Re: [Leica] Is a little camera from Leningrad the heir to the Barnack throne?

["Raimo Korhonen" <raimo.korhonen@pp2.inet.fi>]

Ah, but the Rollei 35 S fits the bill exactly and you get better qualit=
y
than IIIc and almost everything. I=B4d also recommend the Canon Canonet=
 GIII
- - easier to use but quality not so good as Rollei 35 S. Raimo
- ----------
> From: Alan Sircom <reviews_ed.hifichoice@dennis.co.uk>
> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Cc: leica-users-digest@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject: [Leica] Is a little camera from Leningrad the heir to the
Barnack throne?
> Date: 18. kes=E4kuuta 1998 12:31
>=20
> Here's a little concept to chew over=85
>=20
> I normally use a M6 and a brace of Summicrons and Elmars. But, for
> everyday use, this is a bit too bulky and expensive to stow under a
> jacket and the like, so I used a run-of-the-mill post-war IIIc with a=
nd
> equally mundane 5cm Elmar f/3.5 lens. This was small, light and even
> (relatively) disposable, although one had to get used to the
> instructions of the HP5 box acting as a light-meter. It also made me
> feel closer to the master, HCB, in some almost intangiable way.=20
>=20
> This camera is now in the past tense because it died the way all stre=
et
> cameras should die =97 it hit the street, dashed to the ground by an
> accidental connection between me and a bicycle courier and then run
> over by a passing bright red No. 73 London Transport Routemaster bus.
> As more than a day without a camera in my hands offers limitless miss=
ed
> photographs, I decided to buy the cheapest flash-free camera I could
> find while the insurance company processed and expedited my claim. I
> found a Russian Lomo camera, complete with 31mm f/2.8 lens,
> match-needle focussing and aperture-priority automatic exposure syste=
m.
> It is considerably smaller than my old Leica and the image quality is
> nowhere near as good, thanks to almost every distortion in the book,
> but it set me thinking=85
>=20
> Back in the 20s and 30s, the Leica was a tool of the photographic ava=
nt
> garde, and 'real' photographers of the day criticised it as a bit of =
a
> toy compared to big plate cameras. Some of its detractors were won ov=
er
> by the immediacy of the pictures taken by the likes of HCB. The rest
> were silenced by time =97 its hard to criticise the Leica when you ar=
e
> dead, after all.
>=20
> Today, the camera we all know, love and respect is a bit of an
> anachronism. It has grown slightly larger over the years, but is
> essentially unchanged. The system has expanded and contracted and
> rivals have come, gone and come back once more. Now, it is - sadly - =
as
> much a collector's item as it is a photojournalists camera of choice.
> This means that while there are many people who use the Leica to crea=
te
> superb photographs, there is an increasing number of Leica owners who
> have never put a film past the shutter curtains for fear of damaging
> something.
>=20
> While Oskar Barnack would be pleased to see that his original design
> was so good that it has survived essentially unchanged for decades, I
> can't help feeling that the spiritual heir to the avant garde nature =
of
> the original Leica is as much the Lomo as the M6. After all, if you
> want to get good pictures from a Lomo you must get as close as possib=
le
> to your subject, rid yourself of the rigours of traditional
> photographic disciplines, use the camera without any form of flash or
> tripod and shoot as many pictures as possible =97 do these suggestion=
s
> sound familiar?
>=20
> Now, I am in no way suggesting dumping all your hard-earned Leica stu=
ff
> for a cheap and nasty little Russian camera. But, I also think that w=
e
> should not dismiss the camera out-of-hand simply because it does not
> come from the Solms camera. While this is a controvercial comment in =
a
> Leica User Group, but in many respects, I would much rather use a Lom=
o
> than the cheapest Leica compact, as it offers the same pocketability =
- -
> and higher creative potential - at a more affordable price (which is
> useful when you carry a camera everywhere and you stand a good chance
> of losing them out of pockets and the like).
>=20
> However, after all this Lomo musing, as soon as the insurance company
> paid up on my claim, I bought another IIIc and an Elmar, just like th=
e
> old ones so fatally damaged. As soon as this nestled into my right
> flank, it felt comfortable and natural. The result is that I have
> hardly used the Lomo since. But that is because I have been using a
> Leica like this for some time and it is a familiar feeling. Regardles=
s,
> I have not discounted the Lomo just yet. Try one, and see if you agre=
e.
> They cost about as much as a VIDOM.