Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/03/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]In a message dated 3/28/02 5:52:12 PM Eastern Standard Time, msmall@infi.net writes: > Well, a number of Big Name photo-journalists, most notably Capa, used > Contax during the era under discussion. And the Contax was vastly > preferred for expedition work as it was somewhat more reliable than was the > Leica. ....careful. > There was only one Leica on Mount Everest before 1963, while dozens > of Contaxes had been going up and down the place for decades. See, I told you this guy was a Zeissaholic. But: > We should bear several things in mind: > .... Both Leitz and Zeiss had a scientific background prior to the > introduction of the Leica and Contax cameras........ > -- It is beyond question that Leitz introduced the modern 35mm camera as > the amatuer's camera of choice, while Contax tended more towards more > technical applications. The use of such gear by professionals began as a > sidelight -- Salomon, for instance, lugging a Leica along with his Ermanox > to shoot the rich and powerful. But, of course, it grew in light of what > Eisie and Capa did with their Leicas in the build-up to the Second World War. > .... -- More than a few high-visibility amateurs, such as George Bernard Shaw > or Hugo Eckener, used Leica and endorsed the product publicly. Such > endorsements did little for professional sales but did have an impact on > sales to well-heeled amateurs........... > So, in the end, there is no right-and-wrong answer to this question. The > Leica began as a rather daring experiment in an untested film format; the > Contax followed five years later and was also quite innovative, though not > revolutionary. Both soon began to serve as back-up cameras for some > professionals and both cameras developed a very few of the top of the field > as users and advocates. But without sales to hobbyists, neither brand > would have made it to the outbreak of the Second World War. > > Marc Damn !!!!!!!! this guy is good !!!!!! Ought to be an active member of the Leica Historical Society of America! Who the hell is he? Seth LaK 9 - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html