Viewfinder 57-1

jim rice: shooting

36 the 35mm f/1.4 double aspheric replica by

Schwartzreich 44 professor dr. klute & null series no. 114 by Alan Stokes 50 advoo by Jim Lager

OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

Inquiries about membership, upcoming events, replacement Viewfinder issues, and special orders should be directed to:

Richard Rejino, Executive Director Leica Society International 14070 Proton Road, Dallas, TX 75244 info@leicasocietyinternational.org (972) 233-9107

Viewfinder is the official publication of the Leica Society International, a nonprofit organization incorporated in the state of Delaware. Copyright 2023. Reproduction or use of any material contained herein without permission of the Society if forbidden.

Leica is a registered trademark. It and other trademarks pertaining to the Leica System are the property of LEICA CAMERA, USA, INC or LEICA CAMERA AG.

ISSN 1543-8732

PRESIDENT

David Knoble Charlotte, NC

EXEC.VICE PRESIDENT

William Fagan Dublin, Ireland

VP / TREASURER

Robert Levite Coral Gables, FL

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT

Brad Husick Medina, WA

PRESIDENTS EMERITUS

James L. Lager

Rolf Fricke

Bill Rosauer

APPOINTED OFFICERS

Viewfinder Editor

Bill Rosauer

Buffalo Grove, IL lhsaeditor@yahoo.com

Viewfinder Associate Editors

Ed Schwartzreich Waterbury, VT

Amitava "Chats" Chatterjee Manassas, VA

Viewfinder Designer Kirsten Vignes Minneapolis, MN

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Richard Rejino Dallas, TX

SENIOR DIRECTORS

Gary Hough Woodinville, WA

Douglas Drumheller Pittsburgh, PA

Alan Weinschel Roslyn Heights, NY

Contributing Editors

James L. Lager Closter, NJ

S.R. Gilcreast Jr. Peterborough, NH

S. Willis Wright Port Washington, NY

ELECTED

Class of 2024 Cont'd

John Pegouske Dearborn, MI

David Spielman New Orleans, LA

Class of 2025

Chris Herbert Tempe, AZ

Bill Royce Prescott, AZ

Hari Subramanyan Heidelberg, Germany

Kirsten Vignes Minneapolis, MN

Chris Herbert Tempe, AZ

Class of 2026

Sandra Eisert Redmond, WA

Susan Flaherty Boston, MA

Jonathan Slack United Kingdom

A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

by BILL ROSAUER

Viewfinder 57-1 is the second issue printed by our new printer, Motorgrafx. I have received very favorable reviews on the appearance of the last issue of Viewfinder. If you receive the hard copy of our journal, I think you will agree that we have taken a significant step up with the quality of Viewfinder. This issue will also be the first issue of Viewfinder to be offered for sale at Leica stores in the US. Hopefully, we will be reaching more potential new members to the LSI through this exposure. Leica has been very supportive to the Society, and we look forward to even more cooperation with Leica in the future to the benefit of us all.

Jono Slack gives us a very thorough review of the new Leica SL3 camera, as we have come to expect from Jono. The SL3 is the latest camera in the SL line, bringing more capability and features as Leica is wont to do with each new generation. Jono also takes us on an interesting excursion into two rivals to the SL3, the Sony A1 and Olympus OM-1 System cameras. Jono gives us some valuable insight into the plusses and minuses of these two rival systems. I think you will find his review very helpful.

Ed Schwartzreich also gives a thorough review of the latest lens in the Light Lens Labs stable, the 35/1.4 ASPH Double Aspheric replica. As Ed tells it, through the words of LLL founder Mr. Zhou, reproducing this almost mythical Leica lens was quite a journey. Like their original offering the 8 element 35 Summicron and the 50/1.2 Nocti replica, they have reverse engineered the original Leica lens and can bring it to market for a reasonable price so the “rest of us” can experience one of these magical rare Leica lenses of the past. They even use the original glass formulas wherever possible, which also adds to the magic of these lenses.

I hope you enjoy my story of visiting the 6th Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas. This was one of those bucket list places to visit someday for me, and I jumped at the chance to go there this past December. It was a place that changed the history of our country and our world. It changed the lives of so many people I have talked to about that day. As I talk about in my story, I was fortunate to have my Leica M10 Monochrom and 28/5.6 Summaron re-issue lens with me to make the image of Oswald’s window on the cover of this issue. As I always say, always have your Leica with you. You never know when an opportunity like this will come up. Be prepared! I also want to thank Bill Royce for his help in getting rid of some nasty reflections from the Plexiglas partition in front of this corner of the School Book Depository.

Wayne Goodman is a new member to the LSI, and has written a fun review of the recent annual meeting in Wetzlar. This was Wayne’s first LSI meeting, and it’s a lot of fun reading his impressions of our premier event. Wayne went from being an interested skeptic to an enthusiastic LSI member. It’s wonderful to meet new members like Wayne, and to share his enthusiasm has grown for our group. I look forward to seeing him again at future events.

Colin Howard takes us on a fascinating journey to one of Spain’s most photogenic cities with his M10 Monochrom. Colin finds the M10 Monochrom to be the best version of the Monochrom series (I would agree!), and shows us how well it works as a travel companion in this quintessential Spanish city.

Richard Rejino tells the story of Jim Rice and his book Shooting Jim is a friend of mine who I met through Dan Tamarkin and another mutual friend, Craig Semetko. I was aware of Jim’s story and the tragedy of his mother’s murder, but it was not something we ever discussed extensively. Jim is a passionate Leica photographer, and has developed a wonderful body of work and has a really good eye, constantly coming up with unique images of his hometown in Indiana and the city of Chicago which he frequently visits. Richard does a wonderful job in telling Jim’s life story since that fateful day, and how photography has literally saved Jim’s life. As Richard sums up, “Shooting” is ultimately an uplifting and incredible book, a hero’s journey. It is at once a beginning and rebirth of a life saved”.

Alan Stokes returns to Viewfinder with his article on the Leica Null Serie No. 114 camera, which Leica sent to Professor Dr. Fritz Klute in the spring of 1923 to evaluate. Professor Klute was a German geographer and glaciologist from Giessen University. This camera now resides in the Messer collection at Miami of Ohio University. Alan shares images Dr. Klute made with this camera, and his observations of using it in the field. He also shares some of the delivery records of this camera and the other Null Serie cameras. This is the only Null Serie camera we have this much documentation on. I think you will find this story quite interesting.

Finally, we have an article from Jim Lager on the ADVOO accessory for the Leica Screwmount cameras. One forgets that back in the day, Leica needed to offer accessories such as this to allow a “convenient” way for close-up photos. We forgot how difficult things like this were before SLR’s, Live View and macro lenses. The other thing this brings to mind is how the Leica was a “System Camera”, and Leica was constantly developing a range of accessories for the line to allow the Leica user to get more than just snapshots. The Leica was also a system camera as well in regards to enlargers, projectors, telephoto and wide angle lenses, reflex attachments and on and on, where most other rivals in the marketplace had nothing to offer. It is also one of the fun rabbit-holes to go down while exploring the Leica and its history!

Bis Nächste Zeit! - Bill

A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

by DAVID KNOBLE

Greetings LSI members! As I write this letter members are packing or have already arrived at Porto, Portugal for our Spring Shoot in Europe! I am thrilled that we have had such strong support that we have been able to now have meetings in Dublin, Rome and now Porto. The time spent face-to-face with each other is precious. If you are unable to attend, our What’s App channel for members has doubled in size and stays active, so I encourage you to link up with members using the QR code on this page. In the next few months we will put together a short tutorial on how to use What’s App, and more importantly, how to silence it in your time zone at night!

I am also excited that many of you may be reading this issue of Viewfinder using your mobile device. This is our inaugural issue using modern technology to allow you quick download times and web viewing of your award-winning magazine. The high resolution copy will still be stored in our archive, but access to a quick read is a click away for members. Over the coming months you will also see past issues available in this same easy to access format and

some other surprises related to our Viewfinder content. Finally, you will find that we will announce the new issue using What’s App so you can have real-time information about your society.

Speaking of connecting with members, your Board of Directors has chosen the Spring Shoot locations for 2025! We are working diligently now to find and secure the best meeting locations for these meetings so we can announce the dates. However, I want to you know that we will be meeting in Charleston, South Carolina and in Vienna, Austria for early 2025!

If you were able to join us in Nashville, Tennessee for the April 2024 Spring Shoot, you were able to see a new LSI branded Rock and Roll strap. This is being setup for purchase as we speak and I will announce it on our communication channels when that is ready. These are made of nylon climbing strap material with leather ends containing LSI and a leather patch in the middle containing our name. Durable and comfortable, some members were able to use the proto-type strap in Nashville.

We have some exciting new content being organized by your Board of Directors and more exciting behind-the-scenes work as we move into the summer. Keep an eye out for announcements. Most importantly, share your images on Instagram or WhatsApp using the themes announced there, or simply your favorite photographs! That is who we are - we Inspire Leica Photographers!

In your service - David M. Knoble, President

Stay tuned for more details and exact dates!

Not Another Conference

by WAYNE GOODMAN

Normally, the term “Conference” doesn’t exactly fill you with excitement. Staring at four walls whilst people just talk about a load of percentages and product studies is more likely to divert you to the bar, rather than the water machine at any opportunity. However, hearing about the Leica Society during a Red Dot Forum video, and exploring the LSI website lead me to just that… a conference. Yet, somehow, this one excited me.

Leica cameras have long been a huge part of my passion for photography. The simplicity, minimalistic design, and history of the products have always spoken to me, and indeed pushed me to make different kinds of photos to that of any other camera. I always thought I was the only person to feel this way, but suddenly, there was a conference. There must be more people out there like me I thought, who would travel thousands of miles just to see what the inner workings of the company are all about.

Perusing the details of the conference on the LSI site, it sounded better than any other I’d been on with work; for starters, there was a wine tour.

So there and then, I booked it. Followed by flights, and then the hotel. That was it, I was going to Wetzlar, the home of Leica! Now the trepidation. What will the people be like, will the talks be interesting or is it a glorified scheme to get us all to buy Leica equipment? Oh yeah, and one more thing, at this point I'd just sold my Leica, so I didn't even own one, other than a film camera I wasn't sure even worked!

Roll on to October 2023 and I arrived at Frankfurt Airport and made my way by train to Wetzlar. Sadly the first hotel I booked wasn't ideal, but I cancelled the next morning and switched to the Leitz Hotel. This is a fantastic place to stay; very modern and on the Leica campus itself.

The same morning also represented the start of the conference. I was given a name badge by Kirsten (who coincidentally worked behind the scenes on the video that first led me to this journey), and then I took my seat in the conference room next to a gent called Hans-Martin. He is a local to the area but more on this soon.

The first talks started. Some of the highest people in the Leica brand were there, in front of us, and as a fan, this already made it better than any other conference I'd been to.

However, there was a twist. These people were genuinely funny. They made figures and facts sound interesting. They added a layer of lightness to it all, meaning that I could follow and understand what they were saying. At one point, Peter Karbe, the man behind so many Leica lens products had the whole room laughing, but yet he was just talking about f-stops!

What's going on here? How is this happening, and the real test, did I head for the bar or the water machine at the first break? No question… the water machine, which incidentally added to the fun, showing a note stating "This isn't vodka". I was already having a fantastic time, and this only got better.

However, there was one looming issue. I was seeing all these nice people with Leicas around their necks.

I had brought the Leica Mini 35mm camera, but the one camera I most regret selling in my past was the M10-R. Well, let's just say, that by 11:30 am I had an M10-R purchased from the used store, and then I borrowed a 35mm FLE from the new store, which led to me purchasing that very lens by 16:30 the same day! Maybe this was a sales ploy event after all! Of course, I'm just jesting, but I was so pleased to have an M10-R back in my life, and it came from the Mothership.

During the first day, I also started to chat with the other LSI members on the trip. I'm 40 and there were many others of a similar age, but equally, you could see that age really didn't matter at all. We were all so like-minded it was uncanny, and on top of the cliche of Lawyers and Doctors being a large demographic of Leica owners, you can also now add a large demographic of IT people into the mix.

The days that followed offered more conference options, but I’d been chatting to Hans-Martin, my new friend from the first morning, and he offered to take me to his local town called Braunfels. This is a beautiful place, with a castle and THE best Apple Strudel I’ve ever eaten in my life, at Eiscafe Chintemi. The castle made for wonderful photo opportunities and it was a pleasure to see such a beautiful town.

A couple of days later, Hans-Martin also gave me and some others a tour of the Wetzlar town centre. What looked like a simple place on the face of things, was much more. He showed us a local photo shop where the owner's dog poses for photos as if they're serving at the counter, a wine shop that also sells €20,000 sound systems, and of course, we saw the spot where Oscar Barnack shot the first Leica image using his Ur-Leica in 1914. By now, we'd all become the greatest of friends. We found that all our interests and backgrounds overlapped in one way or another, and we would all stay up until the early hours laughing and joking; there may have been plenty of wine involved as well. Maybe.

The last day came and it involved yet more wine. This time, it was an accompaniment as we all took a coach tour to the Rhine Valley. This is a beautiful part of the world, filled with natural beauty and the types of architecture you see only on postcards. It was a great day, but also had a note of sadness as we all knew we would soon be parting ways.

So would I do this again? Well, I'm sure it will be no surprise for you to hear me say I've already booked for the Porto tour in May '24, and feel like LSI is something that will be a part of my life going forward. From the organization to the attendees, it's a wonderful way to spend a few days. I would highly recommend it.

SAVE THE DATE

Bill Rosauer and Derleicaman Tours are planning two tours this Fall. We are working on the details now, but wanted you to save the dates!

LEICA CELEBRATION OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN WETZLAR

Week of October 7th

Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the M camera. We will be the guests of Leica Camera Germany at Leitz Park and be involved in many special events. Start the week with a tour of Montblanc in Hamburg.

TOUR OF

JAPAN, TOKYO & KYOTO

Week of November 10 th

We will visit a number of interesting sites in Japan for some great photography. We will visit the Leica Store in Kyoto and Tokyo as the guests of Leica Japan. Join us for a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Stay tuned for further details! Contact me directly at derleicman@gmail.com for more details.

ee·rie

by BILL ROSAUER

The Oxford Dictionary defines the word eerie as “strange and frightening”. Merriam-Webster defines it as “so mysterious, strange or unexpected to send a chill up the spine”. This is the most typical response from people that I have shared my picture with. If you are of a certain age or of a historical bent, you will instantly recognize this image I made with my M10 Monochrom and 28/5.6 Summaron-M lens this past December. If not, you may need a little prompting.

One hint would be that this picture was taken in Dallas. We were visiting my sister and brother-in-law between the holidays, and on the spur of the moment, I asked if they had ever been to Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas. As it turns out, no one had, so we made plans to go the next day. I booked tickets with my phone and eagerly awaited the coming day for another new adventure with my Leica. Dealey Plaza is the home of the Texas School Book Depository, and since 1989, the site of The Sixth Floor Museum. I think by now you must realize I was visiting the site from which Oswald fired the fatal shots killing JFK, the 35th President of the United States. The scene I had anticipated visiting has become known as “Oswald’s Window”.

Of course, I had my M Kit with me in my ever-faithful FOGG b-sharp bag. I like to travel with both the M10-P and the M10 M, along with a small yet versatile collection of lenses. Permanent residents in my bag, like the WATE, 28/2 Summicron ASPH, 35/2 Summicron KOB, and the 50/1.2 Noctilux are always with me. And then there is this little gem of a lens, the 28/5.6 Summaron-M re-issue. Coupled with the Monochrom, this lens gives a totally unique look to the images made with it. Plus, it is TINY! I have found that it fits quite well into the ER case for the VISOFLEX 020, without its rather redundant hood. This package is so small; that it sometimes gets lost in the bag with all of its big brothers. As always, the usual mental gymnastics of, “So, what lens to use?” goes into the planning for a photo outing. Having two cameras with me makes the dilemma a bit easier, so I usually have the 35 or the 28 Summicron on the M10-P. Anticipating some moody interior shots in the museum, I had the 28 Summaron-M mounted on the Monochrom. As you can see from the end result, it was the right choice!

Even though I had read many books and seen just about every documentary on the JFK assassination, I was unprepared for the experience itself; standing on the Sixth Floor of the School Book Depository and looking at the sniper’s nest Oswald had prepared from which to assassinate the president. As the saying goes, it makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck! Even after 60 years, I remember that day quite well, having been only seven years old and attending my Catholic grade school when word came that the president had been shot. Our entire school went to the church across the street to pray for him. Needless to say, our prayers were not answered that day. Others I have spoken to after seeing my picture have shared their own personal recollections with me of

that day. This little lens, in combination with the Monochrom, worked their symbiotic imaging magic and allowed me to create the shot I had pre-visualized with my mind’s eye.

I have been to many historic locations around the world on my bucket list to see with my own eyes where history had been made, but this one was a standout, in no small part to the tools I had at hand. I always have my M cameras with me, starting with my dad’s M3 when I was a teenager, and culminating with my current M cameras, the M10-P and M10 M. Other places I have visited come to mind; the Eisenmarkt and Haus Friedwart in Wetzlar, the Acropolis, the Colosseum, Mt. Calvary in Jerusalem, the Tower of London, Dachau concentration camp to name a few. Another was the Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, where the Lincoln in which Kennedy was shot sits at the front entrance. In that same museum, the chair on which Abe Lincoln sat when John Wilkes-Booth assassinated him in Ford’s Theater is also on display. Or at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, where the Boeing 707, Air Force One tail number 26000 is on display. This is the plane Kennedy took to Love Field in Dallas on that fateful day. This same plane brought his body back to Washington later that day. Hand on the bible, LBJ was sworn in on this spot, with Jackie looking on with a dazed look still wearing her blood-stained dress. Standing with my Leica where that photo was taken on the president’s plane, next to the bulkhead that the Secret Service had sawn through to accommodate Kennedy’s coffin, was another one of those eerie moments. Visiting Oswald’s Window brings things full circle, recalling for me that fateful day that changed our world forever.

The Sixth Floor Museum is quite worthwhile to visit. In addition to Oswald’s Window on the southeast corner of the 6th floor, there are numerous exhibits relating to that day. You can actually stand next to the bank of windows where Oswald was perched and look out onto Elm Street where the motorcade passed by, to get an idea of the line-of-sight Oswald had. One display has the scale model the FBI constructed for the Warren Commission of Dealey Plaza with the bullet paths depicted. They even have a display of both still and movie cameras used that day by bystanders at Dealey Plaza to photograph the president’s motorcade. There is even a Leica IIIc among them. One display lays out all the various theories as to who really was responsible for assassinating the president. Going outside to the Grassy Knoll and Elm Street, you can see the “X” on the pavement marking where the fatal bullet struck the president. You can stand on the same spot where Zapruder used his Bell & Howell 8mm movie camera to film the motorcade, including the shocking footage of the fatal headshot. Walking a little further on, you can stand behind the fence adjacent to the Grassy Knoll where some say a second gunman actually made the fatal headshot. There is so much to take in at one time, it is a bit overwhelming.

As always, have your Leica with you! You never know when you might get to visit a place where history has been made.

Salamanca

by COLIN HOWARD

Cloisters, Escuelas Menores. Leica M10 Monochrom & 35mm Summilux-m f/1.4 ASPH.

Spain is a country with a culture that rapidly permeates the soul of all who visit. I read James A. Michener’s “Iberia” as a teenager and have been fascinated by the Hispanic world ever since. It remains an essential read for anyone contemplating a vacation to Spain. My wife and I have visited most parts of the country over the past few years and have never failed to appreciate its rich diversity and historical heritage. Our last visit in February 2020 was to return to Salamanca. We had been once before but on that occasion, with the temperature hovering around 108o F, it had proved almost impossible to walk on the hot cobbles; everyone was trying to escape the heat.

One of Spain’s great assets is its modern railroad network, now one of the finest in Europe. It is now our preferred method of journeying between cities in Spain. The train from Madrid’s Chamartin Station to Salamanca takes less than 2 hours, passing as it does through the Guadalajara Mountains across the central plain via Medina del Campo.

Salamanca has been the heart and core of Spanish culture through the centuries. Its convents, university, library, and chapels give an immediate sense of what it must have been like to have lived in the city during the heady days of the late Renaissance, a time when fertile minds flourished, and ideas reverberated around the walls of its great university. We wandered around its ancient corridors for hours, peeping into lecture rooms and halls unchanged for hundreds of years and seemingly just vacated by students of centuries past. Many on graduation would paint their names on the outside walls in bull’s blood, traces of which are still clearly visible today.

The beating heart of all the great and ancient cities of Spain is the Plaza Mayor, and Salamanca is no exception. It is perhaps the finest and grandest in the whole of the country. The buildings are an architectural masterpiece and a coffee, or a glass of cool beer can be enjoyed drinking in the detail of this magnificent square. In the late afternoon and evening groups of musical students can be heard carousing the customers of cafes and restaurants; these ‘tuna’ groups often tour city to city in order to earn some cash to pursue their studies.

A visit to the Dominican Convent of San Estaban is a must. The Dominican friars of Salamanca played an important role in the colonisation of the New World during Spain’s golden age and its chapel is magnificent. Equally fascinating is the Palacio de Monterrey, the ancestral home of the Alba family who have played such a prominent role in Spain’s turbid history of domestic politics.

(top) Nightime ‘Tuna’. Leica M10 Monochrom & 50mm Noctilux-M f/0.95 ASPH. (bottom) Corridors of the University. Leica M10 Monochrom & 35mm Summilux-M f/1.4 ASPH.

(top) Convent San Estaban. Leica M10 Monochrom & 35mm Summilux-M f/1.4 ASPH. (bottom) Corridor, Esculelas Mayores. Leica M10 Monochrom & 35mm Summilux-M f/1.4 ASPH.

But there is a darker side to Salamanca’s more recent past. It was the headquarters of the nationalists during the Spanish Civil War and Franco set up his office within the walls of the Bishop’s Palace. The Museo Unamuno close by reflects the local tension between Franco and the university: Miguel de Unamuno was removed from his post as Rector of the university in 1936 for his pro-republican sympathies. His residence has been preserved from the 1930s and still contains many of his belongings.

The trip was also my first opportunity to use my newly acquired M10 Monochrom. Ever since my darkroom days, I have hankered after a camera that would come close to producing that indefinable quality associated with film. I must confess that I was disappointed with previous incarnations of the Leica Monochrom camera series. Thus I thought long and hard about buying another when the M10 Monochrom was announced. Neverth less, on our first day in Salamanca I was excited to see what it was capable of, but at the same time a little anxious given its cost. But the M10 Monochrom did not disappoint, much to my relief. In fact, it exceeded my expectations. Leica have solved the thorny issue of highlight blowouts seen using previous M9 and M240 versions, yet the preservation of shadow detail is nothing short of remarkable. Any reader who has visited Spain will know that the difference between light and shade in that part of the world can cause exposure problems, but the M10 Monochrom handled these astonishingly well. In short, it is an impressive piece of kit, especially when coupled with my favourite 'go-to' lens, the f/1.4 35mm Summilux-M. I also took with me the f/0.95 Noctilux for night shots and if anything, these images were more impressive. Focusing can be tricky but I have not really found the need for an EVF when using this lens. Again, the results can be truly remarkable as the Noctilux performs at its best when shooting monochrome images.

As we returned to the U.K. after a brief stop in Madrid, we could sense the impending Covid-19 crisis that was about to engulf the world. I take comfort in these difficult times with the words of Miguel de Cervantes: ‘Salamanca bewitches and enchants you with the wish to return to all that which is gentile and serene’.

Museo Unamuno, Calle Libreros. Leica M10 Monochrom & 35mm Summilux-M f/1.4 ASPH.

(top) Plaza Mayor. Leica M10 Monochrom & 35mm Summilux-M f/1.4 ASPH.

(bottom) Teatro Juan del Enzina, Calle Tostado. Leica M10 Monochrom & 35mm Summilux-M f/1.4 ASPH.

The Leica SL3

by JONATHAN SLACK

The Leica SL3 has finally landed, four and a bit years after the launch of the Leica SL2.

The Leica SL (Typ 601) was announced on October 20th 2015. The Leica SL2 was announced on November 6th 2019. The Leica SL3 was announced on March 7 th, 2024.

The revolutionary days of camera development seem to be behind us; gone are the days of the great leap forward. However, incremental developments in sensor technology and processing power have really changed how easy it is to get great results in difficult circumstances.

One of the downsides of this is the increased complexity of modern cameras. Complaints about menu bloat are not unfounded, and they are an inevitable result of acceding to every customer's request. There is a point at which one may not even realize that a camera is capable of a function. Descriptions in the menu can be far from intuitive and are often hidden so well that you can't find them - even if you do know that they're there!

Leica have really made an effort to keep things as simple and logical as possible. I've become especially aware of this over the last 6 months as (in conjunction with our new puppy) I have been trying out several different cameras from other manufacturers. More about that later.

In the past, new cameras have always seemed to coincide with one of our trips abroad, but in this instance, the only trip was to the LSI meeting in Wetzlar - not an ideal situation for trying out a new camera!

On the other hand, we have been to our house in Cornwall a couple of times, always beautiful and always a great photo opportunity.

Just before I received the camera in October we collected a 9-weekold black Pyrenean Sheepdog pup. She is extremely speedy and has represented an interesting autofocus and dynamic range challenge, both to the camera and to me! I hope you'll forgive me for too many puppy pics here.

(top) Stormy Weather. Leica SL3 & 24-90mm Vario-Elmarit-SL f/2.8-4. (bottom) Misty Morning. Leica SL3 & 24-70mm Vario-Elmarit-SL f/2.8.

(top) Brane Bookshelf. Leica SL3 & Leica 50mm Summilux-M ASPH f/1.4. (bottom) Boots & Onions. Leica SL3 &24-90mm Vario-Elmarit-SL f/2.8-4.

BODY & DESIGN

WEIGHT Lots of people I've spoken to have hoped for a smaller and lighter camera, so it's worth looking at the developing size and shape of the SL.

These weights and dimensions are from the respective spec sheets:

• The SL is 147mm (W) x 104mm (H) x 39mm (D), 860 grams

• The SL2 is 146mm (W) x 107mm (H) x 42mm (D), 838 grams

• The SL3 is 142mm (W) 108 mm (H) and 50mm (D), 762 grams

In actual fact, the camera does definitely feel smaller and lighter than the SL2, added to which the deeper grip makes it easier to hold one-handed. The narrow part of the body is slightly thicker (50mm vs 42). but although it's higher overall it's not quite as high at the shoulder, so if you have big hands you may be more likely to have a floating pinky!

I thought an interesting comparison was:

• SL2 with 24-90mm Vario-Elmarit-SL - 2142 gms / 4.7 lbs

• SL3 with 24-70mm Vario-Elmarit-SL - 1760 gms / 3.9 lbs

That's a significant difference - although you might prefer the 2490mm!

BUTTONS & DIALS The layout of the buttons and dials is really similar - the only real differences being that the Play Fn and Menu buttons are on the right-hand side of the LCD rather than the left, which seemed rather irritating at first, but you do get used to it quickly.

The only other difference is the addition of the extra dial on the top left of the camera - this defaults to ISO but can be set to exposure compensation or Shutter Speed. Currently, I've left this at ISO, but I am considering setting it to Exposure ompensation. I was a little worried that it would get knocked and changed, but it doesn't seem to be a problem.

TILTING LCD PANEL Finally - a tilt screen. I was unenthusiastic with the Q3, but for some reason, I really like it on the SL3. This one has 2.3 million dots as opposed to the 2.1 million of the SL2 (not a big deal!)

If you shoot with EVF Extended then pull out the LCD, it automatically comes alive with the image, pushing it back in again and reverts to EVF Extended. This works really well.

EVF & TOP PLATE LCD These are technically identical to the SL2. The EVF has 5,760,000 dots, which is less than some other recent

cameras which have over 9 million. However, in my perambulations around the camera world, I still think the SL3 EVF is the nicest I've seen. Others are often too contrasty.

The Top Plate LCD is the same monochrome 128 x 128 pixel panel, although the information shown has changed. At first, I didn't think it was as good, but I've got used to it now and use it a lot to check settings.

• Top Row: PASM Indicator, Exposure, Battery Status

• Second Row: F Number

• Third Row: Shutter Speed

• Fourth Row: ISO Value

• Bottom Row: Exposure Compensation as + or 1 Value

Talking to Leica, the logic for removing the GPS status, Wifi, etc. was that it really isn't an issue with the SL3 and Fotos, and certainly, that's how I've found it to be.

THE ON/OFF BUTTON I can already see the On / Off switch wars erupting on the various Leica forums! The switch is in the same place but has been changed to a button with a light around it.

In normal operation the light is white - unless you put your eye to the viewfinder in which case it goes out, which is a nice touch.

A light touch turns the camera off and on. Startup time is the important thing, and that seems to be fairly good (less than 3 seconds) - the switch turns white pretty much instantly.

Turning it off is not quite so perfect - pressing the switch appears to do nothing for approximately 5 seconds when the top plate LCD goes blank and then the white light fades. If you aren't concentrating you might not be sure if you've turned it off or notrepeatedly pressing it doesn't seem to make any difference though.

If you have the LCD on, then it will come up with a message saying "Auto Power Off" - and in the EVF as well if you happen to be looking (not something you would normally do if you are turning the camera off)

When the camera is charging via USB-C then the light goes green. When the battery is low the light perhaps ought to go red - but it doesn't seem to!

I think this needs a bit of resolution - especially the messaging, and where it appears. On the other hand, I think it's a good development, and after a few months, it definitely seems like an improvement on the old manual switch. I also think that it has the prospect of providing lots more information in the future.

THE PROCESSOR

The SL3 has the new Maestro IV processor like the Q3 (the M11 uses the Maestro III) This comes with 8gb of buffer memory as opposed to the 4gb of the SL2. This allows for very fast write times, especially in conjunction with the new CF card slot. Even more importantly (in my mind), the SL3 has a much faster start-up time and wakes from sleep very quickly too.

THE CARD SLOTS Perhaps some people will be sorry that the camera doesn't have a huge internal memory like the M11-P, but I think most serious photographers will prefer card slots to internal memory.

There is one UHS-II SD card slot and one CFexpress Type B slot. In most cases, I've just been shooting to the CFexpress card and then uploading to Lightroom using a USB-C cable. The CF slot is important for video and fast storage, but nice to have the SD card slot for backup and emergency.

THE BATTERY Like the Q3 the SL3 comes with the new 2200 mAh BP-SCL6 battery. The BP-SCL4 battery which came with the SL2 is 1800 mAh.

You can still use the BP-SCL 4 batteries in the SL3, but with some reduction of functionality (I don't yet have the exact details). The camera warns you about this if you put in one of the old batteries and makes the ring around the On / Off button turn red.

The battery life is not wonderful - depending on how you use the camera. However, you can use a power brick with the camera, and charge through the USB-C socket, which makes this shortcoming less of a problem.

The camera ships without a charger, which is an interesting decision. A double charger will be available as a separate accessory. In addition, there will be a DC coupler which can be inserted into the camera's battery slot to ensure a continuous power supply via USB-C.

(top) Morning. Leica SL3 & Leica 35mm APO-Summicron-SL f/2. (bottom) Tulips in the Kitchen. Leica SL3 & Leica 35mm APO-Summicron-SL f/2.

I've been mostly charging the camera via USB-C. For best functionality use a charger with at least 27W.

USB-C PORT The camera comes with a very chunky fabric USB-C to USB-C cable, and you can configure the port to be:

• Mass Storage

• PTP

• Apple MFi

• Choose on Connection

For connection to my Macbook Pro and Lightroom Classic, I've found Mass Storage to be the best and fastest - but I've also found that some of my other USB-C cables seem to do a better job of recognition than the Leica-specific cable.

TIMECODE SOCKET On the side of the viewfinder bump there is now a plastic screw-in cover with a timecode socket underneath (it looks just like a flash synchro socket).

CONTENT CREDENTIALS Development schedules meant that there was no way of including the chip for Content Credentials in the SL3. This is rather unfortunate after all the coverage of it for the M11-P, but it's understandable in terms of development cycles.

IBIS The In Body Image Stabilisation at five stops is the same as the SL2.

NEW SHUTTER To help keep the size down the SL3 has a new mechanical shutter, it's fractionally louder than the shutter of the SL2, which is a pity.

THE NEW SENSOR The SL3 has a 60mp CMOS Back Side Illuminated sensor. The SL2 has a standard CMOS 47.3mp sensor.

It has an incredible 15 stops of dynamic range but still manages to achieve about a stop or stop and a half improvement over the SL2 in high ISO noise. The downside of this is that it has a relatively slow readout time (the time the processor takes to read all the data from the sensor). This has two effects.

Firstly, it causes "rolling shutter" so that with moving subjects using the electronic shutter you may get slanting verticals. Secondly, it means that when shooting single shots there is a small blackout time after the picture has been taken (this is the same as the Leica Q and the M11 which use a similar sensor). You can fix this small blackout easily by setting drive mode to 2 frames per second - which will also put you into continuous focus.

For most of us, most of the time, this is really not an issue, more importantly, shutter lag is almost nonexistent, and the blackout is only an issue when shooting a single shot fast.

INTERLUDE - A TRAIL OF DISASTER (PART 1)

I got the SL3 test camera in October - it arrived at the same time as our new puppy.

Photographers should never get black puppies, but that's what we did! Of course, the huge dynamic range of the sensor is really helpful.

I thought the new phase detect Auto Focus would magically mean that I could track my puppy zooming around at high speed, especially with its 'animal detect' mode. But action photography is not something I've done much of in the past, and the results were disappointing.

So I started reading about action cameras and thought that maybe I'd splash out and get something renowned for its tracking and action photographs.

So I bought the OM Systems OM-1 with a couple of lenses, settled down with the manual, and learned how to use it. Sure enough, it did track the puppy well, but the small 20mp sensor didn't provide the resolution and cropping ability I was used to. More than that the micro 4/3 sensor had quite serious noise in our dreadful winter light.

So I went back to WEX (wonderful WEX) and changed the kit for a Sony A7R V and a couple of fast zooms (GM 11 zooms). I realized the sensor was quite similar to the SL3, but it seemed to have gotten great reviews for its autofocus. But whilst the tracking might be great, the hit rate with an 8kg ball of fur hurtling towards the camera wasn't so great. Added to which I really didn't like the camera - the shutter seemed really loud and 'clacky' after the SL3 (and the OM-1).

So after a couple of weeks, I went back to WEX again and exchanged the Sony A7R V body for a secondhand Sony A1, a 50mp speed demon with a stacked sensor (like the OM-1). This worked much better, and the camera has a lovely 'snick' of shutter noise and the EVF remains 'live' so no blackout. I could take 30 frames per second and they were nearly all properly focused……I was also starting to think how great it would be for event work and weddings.

I really felt I was going to make the change to the A1 for that side of my work. I didn't like the interface much - it's all very well having explicit controls on the outside of the camera - but I like user profiles in the camera, and there are only 3 available for the A1 and there isn't much you can set up without causing conflict with the explicit dials. (think what happens when the preset is for Shutter priority but the aperture on the lens is set to f/8 (for instance).

As a final decider: I thought I'd do some direct image comparisons between the three cameras (The Leica SL2, the SL3, and the Sony A1).

top (left) Dignity. Leica SL3 & 50mm APO-Summicron-SL f/2. (right) Leica SL3 & 24-90mm Vario-Elmarit-SL f/2.8-4.

center (left) Uny. Leica SL3 & 75mm APO-Summicron-SL f/2. (right) Feather. Leica SL3 & 75mm APO-Summicron-M f/2.

bottom (left) Gwynver. Leica SL3 with & 24-90mm Vario-Elmarit-SL f/2.8-4. (right) Matty. Leica SL3 & 50mm APO-Summicron-SL

So I dug my tripod out from behind the sofa and settled down to do some proper image comparisons under different lighting. I did these both in natural light and in artificial light using the new 50mm Summilux-M Asph lens on all three cameras. In terms of noise, the SL3 is about one stop better than the SL2 and 1.5 stops better than the A1, but the dynamic range seems to be much better in the SL3 (I don't have the means of measuring this easily but the SL3 seems to have endless reserves of shadow detail)

The difference in image quality wasn't too bad when photographing zooming balls of fur, but one wouldn't want to take a step backward in terms of image quality for events or landscape or still life or portraits.

By this time Leica sent me a message that they had been analyzing my AF failures and they thought my shutter speeds were too slow to get sharp images (consider my wrist slapped). So I resolved to do some proper work with the SL3 to see what I could make of it (rather than criticizing its apparent shortcomings)

I'll finish the trail of disaster later - but it's worth remembering the story so far in the context of the next sections.

INTERFACE

Leica have done so much work getting their interface right, something I've really engaged with during the testing phases. The SL2 / M11 / Q3 interface is perfect and works so well between different cameras, which makes it wonderful to shoot them side by side. The last wedding I shot was with the SL2 with the 24-90 and the M11 with the 75 Noctilux. It worked out really well with the similar button placement and menu systems.

With the SL3 the principles of the menu system haven't changed, but the actual menus have changed a lot (including the Quick Menu)

Leica DO listen to their customers (all the time), but they don't allow pandering to every whim to spoil the basic user experience. The upshot of this is the elegant and rational interface of the SL3.

THE PROGRAMMABLE QUICK MENU The new Quick Menu has only 8 icons in the two rows at the bottom of the screen (instead of 12 in the SL2). By default:

PASM · Focus Mode · AF Mode · File Format

Exposure Metering · Drive Mode · Connectivity · White Balance

But the whole point here is that you can change them. A long press on any of the new icons brings up a list of all the options and you can change them. Currently, I favour:

PASM · Focus Mode · AF Mode · Card Format

Exposure Metering Drive Mode Connectivity White Balance

But I have them set slightly differently for each of my User Presets.

THE FAVOURITES MENU Has gone…with the easy-to-configure Quick Menu, Leica felt it was no longer necessary, and I quite agree.

I understand that some people will be upset about this, but in the context of the new interface, I reckon that it's worth thinking hard about what you want on the quick screen and setting it up as you like it.

CAPTURE ASSISTANTS This works similarly to the SL2, with four Info Profiles which can be turned on and off. Each of them can show one, some, or all of:

• Info Bars (horizontal and/or vertical)

• Grids

• Clipping

• Focus Peaking

• Level Gauge

• Histogram

I only have three of them active and with varying levels of information. The screen is changed by pressing the FN button on the right of the display (unless you have programmed it to do something else).

THE HORIZONTAL INFORMATION BAR (LIVE VIEW)

• PASM

• Focus Mode

• Flash Mode

• Drive Mode

• File Format (JPG, DNG, etc.)

• Exposure Metering

• Sensor Format (35mm APS-C)

• Film Style / Leica Looks

• Battery Status

THE VERTICAL INFORMATION BAR

• User Profile

• AF Mode

• Focus Peaking

• Self Timer

• Aspect Ratio

The real innovation here is that now, by long pressing on any of the icons, it will bring up the menu associated with that item.

Obviously, it's only relevant when using live view, but I feel that together with the tilting LCD, it will be a real asset when using the camera on a tripod.

THE BOTTOM INFORMATION BAR

• ISO

• F Stop

• Metering Levels (Exposure Compensation)

• The Shutter speed

• The card in use

• Number of shots left

The obvious change here is that now, if you shoot in portrait mode, then the bottom information bar items move round to the bottom of the screen (they take up two rows in portrait mode). And that all the icons in the other bars turn around accordingly.

THE FUNCTION BUTTONS The seven function buttons can all be individually programmed by holding them down for a few seconds, just as the icons in the quick screen can.

On my last visit to Wetzlar, I met one of the guys from the Leica design centre in Munich, and we had a really interesting discussion about the development of the new menus. Leica really have put in a huge amount of effort here.

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY It's designed so that you can put everything into user profiles including: ISO, exposure compensation, file naming, function button settingseverything.

In doing so, you never conflict with what is on the outside of the camera body. Most other camera companies have a mixture of explicit controls and function buttons.

Further than that, you can alter almost all of the settings from the live view screen including Self Timer, Drive Mode, and more.

(top) Erica. Leica SL3 & 24-70mm Vario-Elmarit-SL f/2.8.

(center) Tulips, Part II. Leica SL3 & 35mm APO-Summicron-M f/2.

(bottom) The Look Look. Leica SL3 & 75mm APO-Summicron-SL f/2.

Once you have set the camera up the way you like, there should be very little need to delve into the menus, especially as you can so easily change anything on the fly from the live view screen. Even if you are using EVF Extended then you can change a setting by just pulling the LCD out slightly to get the display up.

However, when you do use the menus, they are very simple and very clear, not the technicolour catastrophe I've seen in some other cameras! The menus have a newly defined font, and there are five rows on each page rather than the six in the SL2. There are six well-defined sections (not separated into different pages).

There are headings for each section:

• Focusing

• Exposure

• Photo

• Customisation

• Connectivity

• System This is easy to navigate, but almost everything can be addressed via the Quick Menu and the Function buttons - especially if you have set them up to your taste.

AUTO FOCUS

In the past Leica have always relied on Contrast Detect autofocus, but with the Q3 and SL3 they have embraced Phase Detect combined with Contrast Detect.

Simplistically speaking (and I like simplicity!), Contrast Detect is very accurate, but when an image is out of focus the camera doesn't know whether it's close focusing or far focusing - making it slower to nail the focus, and with a tendency to hunt.

Phase Detect knows immediately which direction to go. In a nutshell, Phase Detection is faster, but Contrast Detection is more accurate.

For the SL3, Leica is using both technologies to try and perfect the Autofocus. Certainly, it's a great deal improved over the SL2.

The Body Eye detect works fast and well in good light, slightly less so in very poor light, but still much better than previously.

The new Animal Detect (beta) has worked really well with the dogs (and Uny really is very black and VERY fast and swervy). Obviously, the hit rate is not as good as with the Sony A1, but with practice and careful settings, it's certainly getting there, especially in good light. I've also found that this is the first Leica camera that does well with birds in flight. It would be nice in the future to have the

ability to limit focus distance in the software (eg from 1-3 metres or from 3 metres to infinity)

I have also been playing about with the Autofocus profiles, but it's a bit hard to accurately gauge their effects.

What I have learned since my early days with the camera is that this is a combined learning curve (the camera and me), but that the SL3 is definitely capable of tracking fast objects when set up correctly.

Perhaps more importantly, having embraced Phase Detect autofocus, there is lots of scope for further improvements of an already accomplished system with firmware updates.

SENSOR CONSIDERATIONS

Sony have just released the first camera with a Global Shutter (The Sony A9 mk III with a 24.6mp sensor). This is a real step forwards, and it was this announcement which got me stepping through a number of different cameras.

Stacked sensors seemed to me at the time to be the sweet spot between performance and resolution. These new, fast readout sensors solve three problems:

First of all, the rolling shutter issue where with a slower readout there will be tilting motifs using the electronic shutter (fine with the mechanical shutter).

Secondly, burst rate - very fast continuous shutter rates are possible with stacked sensors.

Thirdly, continuous readout from the sensor, so that there is absolutely no blackout time after shots - even in fast autofocus.

But there are sacrifices to be made for this new technology in terms of reduced dynamic range and less good high ISO.

So although the new technologies are exciting and enticing, you have to think whether you actually need/want 30 frames per second. And even if you do, is it worth a trade-off in terms of dynamic range and low light performance?

INTERLUDE - A TRAIL OF DISASTER (PART 2)

Well, clearly there is an exciting place in the world for incredibly fast cameras with stunning AF and incredible shooting rates, but there are no free lunches and everything is a trade-off in terms of what you want and need.

There is another point that one should spend time to learn to use one's equipment to the extent that you need it to perform.

For the first time in many years, I wanted to be able to shoot really fast-moving subjects with a reasonable hit rate. Rather than putting in the time to understand and maximise the potential of the camera in hand (the SL3), I went off in pursuit of the "perfect camera" and I found that none of them did all the things I wanted.

At this point, I came back to the SL3 and did some work to see if I could learn its autofocus properly and get decent action shots from it. I found that I could. The hit rate might not be as good as the Sony A1, but it was good enough, especially in good light, and I have lots of acceptable shots.

I liked the lighter weight of the Sony kit, but far preferred the Leica interface, both practically and philosophically, and the image quality was clearly better than the stacked sensor of the A1 and at least as good as that of the A7R V.

My Sony A1 kit has recently been sold, and the proceeds will be used to get my own SL3 when Leica insists they need their loan camera back!

IMAGE QUALITY

With its 60mp sensor and 15 stops of dynamic range, you would expect the image quality from the SL3 to be wonderful, and it doesn't disappoint!

FILE SIZES Like the Leica Q3, you can now select smaller file sizes for DNG files (using pixel binning). Files are either 18, 36, or 60 mp. I can see that this might be useful if you're transferring many raw files online, but I'd rather shoot full-sized all the time (so that when that perfect shot pops up in front of you you haven't set the camera to 18mp!). On the other hand, I know that lots of people like to use this option to conserve space.

APS-C CONSIDERATIONS

Like many Leica users, I loved their APS-C offerings - the TL2 and especially the Leica CL. If I'd known what would happen later, I might have kept more of the TL lenses. However, I do still have the 55-135mm (equivalent to 70-200). It's a great lens to use on the SL3, with quick autofocus and 26 mp APS-C images which are perfect for many purposes. I'd like to try some of the other TL APS-C lenses in the future.

When you use TL lenses on the SL3 the image shows up full screen in the viewfinder/LCD, presumably with a slight lack of resolution, but it's certainly not obvious. The resulting 26 mp images look great.

HIGH ISO The SL3 goes up to 100,000 ISO, and even at that level the colours are good and there is very little banding.

RESOLUTION Back in the day, I would have said that 24 mp was the "sweet spot" in camera resolution, but ever since the M10-R appeared, I've realised how useful higher resolution can be, partly for big prints and partly for the ability to crop. I don't think that more data can ever be a bad thing in terms of images, and if you don't like the storage requirements then the solution is better curation of your images rather than poorer resolution images.

M LENS SUPPORT

Just like the SL2, there is full support for coded M lenses, and now you can choose a small 'library' of uncoded lenses to pick from (just like the M11). I've been shooting with various M lenses, and they all seem to work wonderfully (something else which cannot be said for other manufacturer's cameras). It's magical with my 75mm Noctilux!

VIDEO

This is my weak spot - I rarely shoot video and cannot possibly evaluate the video quality of the SL3. I understand that it now shoots 8K, H.265, and ProRes (1080p). These can all be recorded internally or externally without limit as long as power and file space is available. This sounds like a great step forward.

FOTOS & CONNECTIVITY

The chunky USB Cable which comes with the camera has ferrite beads to suppress electromagnetic interference. If you choose Mass Storage, then both of your cards (CF and SD) will show up on your computer as different devices. You can also choose PTP and Apple MFi, but mass storage seems simple and file transfer is very fast.

I have an SD card reader in my MacBook Pro, but with the SL3 I've been using a cable and shooting first to the CF card, which works very well.

These days Fotos has become a rather lovely and functional app, which has everything it needs, and nothing it doesn't. The SL3 has Wifi 5 and Bluetooth 5.1, and transfer speeds are really good.

The GPS tagging now seems to work perfectly, which is a real achievement! I've just looked at all the SL3 images I've taken in the last month or so and they are all properly located. You can also shoot the SL3 in "tethered" mode in Fotos, and there is a rather good "Explore the New SL3" section as well (worth a look)

Wifi transfers, even of big DNG files, are really fast - downloading a 92 mb DNG file from the camera via WiFi takes less than 2 seconds.

My only criticism is that I would like a larger JPG file option (maybe 2 mb) for social media usage. I prefer to shoot DNG only, and in that case, you only get the option of the preview (about 600 kb) or the full DNG. Of course, you can shoot DNG + Small JPG in the camera, but I would prefer not to have an extra set of files for the few times I want to post something straight to the internet.

CONCLUSION

This has been a difficult article to write because when I first used the SL3, it seemed like an old friend who had undergone a personality change, and I suspect that might be the case for others using the camera for the first time (or it could just be that I'm a grumpy old man). The few things which were problems stood out and the many advantages were less than obvious.

So the problem was, how to write about the camera in the knowledge that users like me might initially be disappointed?

I've described my excursions through other camera systems because they made me realise that any camera is going to be a result of a series of trade-offs. It would have been nice to also use Canon and Nikon equivalents, but in that case, bankruptcy would have been certain, and a nervous breakdown very probable.

The Sony A1 was particularly interesting because it attempts to be an all-purpose camera. Indeed, if one was an action shooter who sometimes wanted to do a bit of other photography then it succeeds, but not for a general photographer who sometimes wanted to do a little action (like so many of us Leica users). In those terms the SL3 is a great step forward from the SL2 with its Phase Detect AF system and the new animal and face/body algorithms (which really do work), and the obvious advances for videographers.

As a camera for general photography, the SL3 is really good. There certainly is a learning curve, but when you come to properly understand the design, then it's wonderful.

Then there is the interface - my immediate response was "It was already great - why change it." But six months in, I can understand what they've done and why they've done it. There are one or two glitches, but Leica are aware of these and they will be sorted in firmware updates in the near future.

I love the logical consistency of the interface and the fact that you can tailor it any way you want, and then save that methodology as a user preset. In effect, you can have a different camera for six different ways of shooting (or the same camera!). This is not something you could do with any of the other cameras I used.

Amongst all of this, it's easy not to notice that the startup time is really good, and that ever since the early days the camera has never hung, and that the image quality is wonderful.

The SL3 is also a lovely object with great build quality and class-leading weather sealing. It's also the best way to use the excellent APO-Summicron-SL lenses and all those M lenses!

So I think I'll finish by saying that this is a wonderful and worthwhile upgrade, and a step forwards for the SL system…and if you just bought one, try not to be irritated with the lack of a charger or the silly On / Off button!

READ MORE & DOWNLOAD USER PROFILES

Whenever there is a new camera I get asked by a few people about how I like the camera setup. This time I thought it might be worth making up some sample settings which I like (of course it might not work at all for you). I've made up five settings for different situations including: Everyday Settings, Animal & Birds, Mono, iAuto & Portrait.

To see more sample images and download the presets by using the QR Code below or visiting: https://www.slack.co.uk/articles/the-leica-sl3.html

The Ends. Leica SL3 & Leica 75mm APO-Summicron-SL f/2.

SHOOTING

JAMES RICE

A

Story About Childhood Trauma and the Healing Power of Photography

by RICHARD REJINO

The English language is full of words with multiple meanings and forms. For example, consider the word “shoot.” We think of “shooter” as a word to describe ourselves as photographers. We use the word “shooting” when we’re in the act of capturing life’s unforgettable moments. But in the American Dictionary, there are roughly seven inches devoted to defining shoot in its different forms. The first one says, “to hit, wound, or kill with a missile fired from a weapon.” As a verb, there are eighteen definitions for shooting, and it isn’t until you get to the ninth that there is any reference to “recording on film.”

The word “shooting” is fraught with meanings that run the gamut from the unspeakable to capturing life’s smallest, grandest moments. But for one photographer, “shooting” is a reminder of how one word profoundly affected his life. It is the title of his newest book, Shooting, a deeply personal work about childhood trauma and how the art of photography helped him heal and ultimately reclaim his life.

It is the story of a man named James Rice.

When I first met Jim several years ago, he was easy and comfortable to be around. We share similar backgrounds, both raised in idyllic rural communities, and though we grew up hundreds of miles apart, the landscapes of our youth were easily the same place. Jim is in his early 70s, trim and active. His short, thinning hair frames his round face, and his glasses magnify his penetrating eyes. Craig Semetko, Jim’s mentor and friend, says that Jim is a humanist who cares deeply about people and has a quick sense ofhumor.

As we got to know each other, he shared the trauma that he suffered as a boy and told me he was working on a book that would, in his words, “lay it all out.” The result was Shooting, his fourth monograph. Shooting is a powerful, courageous book that was a lifetime in the making. It is also a book that carries a broader social message that deserves our attention.

THE SHOOTING

The terrible events that compelled him to write Shooting happened on a cold Tuesday morning, November 28, 1961, in a small Indiana town named Brownstown. Little Jimmy Rice gave his mother a kiss before unlocking the front door to his home to catch the school bus. Outside, he felt the cold gnawing at his cheeks and ears, and he could see his breath, white and crisp. Little did he know it would be the last time he would see his mother, and that her kiss would be the last one she ever gave him.

What happened in the minutes that followed is difficult to read, especially in the context of a small rural town whose existence had never known anything so devastating, so evil. Jim describes the horror in the first pages of the book with breathtaking detail and

The word “shooting” is fraught with meanings that run the gamut from the unspeakable to capturing life’s smallest, grandest moments.

(top) Leica M6TTL & 50mm Summicron-M v5. Kodak Tri-X 400, f/2, 1/500 sec.

(bottom) Leica Q2 Monochrom with 28mm Summilux ASPH. ISO 1600, f/1.7, 1/100 sec.

frankness, as if to hit you in the face with the same brutality that shattered his life.

“…a mentally ill man with a loaded shotgun walked into our home. I had just walked out the front door, down our front steps, and boarded the school bus. I was nine years old.

My father had just gotten out of bed…My mother was in the bathroom and stepped out of the door and suddenly, all three of them were within a few feet of each other in the hallway. My mother and father were staring into the barrel of a loaded shotgun…They tried to calm him down and attempted to reason with him, but he yelled, ‘I'm going to have to kill both of you.’ My mother grabbed the shotgun barrel and tried to push it out of his hands. He was too strong. He shoved her backward into the bathroom and shot my father in the groin of his right leg, near the hip socket. Cockrum (the shooter) was so close that the gunshot blew a huge hole entirely through my father's upper right leg, vaporizing his femur… my mother had quickly locked the bathroom door. Cockrum stood calmly in the hallway and reloaded the shotgun…he stepped back and blew the doorknob off with a shotgun blast. The door flew open, and my mother was trapped. He quickly reloaded the shotgun, raised it, put the end of the barrel against her face, and pulled the trigger".

Marilyn Rice, Jim’s mother, was 31 years old. If there was one mercy that day, it was that Jim didn’t witness the shooting, but in its wake, it haunted his life as if he had.

As vicious as the shooting was, it was made worse by the loss of the magical bond he shared with his mother. She was a beautiful young woman in her prime, a photographer, and a dreamer who instilled a sense of wonder and creativity in her son. She began teaching Jim about photography when he was six years old and bought him an Imperial Satellite 127. He carried it with him everywhere he rode his bike, making photographs of cars, people and of the town. After burning through rolls and rolls of film, his mother carried them to the local drug store to be developed. When she brought them home, they looked at the photographs together. “She would get down on her knees behind me, circle her arms around me,” Jim writes. “One by one we would look at the photographs, and she began to teach me how to compose and how important it was to click the shutter at just the right time.”

After the shooting, Jim was left with nowhere to turn. “In the early 1960s,” he said, “when shooting traumas happened and kids were involved, people didn’t know what to do with us. So, I didn’t have any counseling whatsoever.” Left on his own to deal with his grief, he essentially shut down emotionally and for many years didn’t cry. His trauma turned into anger and an obsession to be in control and to be perfect. “I was on my own to find my way out of this nightmare and that didn’t work out so well,” he said.

After high school, he went to college and majored in engineering, the same profession as his father. He married his high school sweetheart, had two daughters, and started a business in architecture. To the person looking in, he was successful by any measure, but by his own admission, he was not a good husband, father, or a good person. His anger made him short tempered, unreasonable, and difficult to live with, to the point that after 28 years of marriage at the age of 49, he found himself divorced and alone. Faced with having to start his life over, he realized that he needed help, and in 2001, 40 years after his mother was murdered, he sought the counseling he desperately needed to deal with his painful past.

One by one we would look at the photographs, and she began to teach me how to compose and how important it was to click the shutter at just the right time

HEALING

During a conversation I had with him in New York in 2023, Jim pointed to a pivotal stage in his counseling. In the book, he writes that his therapist asked, “What did your mother leave you?”

After a few moments he responded, “She left me photography.”

“So, you’re a photographer?” the therapist asked.

“Actually, I’m not.”

“Maybe you need to pick up a camera again,” the therapist advised.

Jim was intent on doing what he had to do to deal with his broken life. He hadn’t seriously picked up a camera in 40 years, it reminded him too much of his mother, but he went and bought a Nikon system anyway. As an engineer he learned every technical aspect of the camera; he made pictures with good composition and exposure, but something was missing. “There was no soul to my photographs,” he said. It was during this period that Jim stumbled upon a video of Craig Semetko using a Leica M9. He found himself watching it over and over, and he began to realize that Semetko’s photographs reminded him of his mother’s photographs.

(top) Leica SL & 24-90mm Vario-Elmarit. ISO 400, f/11, 1/125 sec.

(bottom) Leica SL2 & 24-90mm Vario-Elmarit. ISO 200, f/8, 1/320 sec.

Within a few days, he decided to trade in his Nikon equipment for a Leica M9 and a 50mm Summicron. The effect was profound.

“I started photographing with the M9 and all of a sudden it was as if I was on my bicycle with the camera in my basket again, riding around town, taking photos like I did when I was little,” Jim said with animation in his voice. As is so often the case, Jim found that using a rangefinder slowed him down. It rekindled the joy of photographing. Shooting with a Leica was the first step toward finding the little boy that had disappeared so long ago and that he thought he had lost forever.

PROSE & PHOTOGRAPHS

For Jim, the communion between prose and photographs lends a deeper insight into his life and himself. His social media posts are filled with narratives of memories that are triggered by the images he sees. As I flipped through the photos in Shooting, all in black and white, I was struck by the evocative images of a fading rural America, the dilapidated buildings, the reminders of what used to be. In the section titled “Recovery and Discovery in Bars and Taverns," his fascination with people and places is dazzling, as is his commentary. As Jim astutely observes, “people in bars talk more freely to strangers than they do to people they know.”

I asked Craig Semetko, from whom Jim learned a lot, how he would describe his work: “When I look at his photographs, they evoke the past, but they are bathed in nostalgia. What is ironic is that he loves people, yet so much of his work doesn’t have people in it. But you get the sense that they were there, that there were better days. There are homes that are derelict and abandoned, but clearly it was someone’s home; bridges that are abandoned but that once connected hundreds of people every day. It’s really about what he’s feeling inside. That is the signature of his work –the nostalgia that affects him deeply.”

Over the past 20 years, Jim’s photography has included the urban streets of Chicago, which has become like a second home for him. His street photography is marked by a keen interest and a sharp eye for capturing people living life as it happens. Yet despite the urban setting, he writes that he is particularly drawn to areas of Chicago that are timeless. Whether he is in a rural or urban landscape, the images inevitably remind him of the past. He is drawn like a magnet to places that might be the same today as they were in the 1950s and 60s, and when he finds them, a strange sense of peace comes over him. Clearly, his yearning for the past is a strong theme in all his work, even when juxtaposed against a modern landscape.

Shooting with a Leica was the first step toward finding the little boy that had disappeared so long ago and that he thought he had lost forever.

Leica M10-P & 28mm Summicron-M ASPH. ISO 1600, f/2, 1/350 sec.

Leica Q3 with 28mm Summilux ASPH. ISO 200, f/11, 1/250 sec.

Leica M6TTL & 28mm Summaron-M. Kodak Tri-X 400, f/11, 1/250 sec.

(top) Leica M9 & 35mm Summilux-M ASPH. ISO 160, f/8, 1/350 sec.

(bottom) Leica M6TTL & 28mm Summaron-M. Kodak Tri-X 400, f/11, 1/500 sec.

A GREATER PURPOSE

After picking up a camera during his therapy, Jim knew that Shooting was a book that was inevitable. It took years for him to collect the police reports, court transcripts, conversations with relatives, all in excruciating detail to reconstruct what happened the day of the shooting; not to mention reliving the trajectory of his life that led him to lose everything that was important to him. “Writing this book was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” he told me, “But I knew I had to do it. This story is too important not to share – not to try and help others with it.”

He is passionate about training his photographer’s eye on using this work as a spark that ignites part of a larger conversation. Though he is humbled by how his story and images have helped other injured souls to seek out professional help without shame, he is also quick to point out that little has changed since the day he lost his mother over 60 years ago. He writes, “I realized the role photography was playing in healing me and I also realized I had a life story that touched on two relevant topics currently impacting people in America and around the world: mentally ill people and their ability to easily access guns, and the ability of art to heal the human soul.”

Shooting is part memoir and part monograph, and Jim Rice is equal parts writer and photographer. He blends both mediums in a way that creates a circular catharsis. The book shows the irony of how his life before the terrible loss of his mother actually prepared him to find her again. The love of photography she instilled in him is what ultimately saved his life. “I don’t know what would have happened to me if I hadn’t picked up a camera after all those years,” he said. “I might not be here.

My mom put my first camera in my hands. When I hold my camera today, it’s almost like I’m holding my mom’s hands.

For those who know Jim’s story, no matter how many times they hear it, raw emotions are never far away. I am always deeply moved by what happened even though I’ve read Shooting dozens of times. Jim has reclaimed his life and continues to heal, but I am haunted by the scene with his mother when she knelt behind him and talked about the photos he made with her arms around his neck. I think about how he must have felt the warmth of her arms on his shoulders, the tickle of her voice in his ear, the brush of her breath on his neck, and the love in her heart beating behind him. Then he lost her. I can still hear Jim’s voice, quivering with emotion, when he said, “My mom put my first camera in my hands. When I hold my camera today, it’s almost like I’m holding my mom’s hands.”

Shooting, it is ultimately an uplifting and incredible book, a hero’s journey. It is at once a beginning and rebirth of a life saved.

Jim Rice

THE 35/1.4 DOUBLE ASPHERIC REPLICA

by ED SCHWARTZREICH

Itwas to be just a matter of time before Light Lens Lab turned its abilities from remaking the original 50/1.2 Noctilux by the original methods, to producing a clone of the famous first version (11873) Summilux Aspherical with its two handground aspheric surfaces. And almost before blinking twice, prototype No. 05 arrived at my doorstep!

The lens is drop-dead gorgeous. The hood (12582), unlike the plastic one on the original, is brass, lacquered black!

Almost 30 years ago, I bit on buying the original lens, and used it extensively for over 25 years until its monetary worth increased from just very expensive to that of a rare collectable. So, I sold it. To be honest, with digital sensors and increased ISOs, I felt I had little need for f/1.4 at this focal length. When I first bought the original lens, of course I tried it out wide open. I recall taking pictures of seaweed at the coast and being impressed by both the sharpness and the contrast in the images. But how often did I really need f/1.4? I remember shooting images of parties on the quays of the Neva River in St. Petersburg during the White Nights with it, likely wide open. I made images of the Swedish ship “Vasa”, kept in near darkness for its preservation after its raising

from over three centuries at the bottom of Stockholm harbor. But I am hard-pressed to think of my other occasions for its f/1.4.

Below left (Figure 1) is one of my images with the original lens, part of the hard-carved stern ornamentation from the amazing Vasa, likely 1/30 or 1/15 sec at f/1.4 handheld, shot with Velvia on an M6. Note the silhouetted heads of other museum-goers in the immediate foreground. Very, very low light.

Below right (Figure 2) are the quays on the Neva in St. Petersburg, perhaps at 1 AM during the White Nights, before the bridges go up. Atmospheric perhaps, and at a kinder moment of Russian history than now, but not a very interesting shot nor very sharp. People dressed up, in wedding attire, etc. as this is, I believe, felt to be an auspicious occasion. Taken wide open with the original lens at probably 1/8 to 1/4 second, Velvia.

With part of my proceeds from selling the 11873 Summilux, I bought an APO-Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH, and still had plenty of left-over funds.

Meanwhile, I have tested out Light Lens Labs’ replica with the overall feeling that I have regained a lost child.

Via David Yu-Heng Chen, my contact, Mr. Zhou sent along MTF graphs comparing the replica with the original, as well as comparative Relative Illumination, Distortion, and Astigmatic Field Curvature graphs. All hewed very closely to the original. Above are MTF plots wide open and at f/4.0, for example. (Figures 3 & 4)

Leica has produced several versions of the aspheric 35/1.4. Other than the 11873, the rest have one molded aspheric. Years ago, when the successor 11874 first came out, Dick Gilcreast and I did a sideby-side shootout with the two lenses. There were at most very subtle differences, but essentially the two lenses performed identically. You can read about what we did and found in Viewfinder 30/1, 1997.

Prototype 05 turned out unfortunately to have subtle rangefinder coupling issues but was otherwise fully usable on my M10s with a Viso. I dislike through-the-lens focusing, much preferring a rangefinder, and as I age, I am even less good at hitting focus with the former method. As a result, I am only presenting my success stories in which focus was achieved (except one). Nonetheless, these results were very satisfying.

Mr Zhou had much to say about this lens. I am repeating part of it as transcribed and translated by David and edited by myself.

“The story of researching and developing the 35mm f/1.4 ASPH "11873" goes back to 2019 when the idea of producing a fast and

performance-oriented 35mm f/1.4 came to our mind. In 2019, we were still considered amateurs in lens production, and similar to the 50mm f/1.2 ASPH, we had yet to learn of the difficulties in ASPH element manufacturing. Our goal is that, for each of our focal lengths, we will have a high-performance lens - for 50mm would be the 50mm f/1.2, and for 35mm - it would eventually be the 35mm f/1.4 ASPH "11873". Our aim with each of our products has been the challenge of lenses that are difficult to produce, and added to this is the challenge of producing not one but two ASPH elements for 50 and 35mm focal lengths.

When the 35mm f/1.4 ASPH 11873 was first introduced by Leica in 1990, the understanding, methodology and theoretical aspects of the aspherical manufacturing process had been refined, and you might say "polished", for the twenty years since the introduction of 50mm f/1.2 ASPH in 1966. As innovative as the use of ASPH elements in 1966, there were a handful of problems during the production of 50mm f/1.2 ASPH lenses back in the day; most have to do with its high failure rate and inconsistencies with lens rendering. However, the biggest issue would be the design itself in 1966 – the challenge of utilizing ASPH elements – one at the first element and one at the last element (hence, we also called the 50mm f/1.2 AA). From a technical standpoint, the front and rear Elements have to be almost 50mm/45mm in diameter in order to capture the amount of light for the f/1.2 aperture. The sheer size of the two ASPH elements made it nearly impossible to produce.

However, if you look at the optical formula for the 35mm f/1.4 ASPH "11873", the two ASPH elements are located in the second and last grouping of the optical system respectively. The design change is an improvement compared to the 1966 design, as the ASPH elements are now closer to the aperture stops. There are two reasons for this change. One is for improvements in rendering and performance since the light rays are now more concentrated and processed at the aperture section using ASPH elements. It was expanded to the image circle at the rear with another ASPH element, thus improving its sharpness compared to non-ASPH design. (Such process could not have been done in 1966 because computerized design and 3D modelling techniques were nonexistent then). The second reason would be the decrease in ASPH diameter, which would mean a reduction in production cost and ease of meeting ASPH design tolerances, implying that less of a failure rate and more consistent rendering with each lens. The rumor is that Leica had no profit, even a financial loss, in producing each 11873 lens due to the sheer difficulties in production; this speaks volumes to the challenges they faced even for their output during the 1990s.

As per the example of our 50mm f/1.2 ASPH, we went through several prototype tests before going into the official production phase. These

Figure 3 Leica 35 /f1.4 (L) and the LLL 35/f1.4 (R) wide open at f/1.4

Figure 3 Leica 35 /f1.4 (L) and the LLL 35/f1.4 (R) wide open at f/4

prototyping phases are examples of the difficulties of researching and manufacturing ASPH elements at a high level. In retrospect, with spherical lenses like 35/2 Eight Element, we had only to go through two prototype phases before we were satisfied with performance and rendering close to the original 35mm f/2 version one.

Upon initial testing of our 35mm f/1.4 ASPH "11873", we were satisfied with sending it out for reviews due to our experience with handling its rendering and its similarity in performance compared to the original 35mm f/1.4 ASPH "11873". But in reality, we were not satisfied since it is the first version of the prototyping phase.

Following our rigorous testing and reviewing, there are a lot of improvements and considerations we felt were not given to this initial prototype lens. We wish to improve several factors for the production version (things such as color fringing and rendering). One major factor we want to improve with the production copy is the out-offocus / bokeh, to give more of a "glow" at open aperture. This factor was not apparent with the prototype copy as we had overcorrected it during our spherical aberration correction testing and eliminated the "glow" when modelling on our optical software. Another factor we wish to improve upon is optimizing for digital sensors. With the prototype lens, we did not optimize for digital sensor glass and only optimized for film plate, as the lens was manufactured in 1989 with no digital camera being made. With the surge of high-resolution digital sensors, we plan on a design that can be used for such cameras. We aim to improve our line-to-line rendering performance with further prototypes and testing before we feel confident to begin production. It is important to mention that the MTF that I provided is for the initial prototype that was sent to the reviewer. There will be modifications to the charts themselves once we refine our prototype before going into production.

Also, with the 35mm f/1.4 ASPH" 11873", I am confident that we will also improve our aspherical polishing groove processing and keep the onion ring defects to a minimum."

The first thing I needed to test out were how objects looked near the periphery of the lens field at f/1.4. To the right is a photo, focused on the little bird feeder, but the field was then shifted so that this target was now close to the short edge. I was impressed.

On the top right is the full-frame overall view, with the bird feeder at the right. (Figure 5)

And to the center right is a close-up from the image – very sharp. (Figure 6) This also I a good test to see that there is little curvature of field. But there is chromatic aberration on the wires and roof of the feeder, but the reproduction is likely not large enough to see this (vide infra).

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

The next crucial tests were how the lens behaved in a situation of possible flare.

First off, I took images with the sun in the picture, at f/1.4 and f/2.0. There were mostly no major issues with internal reflections, and no ghosting. There was veiling flare over part of the image nearest the sun with a color change from chromatic aberration. Figure 7 on the previous page shows the most offending of such images I took, at f/1.4, which does indeed show a line from internal reflections, and a definite purple color change where the sun is in the immediate background. That reflection was gone at f/2.0, but the CA remained. For what it is worth, vignetting seemed minimal.

Of more importance to me photographically was how the lens handled a very bright sky near the sun, such that flare wipes out the contrast and flattens dynamic range. Shooting from the shadow side not infrequently presents such a potential issue.

I ran into this sort of situation recently after attending the 2023 LSI Annual Meeting in Wetzlar. I was taking a ferry across the

Rhine River. In the distance was Burg Pfalzgrafenstein, one of the many Schlösser that decorate the banks and heights, and here an island. The water and lighting presented an almost ideal picturemaking test for shooting into the light, although the sun itself was just outside of the frame. I was using an M10 Monochrom. Top left (figure 8) is the general scene; I have my exposure dialed down by 2/3 of a stop routinely with this camera, and this is what I got at f/4.0.

Flat lighting to be sure due to some veiling flare, but bottom left (figure 9) shows a digital zoom-in to the castle, with a bit of adjusting levels, showing that there was still much more useful dynamic range information available:

Let us talk more about chromatic aberration, an “issue” with this lens as mentioned above. I put “issue” in scare quotes because many lenses tend to have this problem unless they are apochromatic. When Leitz / Leica made their first lenses utilizing aspherics for better control of spherical aberration, chromatic aberration was still a property of some designs.

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

When I owned the 11873 lens, it never occurred to me to test for CA. It was the best lens of its focal length available at the time and was state of the art. It was clearly better wide open than its predecessor 35/1.4, and I found nothing in its performance that put me off. Leica has tweaked this lens since in ensuing offerings, but it is still selling largely more or the same lens for use today and chromatic aberration is a known entity here. CA sliders in LR exist because CA exists in many of the images we shoot. For me: an issue to be aware of, but usually a non-issue practically because CA is both ubiquitous and can be attenuated in post processing. With film it mostly barely registered.

However, “mostly” is not “always”. For years when I visited the California or Arizona desert, I attempted to make images of backlit cholla cactuses because they looked so magical. Likely I often used the 11873 lens for this. I was never fully successful with this endeavor, and I would possibly now attribute my failures to chromatic aberration degrading the images: the spines were sharpappearing, but somehow not true-to-life realistic. FWIW when I tried this with my Hasselblad, I got better result, so who knows.

For our interest here, I took tripod-mounted images with the 11873 replica and the APO-Summicron-M 35/2 ASPH lens at f/2.0, focused on tree branches against a bright sky, sun in the picture, to check CA. Here are two of my images, showing the central portions of their fields, enlarged to 200%. The first (Figure 10) is from the LLL 11873 replica (showing CA), the second (Figure 11) from the APO-Summicron-M 35/2 ASPH (with very minimal CA).

This is axial / longitudinal CA; despite the purple coloration, everything is still razor-sharp.

Mr. Zhou spoke about this CA:

“First, it is impossible to compare color fringing between APOcorrected and non-APO lenses. Secondly, suppose we use any lens on a digital sensor that exceeds the lens' rendering capabilities (such as a 60mp sensor with a lens that was designed in 1990 and optimized for a film plane sensor). In that case, color fringing will begin to appear. We aim to refine our lens performance with several prototyping phases before the official production version, such as minimizing and improving fringing, optimizing for the digital sensor plane, and also optimizing for high-resolution digital sensors."

I did not see noticeable focus shift with this lens, something that I have seen reported with the later 35/1.4 aspherics.

Having satisfied myself that the lens felt quite similar to my old Leica version and performed predictably for me, I continued making images with it, both on the Rhine and during a stay in Mainz. I present the images on the follow pages as representative of what this lens can do. Almost all are from the M10 Monochrom. Most of the images are full frame, some are cropped, and two have clouds added to the skies. Most are taken at about f/4.0 unless otherwise

indicated. Levels have been adjusted. Nonetheless, no sharpening was done, except for one image.

What to say about this lens in conclusion? As you can tell by my comments, I was most favorably impressed. In general, in my testing of LLL lenses, the only problems I have found have to do with QC, like the rangefinder coupling issue on this prototype. Everything else has been as advertised. Lens-build has been both robust and esthetically-pleasing, lens-finish as good as the originals. Lens-handling has been smooth and predictable. As to performance, I have only been able to make direct A:B comparisons with LLL’s 8-element replica versus the original, never otherwise owning an original at the same time as receiving a replica for testing.

As for descriptors of the lens, I would say that build-wise it seemed even more robust than the original, which TBO always felt rather plasticky to me (even though it was metal) and which actually fell apart into two pieces once when I was out of the country. Luckily I had a jeweler’s screwdriver with me and was able to put it back together! The overall “feel” of the LLL lens was identical to the original, as far as I could tell, very smooth, nothing at all loose. Simply a beauty! I want one.

The RF coupling issue above, more specifically. The problem was that the lens focused beyond infinity, and that differential was present throughout the focusing range. So, I needed to focus through the lens. Probably, with my handiness with jewelers’ screwdrivers and the like, I could have fixed this, making adjustments as one does on TTArtisan lenses, but I really didn’t dare. Really the only defects I have found in LLL lenses have been this particular one, although some time ago I felt that one lens slightly lacked proper centering of the elements, and had reported this back to Mr. Zhou — I think they are more careful now. The cinema lens and the Nocti f/1.2 I tested were flawlessly put together.

That said, the performance of this 35/1.4 double aspheric replica is very similar in my memory to that of my dear-departed original. And the latter was my photographic companion for many years of happy, reliably excellent optical performance, subject only to my own skill or lack thereof.

As Mr. Zhou has indicated, the prototype I received is not the final product, so unfortunately we will have to wait longer for this lens to be available commercially. LLL has other products in their pipeline, and I could not be given any assurances as to a release date.

David writes me that no selling prices have yet been given by the company. But, to the best of his understanding, it will be a bit more expensive than the Eight Element's MSRP (currently starts at $1049 USD) due to the use of ASPH elements. •

(Top Left) Full fame of one of the many cruise ships giving scenic tours on the Rhine.

The behavior of the people on this scenic cruise can be viewed almost as individuals by zooming in. (Most of them are photographing the far bank.) Impressive acuity. I am guessing that if I was shooting with a more than 40 MP sensor, there would be even more detail here.

(Center Left) Here is the zoom-in at 300%. I did use an AI resize tool to enlarge this crop, so likely some sophisticated sharpening. Amazing to me nonetheless!

(Bottom Left) Finally, here is a shot made wide open, in available darkness at ISO 6400 inside the Gutenberg Museum. It is not all that interesting a picture, but it does show how this lens draws, and how it handles specular highlights wide open. Post-processing noise reduction done.

opposite page

(top left) A little statue outside the Gutenberg Museum, presumably of its protagonist, together with an empty wine bottle. Slight crop, sky added. I find the full range of tonalities very easily distinguishable with this lens, never muddy or blocked.

(top right) No, this is not Elliot Erwitt on a bad day, but the lower left ¼ of an image at f/2.8 to show how sharply and smoothly this lens draws. Focus is on the dog.

(bottom) Typical scene on the Rhine, the village of Kaub – vineyards and Burg Gutenfels high above (now stating it is a hotel). Partial crop.

cover page

This shot of the rear aspect of St. Martin’s Dom had nothing critically sharp about it, due to my shooting near wide open and having to use the Viso perhaps. So I sharpened it. Focus had been on the light fixture, and you can see the shallow DOF from the pavement stones.

PROFESSOR DR. FRITZ KLUTE

Argentina & Chile 1923/24 Using “Null Series” Test Camera No. 114

by ALAN STOKES, SCOTLAND

IN the spring of 1923 Ernst Leitz II wanted to test a "revolutionary" new camera with selected recipients.

The first batch of "Null Series" test cameras, numbered 101 – 114, were delivered between March & September 1923 to senior management and worldwide agencies of Ernst Leitz Optische Werke, Wetzlar. "Null Series" test camera No 114 was delivered to Professor Dr. Fritz Klute of Giessen University on the 18th of May 1923. [1] These trusted recipients, would test their cameras and report back to Ernst Leitz II and Oskar Barnack with their feedback on the performance and viability of the new camera. The feedback would partly determine if the camera would go into series production.

Ernst Leitz II decided in June 1924 at a meeting with Leitz senior management to proceed with series production of the new camera. A patent application was submitted on 24 th June 1924 and the "Leitz Kleinfilm - Kamera" was officially launched at the Leipzig Spring Fair, in March 1925.

Page 115 of Oskar Barnacks's "Werkstattbuch" and the Leitz "Kamera" delivery document of 1923 shows Professor Dr. Klute's name against "Null Series" test camera No 114. [2] [3]

Professor Dr. Fritz Klute was a German geographer and glaciologist, he studied natural sciences at the University of Freiburg from 1907 to 1911, he received his doctorate on 10 November 1911 with a thesis on questions of early summer snow remnants in the Black Forest.

[1] Friedrich Eugen Klute (Born 29 November 1885 – 7 February 1952) [2] Oskar Barnacks original workshop diary, Ulf Richter (2009). [3] Leitz “Kamera” delivery document from 1925, photo courtesy of Jim Lager, USA

In July 1912 during an expedition to the Kilimanjaro massif, Fritz Klute and Eduard Oehler made the first ascent of the highest point (5,149m), which they named "Hans Meyer Peak" after the geographer Hans Meyer.

During the First World War, he worked as a military cartographer in Berlin. From 1916 to 1918 he led a surveying party into Macedonia and Albania. In 1920 he took over a professorship for geography at Kiel University. From October 1921 he was Professor of Geography in Giessen and remained in this position until the destruction of the Institute on 6 December 1944. In the autumn of 1923

Professor Dr. Klute departed from the German port of Hamburg on a research trip to Argentina & Chile, he took his “Null Series” test camera No 114 on the trip.

Following this research trip to Argentina & Chile, Professor Dr. Klute published a book in 1925. “Klute – Argentinien und Chile von heute”. Otto Quitzow Verlag, Lübeck, 1925. [4a] This book contains photos from his research trip taken with "Null Series" test camera No. 114.

On the 14th of April 1927, he would record his memories of the trip to Argentina and Chile in a Leitz brochure, "So Urteilt Man Uber Leitz LeicaKamera" Liste No 2275 Pages 23&24. Published in May 1927 by Ernst Leitz, Wetzlar [4b] The original testimonial as published in the Leitz German brochure and the English translation of this text are shown on the following page. [5]

[4a] “Argentinien und Chile von heute” translates to “Argentina and Chile of Today”. [4b] “So Urteilt Man Uber Leitz Leica-Kamera” translates to “That’s how you judge the Leitz Leica camera”. [5] My sincere thanks to Lex Bosman, Netherlands, for the translation of the German text in Leitz brochure "So Urteilt Man Uber Leitz Leica-Kamera" to English.

In the Bolson Valley

Young Men from Caspana

Road in the High Pampas

Rio Limay in the High Pampas

Chilean Family (Epuyen)

In the Atacama Desert (Travel Fatigue)

"For my trip to Argentina and Chile in 1923/24, the company Leitz, Wetzlar had given me a sample of the Leica camera, which was still under construction at the time, with which I took over 1000 shots. I am very satisfied with the shots and got particularly good low-light snapshots with the Leica that I probably wouldn't have gotten with my 9 x 12 camera.

The advantages were that I had the Leica constantly with me because of its low weight and volume and risked much more because of the large number of possible shots than I would have done with a larger format. This alone makes the selection of pictures so large that I got at least one good picture of every situation. This is all the more important when traveling for research because you usually never get the place and the event again, at least never again at the same time.

Back then, I was still working with German films of the inflation period, the landscape shots still left something to be desired. This deficiency has now been remedied by a film with a much finer grain. In 1925, we had the Leica back in use on the Hessian Greenland expedition, and it proved extremely well in the pale light of the polar region and here we got quite good pictures of icebergs and fjords, of people and animals.

The good optics allow momentary recordings even in quite low light. This is especially important for photographic images of persons of non-civilised people. Traveling means that in most places you only stay in the morning and evening hours because you are traveling during the day. This already limits the time for photographing people and in addition, there is the shyness of people to be photographed. The Leica is now so inconspicuous that you can hold it in your hand completely ready to use without it being noticeable.

The rangefinder, which you have previously set to the desired distance, protects you from blurring. As soon as you have reached the estimated distance, you take the camera to the eye, and before the object has found time to draw suspicion, it is on the film. The same applies to animal photos.

I can summarise my experience in this, as the Leica will be my constant companion on my travels as before, as the enlarged images have proved their worth for publication”. [6]

The photographs from his 1925 book and the testimonial of 1927 could be the only known remaining examples of user feedback and photographs from any of the "Null Series" test camera recipients.

[6] Professor Dr. Klute also undertook the first Hessian Greenland Expedition to West Greenland in 1925

The "Null Series" test camera No. 114 that Professor Dr. Klute took to Argentina & Chile in 1923/24 is currently on public display at the Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA. [7] Charles M. Messer (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA) donated "Null Series" No 114 along with his Leica collection to the Miami University. On the Miami University website, it states: "He donated the entire collection to Miami University in 1970, with additions in 1978. Approximately 130 pieces, from the Charles M. Messer Leica Camera Collection are now on permanent display at the entryway to gallery 4. The selected pieces are from the most complete privately assembled collection of Leica cameras in the country, and one of the largest in the world”.

Only 16 known examples of the "Null Series" test cameras still exist worldwide and they are highly valued collector's items. In June 2022 "Null Series" test camera No. 105 was sold at auction for a world record price of 14.4 Million Euros. More recently, in October 2023 "Null Series" test camera No. 121 was sold at auction for 3.5 Million Euros.

[7] Photo of “Null Series” test camera No 114, courtesy of Tom Fey, USA.

[8] In the summer of 2023, Roland Zweirs, Netherlands, posted on the Leica Forum (Leica Collectors & Historica). His detailed post “100 Years Null-Serie” and the following discussion online is worthwhile reading for anyone interested in “Null Series” history: https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/378437-100-years-null-serie/

My sincere thanks to Roland for his original post and following on from this, the LSI historians who together with myself visited the Leica archives and have supported me in producing this article.

My sincere thanks also to Tim Pullman (Leica archivist) for his help and patience during our archive visit.

[9] – The LSI website has an article on the Leica archive visit in October 2023, by William Fagan who kindly organised the archive visit: A Visit to the Leica Archives During the LSI Wetzlar 2023 Conference — LSI - Leica Society International

[10] – “The source of today’s 35mm photography", Emil G Keller (1989). Butts Hollow Services, NY

Whilst the actual "Null Series" test cameras are a highly valued rarity, any photographs or feedback from any of the original recipients were generally thought not to exist. During the LSI conference in October 2023 at Leitz Park, Wetzlar, a small group of LSI historians discussed this with Tim Pullman (Leica Archivist) and he thought that any “Null Series” original recipient feedback & documentation was either lost or destroyed in the past (possibly during WW2). [8] [9] Emil Keller, who worked for Leitz agencies for over 50 years also states in his book “These agencies received such a camera with the request to report their experiences and or criticisms back to the home office to be evaluated by Mr. Barnack himself. Unfortunately, these reports have not been preserved". [10]

Professor Dr. Fritz Klute is also recorded in a later Leitz “Kamera” delivery document as being the recipient of a production Leica 1A camera No. 1091, delivered on 21/12/25.

ADVOO

by JIM LAGER

IN1958 you became the proud owner of a new Leica IIIg with 50mm 1:2.8 Elmar. This basic equipment was typically employed for family photos, gatherings with friends and vacation adventures. Eventually your interests widened to close-up photography of flowers, pets, and any subject possessing details waiting to be recorded. The near focus limitations of your Leica became obvious as one meter was the closest distance possible. Fortunately Leitz Wetzlar cataloged the ADVOO accessory in 1959 permitting focusing between 34 and 20 inches.

This accessory, designed specifically for the last of the screw mount Leicas, served you well until you entered the realm of the single lens reflex.

1. ADVOO on Leica IIIg

March 1959 data sheet 6. March 1960 ADVOO brochure 12-23b 7. Rear of 12-23b