It’s alive!!! It’s alive!!!

The FrankenLeica lives!!!!!

Is it a monster … or a really neat camera?

I was happy for a long time with my Leica R9. In many ways it was a stupendous camera, but not absolutely perfect for me. I say was, because now it’s gone. But, why?

Yes, I have said it before … it’s not about the gear, but damn it, I am only human!

A long time ago I tasted the forbidden fruit … yes I owned a Leica SL. Some say it’s the best single lens reflex ever made.   Built like a tank and able to stand a nuclear blast. Brightest viewfinder ever. A heavy piece of hand made metal and brass gears that perfectly mold to the hand. Unreal fit and finish. And yes, fully mechanical … except for the meter. For me it was as close to perfect as an SLR can be.

In my humble opinion Leica pretty much got it right with the Leica SL (although I prefer a split image focusing screen as found in the SL2 that came later – more on that below) without any useless microelectronic enabled “features” for needless choices to make. So simple, so pure.  And yet it was gone. Sent away due to the incredibly lucky acquisition of the latest Leica R ROM lenses at great prices. Unfortunately they were incompatible with the SL lens mounting flange, mirror box and other inner protrusions. It broke my heart to see it go, but lets face it, as important as it is to have a meaningful tactile relationship with one’s camera isn’t it really about the glass in the final analysis?

So earlier this year I found a few references on the Web concerning how the SL could be modified to accept certain Leica R ROM lenses – but not my 35mm Summilux R f/1.4, as it fit too far into camera body, hitting the mirror box. Was I interested? Silly question! Then I read that Doug Herr, the great wildlife photographer and Leica SL devotee had some silver parts found on the original Leicaflex transplanted to his SL.

My devious mind started to think about all the diabolical possibilities and soon the plot was hatched!

Yes a beautiful Leica SL was about to be dismembered and put back together again with added body parts!!! My partner in crime in the fiendish plot was none other than the great Don Arthur Goldberg (DAG), Leica repair guru extraordinaire.

After a number of conversations we agreed the dastardly deed could be done. The trick though with a Leica SL is to find one where the prism isn’t de-cementing or doing other strange things causing the viewfinder to look yellowed. Fortunately, Don had nice SL body with a perfect viewfinder. But the SL incorporates a non-split image focusing screen. No problem … we could remove the split image focusing screen from a Leica SL2 body and transplant it to the new host. Of course the SL needed a complete cleaning, lubrication and alignment (CLA) too. Then Don would remove the lens flange from the SL body; file it down where necessary so that the ROM lens could be mounted. Nice!

I sent off my 35mm lens to Don and the operation began. But nothing is as easy as it sounds. While adding the silver self timer switch and shutter speed dial from an older Leicaflex body and filing the lens flange was an easy task, getting the 35mm lens to fit into the body cavity without hitting any of the innards proved to be a nightmare!!! There were several internal parts that needed to be dramatically filed down just so, and the camera ended up traveling back and forth from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin several times.

But finally … the FrankenLeica came to life … it lived!!!!

But alas, there were evil consequences to my actions.

Soon decided I wanted a second body for use with slower film for some long-term projects I am starting … so guess what … I decided to get a modified SL2 (also considered by some to be the greatest single lens reflex ever made)!!! At a minimum it could serve as an emergency back up should something really strange happen like slipping on a wet rock, and watching the camera fall into the drink! Don’t laugh; I witnessed this happen last year when I was photographing with a fried in Vermont!

Of course Don had a body and it only needed the lens flange modified, as well as the requisite CLA. Again, the deed was done.

The only minor downside of the modifications to both cameras is that their internal meters are now decoupled from my ROM lenses – although they would be coupled with standard 2 Cam and 3 Cam Leica R lenses. However, this is of no matter to me, as I use a hand held meter anyway.

Frank and Elsa (if you don’t get it see the movie!) are now happily in my possession! Together, they will last longer then I will.

Was this all insanity? I don’t think so. Excessive? Perhaps to some. Am I happy? Yes!!!

Will I now be making better pictures? My brain says no … but my heart says yes.

Being at the vanguard of an important social and political movement has its reward. Now Popular Photography takes up the mantle! 

I haven’t picked up a copy of Pop Photo, or for that matter, any of the other photography magazines in years. This week I was handed a copy of the current issue. I began to leaf through the pages, not expecting to find very much of interest to me. And what do you know — an article about the value and enjoyment of purchasing and using classic vintage film cameras, including an interview with Bellamy Hunt who runs Japan Camera Hunter out of Tokyo. I have never met Bellamy, but had a very nice communication with him via email when I was considering purchasing a Konica Hexar RF for a back up. He steered me away from that one due to availability of electronic parts and viewfinder issues – very honest and ethical by today’s standards!

The title of the article is “Elegant Machines, An expert’s guide to shopping for vintage and collectable photo gear” – and there are descriptions and pictures of a number of the usual suspects – Leica M6, Nikon F3, Olympus OM-1, Mamiya 6 and 7, and Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic (my first new camera!!!) to name a few.

The article discusses collecting, but the main focus concerns the joy of using these mechanical wonders with film, the beauty of a slower more thoughtful pace and the value of being “unplugged”. I couldn’t agree more!

Bellamy states that he has noticed a resurgence of interest in using rangefinder and SLR cameras, fueled in part by the younger generation. It’s understandable for the same reasons that they are buying vinyl LPs. Both film and vinyl provide a much different, and to many, a more pleasurable experience vs. that of digital. It’s not about convenience but about the entire user experience and the end result.

So it was a pleasant surprise to stumble across this entertaining little piece. If you are thinking about giving film a try and are still on the fence, spend a few bucks and pick up one the low cost gems featured in this article. I think you will be glad you did!

A lot of stuff seems to be happening for me all of a sudden. Not sure what to attribute it to … maybe good clean living. Not sure. So here’s the lowdown.

Last Sunday we had the biggest Photo Chat Get-Together yet! I know … I have tried to keep these no harm-no foul luaus to no more than about 3 people or so but we had 7!!! People were emailing and calling me who had heard about it from others I hadn’t even met. It’s possible we might be creating a movement here!!! These meetups are a lot of fun so stand by. The next one will be in October. Sure beats mowing the lawn on a Sunday morning!

I also hung an exhibit at a local bank. If you happen to be in or around central Bucks County during September stop by the Hatboro Federal Savings, located at 609 York Road Warminster, PA 18974. They offer lollypops at the counter!

A couple of weeks ago I found out about a new artist coop that just opened in Doylestown. I directed them to this website and was asked to join the fun. So now I have a nice spot for some of my photographs, and I just completed my first two gallery sittings! The gallery is called Gathering, and is located at 65A West State Street, Doylestown, PA 18901. If you happen to be visiting our fair little town I hope you will stop by for a visit – and drop me a note before you come – maybe we can meet!!

Finally, earlier this summer I was put in touch with Division III football powerhouse Delaware Valley University, located right here in Doylestown. They have a wonderful Center for Living in Retirement (CLR) that draws almost 600 students per semester. They foolishly asked me if I would like to teach a photography class. I thought I would be lucky if a couple of unsuspecting victims signed up. So this week I went to the instructor orientation and found out that 15 people foolishly decided to take it! The class is based on an early entry I posted here called Living a Photographic Life. I’ll be writing more about this in a future entry.

Well that’s a lot to happen all in one week … at least for me!  I am very excited … and humbled.

Well I just finished three printing sessions in my darkroom this week and I began to think about my old but trusted Zone VI Temperature Compensating Timer, and why hands down it is the most brilliant darkroom tool ever created. I have extolled this to everyone I speak to when discussing building or equipping a darkroom, and now it’s time to tell the world!

I have had mine since it came out in the mid 1980s and roughly 30 years later it never ceases to amaze, because sometimes inventions that solve a single but critical problem simply are the most valuable of all … at least to me.

Here’s the problem. You went into your darkroom last December and spent several hours to produce a beautiful print from a hard earned negative. Of course, you recorded all the information necessary (the recipe) to make another one just like it. Now it’s August and you decide to make several more.

You pull out the recipe, expose your paper for the same amount of time as before and use the same aperture on your enlarging lens. Next you slide your sheet of paper into the same developer you used before, mixed at same 68 degrees and start the timer. So far, so good. Except it’s not!

You smugly go through all the remainder of the darkroom chemical process steps, and make sure you have compensated for your particular paper’s dry-down characteristics, etc. Finally you leave your prints to dry (I place mine on window screens). Next morning you go back into the darkroom to collect your now dry prints, turn on the lights and … they don’t look exactly right!

@#$%#@$%^

What happened? You followed every step from the August session to the letter. You mixed the chemicals at 68 degrees, just like last time. Good for you, but you made a fatal mistake. You failed to take into account that the temperature of your solutions can drift dramatically during the course of a printing session. So it’s summertime now and you have started at 68 degrees. Well guess what … the temperature of the water is going to increase! Maybe a lot, perhaps into the 80s! Oops … higher contrast. Now turn that around and say you want to make a print in the wintertime that you originally made in the summer … now we are talking about your solutions perhaps dropping into the 50s, yielding a weak low contrast result.

Same thing when developing negatives where temperature control is even more critical! Negatives developed in the summer could end up being much too contrasty and the opposite for those developed during the winter.

Of course there are workarounds. Placing your film developing tank or print developer tray in a larger one containing ice water, etc. But in the end all solution temperatures drift. Life is too short; there’s an elegant solution that solves the problem once and for all.

The Zone VI Temperature Compensating Timer has three setting on it: Real Time; Paper; and Film. Connected to the timer is a temperature probe that’s placed in the developer tray for paper. For 35mm and roll film a water bath tray is used. The probe is placed in it, as are your film tank containing developer, and graduates containing stop, fixer and hypo clear.

The timer automatically compensates for any deviation from the standard 68-degree time so that every negative is developed properly and every print developed looks the same, no matter what the temperature of the developer and other solutions may be! That’s all it does and it does that perfectly – every time!! Simple and effective. Brilliant!!!!

Also connected to the timer is a footswitch that activates it. A digital display shows the amount of seconds that have elapsed and a beep softly goes off every 30 seconds so you don’t nod off!

Sadly the Zone VI timer is no longer made. I forgot what it cost when first introduced, but about ten years ago it sold for almost $400 before it stopped being produced (after the disastrous acquisition of Zone VI by Calumet).

Not to worry. If you are patient they are available from time to time on the used market for about half that price or thereabouts.

Look for them used on APUG, eBay or Craigslist, etc. and get one!!!!!!

You won’t regret buying one. I promise!