Anyone who’s dabbled in large format photography knows the name “Linhof”. It’s one of those companies with a long history and a reputation for building some of the best 4×5 field cameras available. I’ve always been curious about them. Are they really “the Leica of large format”?

My first 4×5 camera was a beat up Burke & James press camera. Then a beat up Crown Graphic. Then a Speed Graphic, and finally a Wista Field Camera. The first three were super cheap. The Wista was bit more serious, but it was such a beautiful wooden camera.

The problem I have with large format is that I hate tripods. I had the most fun shooting the Speed Graphic hand-held. This is not how large format is done today, though. Maybe back when Weegee was doing his thing, but now it’s for sharp and super-detailed landscape and architectural work, mostly. Maybe studio portraits. Nonsense, I want to do hand-held, informal, environmental portraits. My Speed Graphic has a light leak, though, so I haven’t been shooting much 4×5.

Then one afternoon I spotted a Linhof Master Technika kit in one of the forum classified sections. It was the camera, lenses, grip, viewfinder, cams, and film holders. The camera was recently CLA’d and had the bellows replaced with genuine Linhof replacement bellows. Basically, it was everything I’d need for handheld 4×5 work. Plus, it was the mythical Linhof.

I bought it. The gentleman who sold it to me included a stack of large format photograph books, negative sleeves, a cool Grafmatic film holder and a bunch of hand-written notes with details about many of the items. I couldn’t be happier with the purchase.

And the camera? It was made in 1972 but looks and feels almost new. The short version is that it’s as well-built and smooth as I’ve been told. Everything is solid and tight and moves like butter. Its build quality feels so far beyond that of my old Graphics that it’s hardly fair to compare them.

It came with three lenses: A 90mm Schneider-Kreuznach Super-Angulon f/8, A 135mm Rodenstock APO-Sironar-S f/5.6, and a 240mm Fujinon A f/9. All three lenses have lens-specific custom cams that allow for accurate focusing using the rangefinder. This means I can focus and shoot hand-held with any of them. And just look at that giant grip!

I’ve only had the camera for a week, and shot maybe a dozen sheets so far. It’s a joy to use, and I hope to use it often. Here are a few photos I’ve made while getting used to using the camera.

But, Instagram is where photographers are and I kind of want to be there, too. I want to focus on only photography (rather than socializing with friends and family) so I’ve created a new account to do just that: JackBatyPhoto. So, go ahead and “smash that Follow button” or whatever it is we’re doing now.

I hate selling gear. Dealing with buyers and potential buyers isn’t fun. Shipping is a pain. There’s always a risk of damage, loss, or dissatisfaction. But mostly, the problem with selling is that I no longer have the things I’ve sold. Regret sucks.

Something I’ve learned over the years is “never sell a Leica”. Unfortunately, I’ve amassed too much Leica gear and I love it all, but it’s stressing me out.

The three systems in question are the film M bodies, the SL2-S, and the Q2 Monochrom.

I’d actually sold the Q2M to fund the MP but the buyer returned it. Instead of immediately re-listing it for sale, I started wondering if I’d regret it.

For a minute I thought I’d unload the entire SL2-S system instead. I have two Leica APO-Summicron-SL lenses, which were ungodly expensive. They’re way beyond my abilities. The SL system is the most significant (cost-wise) and probably “sparks the least joy” of all of them. But it’s so versatile and that 35mm APO Summicron is so absolutely outstanding that I am certain I’d regret not having it. The 75mm on the other hand is an odd focal length and by far the least used lens I own. Hmmm.

The MP is wildly unnecessary but is perfect and beautiful and sparks all sorts of joy every time I even think about it, so that’s not going anywhere. 90% of a new film Leica’s depreciation happens the minute I open the box, so there’s no benefit in selling it sooner.

So here’s what I’m thinking. I’ll sell the Q2M and the APO-Summicron-SL 75mm lens. That’s a significant amount of cash tied up in the least useful/versatile kit. And it means I still have the 35mm Summicron. For longer focal lengths (portraits, mostly), I have an Elmarit-M 90mm that focuses much more easily on the SL than the M bodies. I also have the SL Sigma 24-78 f/2.8 which is a fine lens and versatile for when someone asks me to shoot an event. (It happens occasionally, and I hate to say no).

What about the film Ms? I have the new MP, but I also have an M3, M4, and M6. I have an emotional attachment to the M3 and M4. The M6 is special because it’s one of the last 10 “classic” M6s made. It’s also had the viewfinder upgraded and unnecessary framelines masked out. It’s a damn fine copy and would fetch a crazy price right now, but I don’t think I can let it go. I’m definitely keeping the M3 because it’s, well, an M3. But also because of the .92x mag viewfinder, which is the only way I’m able to accurately focus the 90mm on an M.

That leaves the M4. I love it because it has the M2/M3-style film advance lever and frameline selector. It currently has a broken shutter, but I’m sending it to DAG for repair and a CLA. When it returns, I’ll list it for sale.

I’m hoping that selling the Q2M, M4, and 75mm APO-Summicron frees up enough cash to alleviate the guilt of having spent so much on “unnecessary” gear. I’m happy to also allow myself to keep the SL and 35mm. I won’t regret having them.

So if anyone is interested in any of those items, give me a holler.

I’m either going to have to shoot this faster or stop drinking Diet Coke.

Leica Leica MP | Leica Summilux-M 50mm ASPH | Portra 400 400

Scanned with Epson V750.

Cinestill C-41

Negative Lab Pro v2.2.0 | Color Model: Frontier | Pre-Sat: 3 | Tone Profile: LAB – Standard | WB: Auto-Neutral | LUT: Frontier

Sometimes it’s fun to throw a roll through the little Olympus Stylus Epic. Mostly self-portraits around the house because I was bored.

Now that I have my dream MP, I should probably sell the M6. If I do, this will have been the last roll I shot with it.

Out with the new MP and a roll of HP5+. I think these are all shot with the 50mm Summilux ASPH

Here are a few from the very first roll through the new Leica MP.

(Sorry, I lost them)

Tri-X in the Hasselblad 500C/M. This was the only shot on the roll that I liked.

If I knew how to take a good picture, I’d do it all the time

Robert Doisneau

I enjoy both film and digital photography, but the pendulum has been swinging toward film recently, and I’ve been having a ball.

I’ve finally dialed in a film processing, scanning, and editing workflow that works and that I don’t hate. What’s more, I’ve been studying my recent film photos and I really like them. I like that they’re not so perfect that zooming in to 100% is useful. I like the defects and unpredictability. I like the process. But most of all, I like the cameras. Specifically, I like Leica rangefinders.

I bought my first Leica M, an M6 TTL back in 2004. From there I’ve had an M3, M4, M6, M7, M8, and M10-P. Eventually, I ended up with a comfortable kit with an M3, M4, and M6 Classic. The M3 is great because it’s the first M, and the .92x finder magnification is perfect for 50mm lenses and makes shooting 90mm lenses feasible. The M4 is a more modern, but still entirely mechanical, non-metered body. And the M6 Classic is newer (still 20+ years old) and is metered.

Each of the M cameras was purchased used (of course). Their resale value has gone through the roof over the past few years. Clean M6 bodies go for twice what I paid for mine. Leica film cameras may not qualify as “investments” but they certainly don’t depreciate. At least they haven’t since I’ve owned them.

What I’ve never done is buy a brand new Leica M film camera, because that would be crazy. Why buy new when I can get something for a third of the price that works great and does basically the same thing? And unlike used bodies, new cameras do depreciate. At least for a minute.

But I must admit to always dreaming of a brand new Leica M film camera. Leica only makes two: The non-metered M-A and the metered MP.

Leica recently announced a special black-paint version of the digital M10-R and I thought it looked beautiful. It got me thinking about other black paint Leica bodies and how much I love that finish. Several of the older models were available with the gorgeous black paint finish, but they fetch even higher prices than the regular chrome and black chrome models.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it and started poking around and learned that the MP happens to be available in black paint. Whaddaya know? Of course they’re always backordered everywhere and I was told the wait time was in months. So much for an impulse purchase. Whew!

So for a few days I put a few rolls through the M3 and M6 and was reminded how much fun it could be. But wouldn’t it be cool to be the original owner of a new Leica M? I’ve been told by people who know me and have been around me that I should “Never sell a Leica!”. What better way to make sure that happens than to have a new one I can call my own forever?

And the rationalizations continued for a week or so while I absorbed every review, forum post, and YouTube video I could find that contained even a whiff of information about the MP.

I love film. I want to always shoot film. So I called Leica Store Miami and put myself on the waiting list for a black paint MP. I was told they only receive new ones every couple of months, and the waiting list is pretty long, so I should settle in for a long wait. And who knows, maybe I’d lose interest in the meantime. It happens. Of course B&H, Leica, and the other usual outlets were backordered as well.

Then, on a whim, I looked for one at Camera West. I’ve purchased from them before and had good luck. You know what happens next, right? They had 2 new black paint MPs in stock. I bought one immediately.

So that happened.

The camera arrived today and I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. It’s perfect. It’s new, warrantied, flawless, and mine. My long bet on film begins today.

These are all taken with the Leica M3 on HP5+ and were processed in HC-110 Dilution B. I’m pretty sure I used the Elmarit-M 90mm f2.8 for the entire roll.

A photograph is a universe of dots. The grain, the halide, the little silver things clumped in the emulsion. Once you get inside a dot, you gain access to hidden information, you slide inside the smallest event. This is what technology does. It peels back the shadows and redeems the dazed and rambling past. It makes reality come true.

Don Delillo, Underworld

Leica M6, HP5+. HC-110 (dilution B). Scanned on V750 with Silverfast. Processed with Negative Lab Pro

My dad (right) stands in front of bar while in the Navy. (France 1963)

I’m trying to stick with the Adobe suite for processing, editing, and managing photos.

I prefer Capture One’s editing process, but Lightroom Classic has everything else going for it, (ecosystem, tooling, ubiquity, etc.) so that’s where I’ve settled for now.

But I’d love to take advantage of Lightroom CC on mobile and my laptop. CC and Classic will sync, but if not handled properly the whole enterprise can quickly turn into a mess. What I was doing is to import into Classic, edit, export, then add the “keepers” to a synced catalog (or “all synched photographs”) so that those photos would be available everywhere. The problem is that this takes diligence and consistency. It takes work. I’m not good at consistency, and I end up frustrated and bailing on the whole thing.

So here’s what I’m trying. I’m reversing the process and importing directly into Lightroom CC instead. I cull and rate the photos there. I do simple edits and enter captions. For any images I’m more “serious” about, I launch Lightroom Classic which automatically syncs all the images from CC. While I’m there I copy the files to my usual places on the filesystem and rename if desired. All this can be done in Classic and the photos still remain synced and available in CC.

One downside is that when syncing from Classic to CC the photos don’t count toward my subscription’s storage, which is nice, but going the other way takes up space. I think this will be OK. If I do come home with cards chock-full of images I’ll just start in Classic instead.

This also means I can enable auto-import from my phone’s library and have everything show up automatically. I have to be careful here, because if I want to keep Apple Photos app as my final library (for sharing, showing people, and ease of OS integration) I can end up with duplicates this way.

Lightroom CC is a more pleasant place to live than Classic, so for 80% of the time it’s good enough. For the other 20% I head over to Classic.

Update July 11, 2021: I’m mostly back to only using Lightroom Classic. Too many moving parts trying to wrangle both.

Yeah, I’d definitely get the black-paint version. The only problem is that kit is around $17,000 as pictured. Still, just look at it.

He’s a good one.