Leica IIf - review of a legendary camera
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- čas přidán 5. 07. 2024
- Hey! Today I'm shooting the legend of cameras - the Barnack Leica - in one of the most beautiful villages of France! So come with me now and watch this review:
0:00 Intro
0:49 History & Barnack Leica models
2:18 Handling & features
4:52 Loading film
7:26 Tourtour, the village in the heaven of the French Provence
8:17 The two souls of the Barnack Leica
9:16 Shooting with the Leitz Elmar 50/3.5 lens
10:22 1 metre close focus ...
11:01 Changing lenses
11:58 Shooting with the TT Artisan 28/5.6 wide-angle lens
12:43 The Barnack Leica's perfect size
13:40 Tourtour - 1,000 years old
14:04 Short buying advice
15:34 Verdict
17:02 Outro
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Get the TT Artisan 28mm viewfinder (works for any rangefinder camera and any 28mm lens) on Amazon US here:
amzn.to/3YT6Zhf
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Many thanks to Bob for the excellent cameraman work and support in producing this video!
bobenbart.nl
Also many thanks to Takahiro Oda for filming:
/ takahirooda
And last not least many thanks to Flints Auctions who provide gorgeous product shots of beautiful cameras in their auctions. If you're in the market for a classic camera, also pay them a visit:
flintsauctions.com
The film of this episode was developed by Kontrastlabor in Cologne:
www.kontrastlab.de
(This is no affiliate link or anything like that. I'm just very happy there's still a dedicated analog development & printing service in Cologne!)
My instagram:
/ my7views
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Score:
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That is a gorgeous location. I was disappointed the Kodak Portra washed out or muted the greens and reds. In the video, the leaves seem vibrant, including the ivey changing color. In the scans of film images, the reds disappear and the greens all lean towards olive. The blues and yellows remained vivid.
The camera is fantastic, depending on the type of photography being done. I have 4 Barnack Leicas, all pre-war, and an M6 TTL. The Leica II gets the most use, followed by the IIIc.
Thanks for your feedback! Please keep in mind that a lot of the color shift might also be caused by scanning and post processing these scans. My scanning skills are limited :) … I reckon most analog negative images do look much better in terms of color when you do an analog print in the darkroom … better than any scan!
And yes I totally agree: the Barnack Leicas are fantastic, but not for every type of photography!
Newton-Ellis in Liverpool UK did a lovely job of re-silvering the mirror in my IIIf. Not too expensive either!
Many thanks for your information! 😍 These days it is really valuable for us, because less and less places service the old cameras!
Lovely images, great video! I have a IIIc with the 50mm f2 Summitar, and it’s an amazing camera. Love to shoot it. It feels so professional and well made. You can see why Leica has always been such a desirable brand.
Yes, especially the finish of these cameras is so unbelievably nice!
Thank you
You're welcome! Glad you liked the video!
You can get away without cutting the film with 2 tricks.
You may use a piece of thin cardboard between the film and the sprockets while insterting the spools, or with the lens removed you can open the shutter in B mode and fiddle with the film a bit to guide it in the right place.
Thanks for the video and have fun :)
Many thanks for that info! Might be really valueable in case I forget to bring scissors to the location!!
@@tomscamerasI always pre-cut the film. 🤓
@@crispin8888 that’s the best way to do it! I think it shows I am not a long-term LTM Leica user yet :)
@@tomscameras I love my iiig. And it's light on long walking days.
Merci beaucoup !
Je suis contente que ma vidéo vous plaise !
Nice video, Thomas. 😊
The barnack Leicas area really really charming and finally i know the differences in all the different types and letters. But everytime I see and read the handling and the film loading, I fear that this one slows me down too much, when taking photos with on trips with my family (and especially the kids!!!) 😅 😉
The area Looks like a really beautiful place for a vacation. 👍
The film loading looks worse than it is - especially as what you see in this video is my first attempt at it, so I guess it gets much easier the more often you do it. (Okay, I briefly had a FED camera in the late 1990s ...)
The focusing, that's why I was showing the 28mm lens where focusing becomes much more easy, so maybe using a wide-angle lens is a good way to start with Barnack Leica's. Also the auxiliary finders are much bigger and nicer, that's true ...
Amazing camera. I have Leica IIIa model G :3
Many thanks! As much as I like the later "unibody" Barnack Leica's like mine, I also love the old ones. The IIIa is a classic beauty!
Great video. I have a IIIa and love using it. Leitz used to sell a film-trimming template (code ABLON) but they are super-collectable and expensive now. I made my own from two pieces of plastic and some tape. The advantage is that you can trim film exactly to size quickly and easily -even with a penknife.
Sounds like a great item to hunt for, thanks for the advice! But yes I get it's very rare!
Tom, to load the film, don't cut it, just use a visit card to get the film in the right position!
Oh, thanks for that tip, I have to try that out!
Do the lenses have filter threads? If so you could always use a screw-in close-up lens, although I don't know how you would focus.
It is an interesting classic, but I would not want to use one seriously.
Yes, there's all sorts of attachments and add-on viewfinders and what not else for close focusing. But you won't use any of that anymore these days ... because any SLR camera is so much better at this.
Is Portra 160 the 16 euro film that makes autumn reds disappear?
I think, it's the one you are referring to. About the colors, they are also depending on your scanning and post production ... :)
Si le leica date de 1953 , je pense qu'il s'agit d'un iii f . A vérifier . super video comme toujours
Merci pour votre commentaire ! La différence entre le Leica IIf et IIIf est que seul le IIIf dispose des temps d'obturation longs jusqu'à 1 seconde. Vous pouvez voir que la molette pour les temps d'obturation longs est absente sur le IIf. Ils ont été fabriqués en même temps !
Merci de la precision , j'aurai appris quelque chose .
Hi Tom its not for me unless you preload it for me haha I don't have the patience for it I don't think.......
Yes, loading is quite something. Even though you get used to it after you've done it a few times. If you know before that you're gonna shoot a few filmes with a Barnack Leica, you can at least do the film cutting/trimming part at home :)
I'm sorry but You cut it wrong :< You cant leave such big cut near begninng of the spull :< Film can stuck. I did that way and i broke my camera T-T
Also great material :> Hand up!
Thanks for your comment! Yes, my film cutting was a bit clumsy. Thankfully it worked out okay!
@@tomscameras
I'm glad I could help at least a little bit. I really liked your movie ^^
Best regards once again
@@CzejenAndCodaj Yes it's best to get it right and I prefer this to the card method. There are a few 3D printer files available on line to replicate the original Leica Ablon metal template.