analogconvert13

By analogconvert13

Leica M3 and Dual Range Summicron 50mm

It's lucky I was sitting down at the computer this morning.  Two days ago, Leica Camera in Wetzlar, Germany, announced that they are selling a "new" model called the Leica M-A, which is an all-mechanical 35mm film camera without a built-in light meter!  For those sufficiently interested, go here. It has been 60 years since the introduction of the iconic Leica M3, one of the most perfect pieces of industrial design ever conceived.  But this is 2014, and not only do people expect their cameras to be digital, but they don't want to be thinking about exposure factors.  And yet here it is, all $4750 worth, without a lens - oh, and no light meter...  The thinking is this: the photographer should be unencumbered by menus and buttons.  Only shutter speed, f-stop and focal length matter.  Oh, and the camera comes with a roll of Kodak Tri-X , (also introduced in 1954), the quintessential B&W film, unless, of course, you prefer Ilford Delta 400.  I realized some months back that the M3's 60th birthday was coming up and had been planning a Blip.  Today's announcement caught me a bit short as I went scrambling into the closet to set up this Blip with the obligatory burgundy bumblebee velvet.  I bought this camera in 1976 and I am its second or possibly third, owner.  It was a bit dinged then and I have added some scuff marks along the way but it still works just like the day it left the factory.  The film transport is silent and silky, driven by the meshing of brass gears, the shutter a quiet "snick".  My camera is from the very first batch made in 1954 and has features which were discarded during the long production run as being too finicky or expensive, like the .91 magnification view finder.  The dual range Summicron on the camera is from 1958 and was the up-market option for a standard lens.  I'm pleased that Leica is re-creating one of the company's greatest moments of glory, and I suppose they know that there are enough besotted enthusiasts out there who want to get a brand new piece of the experience which the M3 offered 60 years ago.  The thing is: Leicas are so beautifully made that the old ones never wear out and will last forever - with the number of a good technician in your Rolodex.  So, would you rather have the "real thing" with some battle scars, or a brand squeaky new one?  To each his own, I suppose.

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