Using a Leica iiif. Before I get into the review, a little background on this classic camera. The Leica iiif was produced in the 1950’s and featured a shutter speed of 1/1000 and flash synchronization. Not bad for a fully mechanical camera. My father picked his up in 1957 while in the army near the end of his tour of duty. He invested in the full kit: the camera, a 3.5cm f/3.5 lens, a 5.0cm f/1.5 lens, and a 13.5cm f/4.5 lens. He used it for years, then handed it down to me when I became a father. It needed a lot of work, but once CLA’d and repaired (thank you TLC Camera) it really looks like the gorgeous piece of equipment that it is. Now I wanted to see if it would operate as good as it looks. On a recent trip to Arizona, I was feeling nostalgic and in the mood for something different. Going thru my camera collection, I decided to use the “Big Gun” my Dad’s old Leica iiif. It seemed like a good fit for a state with loads of character and personality – yes, I LOVE Arizona! I brought the 3.5cm and the 5.0cm lens along with 2 of my favorite films: Ilford FP4+ for daylight shots and Tri-X pushed to 1600 for indoor and low light photography. I don’t have a filter that fits it, so I brought along a yellow #8 to hold in front of the lens when outdoors and in bright light. The camera is compact so I had no problems carrying it around. While not heavy, it is VERY solid and comfortable in the hand. I made it my constant companion on this trip as I stopped by Tombstone, Bisbee and other cool places. The 3.5cm lens was very compact and well balanced on the camera. The 5.0cm was a bit larger and made it slightly front heavy, but still easy to use. The challenges I had: 1. Loading the film requires practice and dedication. The first time I used it, my roll slipped off the reel. I took much more time getting it right for this trip. First, you remove the bottom plate and the take-up spool. The iiif is loaded from the bottom as there is no film back. That is different and takes a bit of getting used to. Next, you cut the film to give you 4” of lead. The end of the lead is slowly fed into the take-up spool’s clamping spring as far as it can go. The spool and the film casset are then loaded into the camera. Once loaded, you advance the film thru 2 actuations and then use the rewind to remove the slack in the film. You manually set the counter to 1. 2. There is no thumb lever to advance the film. You have to turn a knob. This is not 100% a problem as it slows you down and focuses you on the image capture. Just don’t expect to capture multiple images quickly. Note: You will know if the film has slipped off the spool if the rewind knob does not turn in tandem with the advance knob. 3. Aligning a rangefinder image can be a challenge in tricky light… but a slight rotation and recompose action makes it easier. Zone focusing is your friend. 4. The view finder is small. Tiny in fact. Taking images with glasses made for a real challenge – and not one I enjoyed. Also, the view finder is optimized for 5.0cm, so the 3.5cm lens was capturing more of the image than seen. There is definitely a modern "clip on finder" in my future. Lack of clear framing of my shots cost me a few images. 5. It does not take normal filters and I like to use a filter when shooting outside in daylight. I got used to holding a yellow#8 filter in front of the lens, but it made stability a bit tricky. I really need to get one on e-bay that fits. That said, the images came out great. 6. No light meter. This is kind of expected with older fully mechanical cameras and I have gotten good at using my smart phone and a lumu meter for this. Still, there is a lot going on and this is just one more variable to remember. When in doubt, sunny 16 rules, but it can be tricky at dusk and indoors. The Rewards: 1. The camera feels good in the hand. No, make that GREAT. The rounded ends and the slim design took a little adjustment, but once I got used to it I loved it. 2. The rangefinder focusing in good light was very fast and easy. Also, the lens had great markings to allow for zone focusing when prepping for a shot – speeding things up and useful in lower light. 3. The older un-coated lens have a great look. Very sharp when stopped down. They just create a beautiful image. The low light shots were especially beautiful in the out of focus areas. 4. Using this camera made me feel very connected to my images. The films I used really shone thru and created such an amazing sense of ownership. Hard to describe other than to say I love these shots. 5. This camera was a huge conversation starter. People just naturally want to talk when they see me with it. 6. You get more than 36 exposures. I had 38... Two freebies are nice. In conclusion, this is now my favorite 35mm camera. It is a dream to shoot and I look forward to taking it out. It has challenges... But that is what makes it fun. The fact that it is a family hand-me-down makes it even better.
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