that a 4/3 sized sensor in there?

7. Leica V-Lux...the safari cam par excellence now has 4K video and a 25mm-400mm equivalent lens and wil shoot at 12 fps.

8. Cases...Schedoni, Aneas, and Artist and Artisan now have elegant solutions to carry Leica cameras and Leica are prepared to mention them with their premium products. How now, Herr Benser?

9. APO-Vario-Elmar-T 55mm-135mm f:3.5-4.5...T-system longer zoom in 2015.

10. Super-Vario-Elmar-T 11mm-23mm f:3.5-4.5...T-system wider zoom in 2015.

11. Noctilux-M 50mm f:0.95...Massive available-light lens now in silver finish.

12. Summilux-M 35mm f:1.4 ASPH...available light mild wide in silver finish.

13. Summarit-M 35mm f:2.4 ASPH... small light mild wide.

14. Summarit-M 50mm f:2.4...small light normal.

15. Summarit-M 75mm f:2.4...small light portrait.

16. Summarit-M 90mm f:2.4...small light short tele.

There are probably a lot more salient features about each of these new products that we will learn about as time goes on. You can be assured that Leica lenses work.

A Novel Idea From Germany

Here's a clever idea from a West German manufacturer - a digital-free camera.

It allows people who do not have access to electricity to still take still pictures. You put a tin canister with a chemically-impregnated plastic strip in the bottom of the camera just like a regular memory card and it uses this as a sensor. They've arranged for the strip to be in the same spot as the regular sensor so you can use normal lenses in the camera. No multiplying factor needed.

There's no need to keep turning on a back screen to see what you just took - the camera has an accurate TTL light meter to get the exposure right and you just take the tin canister out after 36 exposures and let someone take care of the post-processing work. Couldn't be easier.

There is no need to worry if the AF mechanism is going to focus accurately as this camera lets you take control of this important aspect. On a philosophical level it means that you are not accepting the tyrannical dictat of the bourgoisie in respect to sharpness - if you want it out of focus you can have it out of focus. Take control of your vision!

Users of this camera have access to a great range of lenses from Leitz, Zeiss, Voigtlander, and other manufacturers.

Best of all, users of this sort of camera will be joining a number of famous photographers in a sort of exclusive club - HC-B and HM the Queen come to mind, though not often at the same time. Very few brothers-in-law will have one before you do, even if they are famous photographers...

M & M's. The Leica Cameras That Don't Melt Away - In-Store Now

Here's a cheerful announcement for the Leica Enthusiasts out there - and those who wish to start with the best rangefinder digital in the business.

Camera Electronic have stocks at present of both the silver and the black version of the Leica M body. This is the latest top-end body from Leica and is keenly sought amongst the high-end photographers. It is not a decision to enter into lightly...the Leica system is very extensive and premium quality. They are not throw-away purchases...you keep Leica and use it for decades.

I cannot say which looks more attractive, nor which colour choice reflects enthusiasm or professionalism, nor yet which one maintains a higher resale value. These are topics that the collectors can debate to suit themselves. Wise Leica enthusiasts will get both, just to be safe.

After all, it would never do to bring a silver Leica to a black Leica affair...or vice versa...and as engraved invitations sometimes omit to tell you which it will be, it is as well to have a second body available in the camera bag. Be prepared.

We Are Getting There Splendidly

Please disegard the expression on the face of our staff member, Mr. Doudakis. He is practising to be the Parthenon in a fog - grim, grey, and Greek. He is really as delighted with the progress of the new Leica Shop as rest of us.

The basic structure is up and we are setting out stock onto the shelves. Leica have an amazing range of cameras, lenses, and accessories. Their binoculars are superb - there is an entires section devoted to them at the right of the shop. We have also made provision for the pre-owned Leica stock in some very elegant show cabinets.

There will be much more coming - drift in occasionally to see the new stock go up. If you want you can buy some...just sayin'...

Just Announced - Flapoflex Rangefinder Range Increased

Just in via the Flapoflex Rumours website:

Flapoflex Corporation, makers of the famous Flapoflex D, are set to announce a distinctive range of retro-boutique cameras that take the discerning purchaser back a century. These are fully functional digital cameras using the latest pixels but they have been configured to yield results that make you turn the page.

To see more, we hasten to add. Drawing upon the sort of image quality that made Fox-Talbot famous and Nadar drink heavily, the new Flapoflex Retro Rangefinder cameras feature sensors that disregard most of the optical information and concentrate on the nostalgic emotions of the photographer's great granny.

The Flapoflex Retro S only produces sepia-toned images. The on-board noise generator  and the patented Vignett-O-Matic assure an image that never gives too much away. You can hide an entire chorus line of Tilley Girls in the bokeh. It has been described as round and brown.

But it doesn't stop there. It never does. Internet rumour mills are like that. You will also be able to purchase the Flapoflex Retro C and the Retro F for blue or green-tinted images. Apparently the files are all recorded with roughly brushed edges and peeling emulsion.

You may want to look at a tripod with these new cameras as the shutters are limited to B and 1/4 of a second. Don't be too worried about the sunshine as the ISO is .06 and the maximum aperture is f:22. You may want to avoid using the cameras at basketball games.

Best news of all is the price of the new Retro range: 150 Guineas in the US, 700 Reichsmarks in the UK, and 25 US Golden Eagles in Europe. No sense having a retro camera that you have to buy with modern money.

The Leica Eh? Model

 

This post has been prompted by an email message this morning - a client has asked whether we have any rangefinder film cameras in stock. I was happy to be able to tell him that we had a good selection in the secondhand cabinet - as of this morning there are 4 of the Leica M models in:

1. A black M6 of the regular persuasion.
2. A black TTL M6.
3. A gloriously indulgent titanium M6 with matching lens.
4. A silver M7.
5. A black M8. Okay, this is digital but what the heck.

For lenses I counted 5 Leica lenses in s/h and a water bucket full of new ones in the new cabinet as well as 6 Zeiss M lenses and 5 Voigtländer lenses - so the prospective film shooter can view the world through good glass no matter what their preference. Many of these lenses are manual focus...

There are a couple of detail shots included in this post - the right hand end of the M7 with the convenient thumb rest. Good to see real chrome again.

 

Also the  Eh? model lens. This is a 35mm that was made in Windsor, Ontario and as it is a really small and light lens it is perfect for a street photographer, even in Ontario. Eh?