In this issue, we introduce the film Leica. Leica cameras have many fans all over the world and are famous for their rangefinder cameras, the so-called M cameras. I also love Leica cameras and own three film cameras, the first generation A, M3 and M4, and three digital cameras, the MD (Type 246), the first generation MMono-Chrome and the M10-R Black Paint. The photographs presented here are taken with the Leica M3, the first and most famous M Leica.
There are many books and websites that explain Leica, and I won't go into them here because it would take a book or so to talk about them, but to put it simply, the rangefinder on the M Leica is a frame linked to the rangefinder, and when the double images match, the camera focuses on the subject seen through the lens. The system does not focus on the subject seen through the lens, but on the subject in the separate window of the rangefinder.
With an SLR camera, you focus on the subject actually reflected through the lens, and if the f-stop is 1.4 or so, you can see the difference in focus between the background and the subject (depth of field) in the viewfinder, so you can take the picture as it actually appears in the viewfinder while checking that the background is beautifully out of focus. However, the Leica does not use a lens, so you can see the subject as it is through the viewfinder, and the rangefinder only tells you that the subject is in focus through a double image match, which you can then use as a guide to take the picture.
Thanks to this rangefinder-based photographic system, the depth of field and distance information written on the lens is extremely accurate. The depth of field is also highly accurate, so that in a slightly aperture situation, you can take a picture using the depth of field as a guide. You don't have to look through the viewfinder and focus on the subject every time, just put the subject in the depth of field and you can take a picture in focus.
This is what is often referred to as Leica's rapid-fire performance. In fact, newspaper reporters in the old days used to take pictures of celebrities and politicians by hand (i.e. by holding the camera above their heads with their hands outstretched, and taking pictures of them in the midst of a large press corps).
The Leica M3 is a film camera, so I'm going to introduce some photos taken with the Leica M3, explaining the different types of film.
（The film is the image sensor in modern terms, which can also be called the camera itself.)
Film is broadly divided into colour and black and white, with colour being reversal and negative and black and white being negative.
When taking photographs, it is good to understand the characteristics of reversals and negatives, so here is a brief explanation.
A negative is a film that records a reversed image. The process of negative film involves reversing a positive image and then reversing it back from the inverted state, thus creating a photograph. There are bright areas (highlights) and dark areas (shadows) when the picture is taken, and negatives, due to their construction, are more forgiving on the highlight side and more severe on the shadows.
Indeed, negatives are often said to be more forgiving in highlights and severe in shadows, and while it is fundamental to set the correct exposure when shooting, the results tend to be better if you shoot brighter if you think the subject is a little dark.
The structure of reversals is the opposite of negatives, so highlights are more severe and shadows are more forgiving.
This is the same characteristic as with digital cameras, so it should be easy to understand.
Below are examples of colour and black and white photographs taken with the Leica M3.
First colour photo Fuji Provia 100
This is a film for reflective manuscripts, known as a positive, which produces more accurate colours than colour negatives.
I used it a lot in the early days of film because it was the closest to digital.
This photo was taken of a tourist in Asakusa who approached me with a Leica M3 from the 1950s and the latest Summilux 21mm/1.4 large-aperture wide-angle lens at the time, and we chatted for a while. The Leica lenses are very high performance, and the images are sharp and tight despite being taken on film. I often take photos with the 21mm lens at f/5.6 with the focus plane at 3m, but with this set-up, the depth of field (the area that appears to be in focus) is pan-focus from 1.5m to infinity, so I can take photos without focusing just by framing, which makes it very quick.
Second black and white photo ILFORD DELTA400
One of the interesting things about black and white film is that you can develop and print the film yourself, and the process is very deep and interesting, so I take black and white photographs more often than colour ones.
This photograph is also a scan of a film that I developed myself, but it was developed straight on ILFORD DELTA400 (ISO400 film shot at ISO400 and developed at ISO400), using the same ILFORD DDX developer. The process differs from the normal process in that it is developed using a dilution process (the developer solution is made thinner than specified to lengthen the development time). The characteristic of ILFORD's DELTA film is that the light grey (silver) on the highlight side comes out very beautifully, and in order to bring out the silver tone beautifully, the development is controlled by the dilution process.
After Corona, I stopped taking photos, but when I was reviewing the photos I took in the past and writing this article, I was thinking about taking photos again. I could use a digital Leica, but film is still interesting, and with 35mm film, you can only take 36 shots, which is also interesting, and it is also very interesting to start developing and producing black and white tones. I hope this article has sparked your interest in Leica M cameras, whether digital or film.
I haven't touched the Leica M3 in a long time, but the sound of the shutter clicking and the feel of the double stroke to send film is very pleasing and I'm thinking about taking photos with the M3 for the first time in a long time.
One of the reasons I stopped shooting film is that my favourite developer, R09 (Rodinal), has completely disappeared from the market, but it has recently reappeared on the market, so that's another reason for me to start.
Camera Onuki
I buy my film cameras from Onuki Camera in Yokohama. This shop is also a long-established shop and handles a variety of cameras. They also have a full range of peripherals and accessories, and their main focus is on photography, so no matter how old your camera is, it is well maintained and they have a system in place to fix it if anything goes wrong, so you can choose a camera with peace of mind.
The staff are also very knowledgeable and good at photography, so they can help you with any problems you may have with your photos. This is a shop that can satisfy everyone from beginners to experienced photographers, so if you have the chance to visit Yokohama, why not extend your visit?
