Re: [Leica] The perception of photographic quality

["Dan Post" <dwpost@email.msn.com>]

Jim-
Well- we know which end of the Leica IIIf Loading bell curve you fall on!
Seriously, the easiest way is to take a pair of scissors and trim the film
so the leader is 4" long. Hook the end under the spring on the take-up spool
and with no more than two sprocket hole out of the bottom of the cassete,
slip both spools into the camera- the long slender leader across the bottom
( which should, of course be turned up!) The reason is that the LTM pressure
plate is sort of oval, and held against the film plate with two flattened
bowed springs- they look like miniature leaf springs! As the long leader is
advanced, the film is pulled in from the side, basically, and loads rather
easily. If you don't trim the leader, and try to force the full width of
film under the pressure plate from the bottom, you are in for a long sad
evening.
Once the spools are in, make sure the rewind lever is in the "A" advance
position, and ease the advance a bit to see if the film is advancing
 tighten the film in the cassette with the rewind knob- and you will be able
to see it turn when the film starts to advance.
It ain't elegant, and I still need to sit the camera down, but I've had
pretty good success with all my LTMs loading this way.
Dan
- -----Original Message-----
From: Jim Colburn <jc60714@navix.net>
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Date: Saturday, February 27, 1999 7:17 PM
Subject: Re: [Leica] The perception of photographic quality


>Hello-
>Eric wrote:
>>When someone knows details of something, and thus is biased as to how to
>>interpret a situation, there will be discrepancies. People lie to the
>>press. Things can be hard to understand. The reporter was rushed and
didn't
>>ask all the questions needed to be asked. The interview can't cover all
>>bases. There are lots of reasons. No one story is going to get all the
>>answers to life's problems right. Over a long period of time, the truth
>>comes out.
> Eric, out of curiosity, I bought a copy of the book "The Bell Curve" a few
>months ago.  After reading the book I didn't understand why everyone was so
>upset by it.  I started reading reviews and responses in the popular and
>professional media.
> Then I started contacting people who wrote the reviews.
> More than eight hundred pages were written by the 43 people (on three
>continents) I've managed to contact so far (one hundred three letters are
>as yet unanswered).  Across the board, they attacked the book and its
>authors.  None of those 43 people read the book.  The general concensus was
>that the book had to be wrong, so they didn't have to read it!
> Eric, since the media isn't biased, I must be misunderstanding the
>situation.  From your perspective, could you explain it to me?
>Thanks
>Jim Colburn
>PS-And could ANYONE point me to a site that will explain how to load a
>Leica IIIf?