Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/07/08
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Hi Paul,
Welcome to the world of Leica Thread Mounts (LTM's). One of your first
ports of call should be Stephen Gandy's Camera Quest site, which should
provide you with enough information to keep you busy learning about your
camera for quite some time. Here is the URL: http://www.cameraquest.com
There are a number of books around about LTM cameras. I'd recommend going
to a second hand book store and trying to find one of the 1930's or 1940's
Morgan 'Leica Manual' books. They're going to give you an idea of the
lenses produced at the time your camera was manufactured; and some
interesting insights into the history and development of the Leica
rangefinder. Marc Small, who is a member of this list, is a writer of a
great book on other manufacturers lenses you can use on your camera. Once
you get used to your new camera, you'll probably never sell it, and if
anything, you will probably devote the rest of your life to gathering all
things Leica. I'm sorry, but it's true.
The lens you have takes 36mm clamp on filters, as most Leica produced LTM
lenses do. The Summar lens you have is already quite 'soft' so you probably
don't need to take any shots through your new lens cap! I have a Summar,
and i definitely recommend getting a hood for it, more than anything else.
Aside from that, i think the lens is underrated and fine. CLA means
Cleaned, Lubricated and Aligned/Adjusted. If the camera has been unused for
a long time it will need some TLC Tender Loving Care to get it back to its
former glory. A lot of people on this list use LTM's, and we're usually big
advocates of them, just as each member on the list loves their cameras!
Don't hesitate to ask questions, but beware of the individual reply factor.
We're all in different countries etc.
Take care,
Gary
"The kino is a vulgar modern entertainment and I doubt if it can tell us
anything serious about the modern condition." -Sigmund Freud
OO
[_]<| Gary Elshaw
/|\ Post-Grad Film Student
Victoria University
New Zealand
http://members.tripod.com/~elshaw/index.html