I love gear. I like the feel of it, I like the hunt for it and I like to be able to put my hand into a bag and pull out the perfect tool for the problem I have to solve. I understand that gear does not make the photographer, but I get an enjoyment out of my gear that I do not want to give up for the sake of the "art first" crowd. 

But here is a hard truth to swallow....the lens does not matter. Yes I said it. It does not change a thing. Now let me explain...yes the focal length matters a great deal, the aperture can change the feel of a photograph completely but the lens quality does not matter at all...except in one little instance...let me explain.

Let's talk image quality. Can the lens impact this? Well sure if you are looking at the lenses made pre-1990. If you were in the 1920's-60's there was a great many crap lenses that would impact in the quality of an image. So photographers learned that they needed to spend some good money on glass in order to get predictable photographs. This lesson was so vital that we adopted it as the truth. And it served us well for years but then the 1990's came and we began to see a shift in photography and in manufacturing.

Motorola came up with Six Sigma in 1986 but it began gaining ground in the 90's. So what is Six Sigma?  Six Sigma is a data-driven methodology focused on reducing defects and improving quality, has had a significant influence on the manufacturing of photography lenses.

Prior to its adoption, lens production often suffered from inconsistencies that affected sharpness, alignment, and durability. With Six Sigma, companies like Canon, Nikon, and Sony introduced rigorous process controls and statistical quality measures that minimized variability during production. This led to a dramatic reduction in defects per million opportunities (DPMO), ensuring that each lens met precise optical and mechanical standards.

One of the key improvements driven by Six Sigma was the enhanced consistency in lens elements—particularly in grinding and coating processes. These processes are critical for minimizing aberrations and maximizing image clarity. Six Sigma tools such as DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) enabled manufacturers to identify root causes of production flaws, from minute deviations in lens curvature to contamination during assembly. As a result, companies were able to maintain tighter tolerances and improve the overall performance of consumer and professional-grade lenses.


The methodology also allowed for more efficient manufacturing, leading to quicker development cycles and the ability to introduce high-quality lenses to market faster. In essence, Six Sigma not only elevated the technical quality of photography lenses but also streamlined the processes that delivered them to users worldwide.

So what do we see today? Chinese manufacturing has begun proving what Motorola was trying to tell us...given the right manufacturing process, and following a significant sigma approach, you can manufacture quality goods at reasonable prices. So now we see a flood of Chinese made lenses that are frankly brilliant. The quality is top notch and the image quality cannot be distinguished from their high priced German and Japanese counterparts.

I am not saying that they have the same character, and I would agree that someone who is used to shooting Leica can tell the difference in character between one lens and another, but in terms of quality, the human eye cannot.

So when does the lens selection matter?  I did tell you that there was one exception to my position that lens quality does not matter....and it is in survivability. Some cheap lenses will give you a great image but will not survive changes in temperature, high moisture environments or a very bumpy ride. But if the build quality is good enough then the lens quality most certainly will be as well. I have yet to see the modern Chinese lenses lack build quality.

Does this mean that everyone who spends thousands of dollars on Leica glass are fools? No. But what it does mean is that you do not need to spend thousands of dollars on Leica glass for the quality of the image. You can get it because you love gear and enjoy the history of the manufacturer and enjoy using it. You do not need a better reason than that. But let's stop saying that we need to spend thousands of dollars to get a quality image. And don't try to do a side by side comparison to pixel peak to prove a point. The fact is that even wide open he difference is minimal and once you stop down there is no difference to speak to.

So buy the glass you want to buy, and if you are worried about the quality of images you are taking then I suggest you pick better subject matter. And next time you marvel at the detail that a lens was able to capture, thank Motorola...they had a larger impact on that image quality than any other company in the world. 

There are times that we overcomplicate our lives. We climb into our own head and complicate our lives. We set unreachable goals, we believe others have something we do not and finally we convince ourselves that we do not have the right tools. Then, occasionally, we have moments of enlightenment. In photography it finally hits me...it's about the subject and the photographer. Everything else is noise. The only signal worth discussing is the subject and the photographer. 

The subject must be interesting...if it is not then why photograph it. The photographer has to make choices and those choices are reflected in the image they take. For example this photographer above, I was on the beach with the family and had an old Pentax film camera that was given to me. I just had one lens and the prism was cracked. The camera was rough but all I need is film and a black box and I can capture an image...so this camera, in its sad state, was still much more than I needed.

My son was getting out of the water and he walked over to us under the umbrella. I asked him to pause for a quick picture and he complied. You can see he is tired, you can see he is serious, not the face of a young kid playing in the water. He seems to almost be looking past me. 

The subject made the picture. I was there, with a box and film. Nothing more. Now this picture, in my mind, is one of the best portraits I have taken. It speaks on multiple levels and just works...thanks to the subject. 

So simplify your life...find the subject that entertains and the rest will work itself out.

It used to be that the purchase of a new devise was something that filled me with pleasure. Finding out what the new technology brought to the table and how I can incorporate it into my daily life was something I looked forward to. The advantage is that each new iteration was a massive change and always seemed to improve what we had before.

The record player, moving to the cassette was a massive improvement. We could easily carry a full album in our pocket. It was bullet proof, being able to be thrown around in wild abandon while looking for the cassette you wanted to hear. You could play it in your car, on the go and in your house. You could record off the radio and get "free" music. 

Then things began to change in a different way. The advances were not always positive, they were coming faster and sometimes you had to accept a lesser quality item in order to obtain the better gizmo. For example the CD, sure you could store more on the CD, sure the sound may have been better (I never noticed a difference but ok I will grant that one) but now the CD could get scratched and you could not record music onto it. 

Times change, technology improvement does not happen uniformly. My most recent example is that I have recently purchased a new Apple Mac mini as my iMac is getting on in years having been purchased back in 2017. The Mac mini is a great little computer and a wonderful price but since it does not come with a monitor, I purchased an inexpensive Samsung.  Good reviews, but a basic monitor.  My iMac still has its Retina display which is leaps and bounds better than what I have in my inexpensive Samsung. 

My old 2017 iMac is not supported and slowly software will stop working on it. So I change to a faster computer, but the display is half of what I once had. And now, I need to change out all my hard drive cables to USB C.  I am at the award technology adoption point where I have legacy technology that I need to adapt to fit with the new and improved version.  

This is why I like my old film cameras. They can still be serviced and once they are they operate as good as new. I don't have to worry about getting the right cable or battery. All I need is film and I am set. I still look forward to seeing all the technology out there. I still like playing with new toys...but now I have to consider what I am giving up.  I miss my iMac screen, I hate using special cable adapters to plug in my Firewire800 into a USB C. The hard drives are still good, not as fast as the new ones, but they have withstood the test of time. I will miss them when they are gone...but their time is near.  

So now, the change of one technology item has to change my entire workflow or I need to go out and change all peripherals at the same time, an expensive proposition to be sure.

We have gone from the evolution of the record player to a cassette, to the revolution of digital music to the convolution of not ever owning music and only streaming it....if you have internet as the loss of internet now means you do not have music. 

I mean that...what does good service mean?  At a time when social media is empowering buyers, what is fair for us to expect and what is not?  Let me give you the reason behind my question.

I have often purchased items on Ebay.  I have had a great deal of success and can honestly say that I have not really had a negative experience.  I have also had some average experiences but I have never felt taken advantage of.  I know there are risks involved but I am willing to take them.

Fast forward to my latest purchase....a wonderful Leica M4 that was CLA, painted and the advance lever replaced with that of a Leica M4.  I loved it.  Olive green, wonderful condition seemed like a good purchase...a bit expensive but allot of work went into it. The reviews were good so I took the plunge and bought the camera.  

It arrived FAST. Like in a week it was at my house.  I opened the box and there, staring at me, was a wonderful....olive green Leica M4 in perfect condition.  I pulled it out and it advanced smoothly, the shutter speeds moved fluidly and the camera was the gem I was expecting to get.

Then I pulled out a lens and it would not snap in place. In fact, it would no Leica, Zeiss, Voigtlander or other lenses that I had would latch on. I wrote the seller an email message and set the camera carefully back in the box.  A few hours later the seller reached out and explained that he had no idea what had happened as it was working perfectly.  He suggested I try a different lens and record the event to send to him.  I did so.  

He and I began looking into it and this is a known issue on a handful of M4 cameras. You need to remove the lens release button, and put in two shims. This lifts the button a bit and allows it to latch on to new lenses. And yes, I tried a 1950's lens and it did latch on...most of the time. 

The seller mailed to me the shims and a couple of screwdrivers.  I began to get to work and it would not work.  I was getting fed up as we were now almost a month from the purchase and I could not use the camera.  Without the lens latching you do not know if the focusing set up is right.  

Finally, the seller suggested a different fix, and sent a video of how to do it.  I attempted it and it worked perfectly.  So a month after the camera arrived, it was working as it should.  Now here is the thing...how do I rate the seller?  Was it an honest mistake?  Yes.  Would the camera have worked without the fix....no.  Do I pay for a working camera and does this establish my expectations?  Yes.  

I decided to give him a good review. I explained what had happened but must agree that he tried to resolve the issue and sent me the parts and tools to make the fix for free.  So I explained the story and gave him a full five stars because I would indeed buy from him again.  

On his part, he has decided to test each camera with different vintage lenses to avoid this in the future.  Good enough for me.

So I suppose good service is the lack of error, but once the error occurs good service is defined by how well the seller tries to make it right.  

Returning to Leni Riefenstahl, she blazed a trail as the first female producer and director in a male-dominated field, harnessing her relationship with her benefactor to forge her artistic path. She was truly ahead of her time in many ways, yet unfortunately, she found herself kissing the wrong hand along the way. Did her work bolster Hitler’s ambitions? Certainly. Did it help make his ideology more palatable? Absolutely. Should we shun her contributions today? No! Instead, let’s study them critically, grappling with the complex issues they present. 

As artists, we should analyze Riefenstahl's work while acknowledging her moral failings. Everything she touched may be tainted, but wouldn’t it be a disservice to ignore the lessons gleaned from both her artistry and her undeniable complicity? Let's engage in constructive discourse rather than simply vilify the past; after all, such contemplation enriches our collective experience and hones our artistic sensitivities for the better.

The newest camera to my collection is the Leica iiif.  Now I have a Fed I which is very similar to this camera but I decided I needed a true, vintage Leica, since the M6 is no longer vintage and is now a contemporary camera! 

So a little on this amazing marvel and why I see it as quirky.  Stick around and I will tell you why I decided to buy it...the reason might really surprise you!

In the grand kingdom of cameras, the Leica IIIf reigns supreme as a charming relic from 1953—think of it as the dapper gentleman in a black-and-white film who still carries a pocket watch. Sure, he might be out of date, heck maybe even dated...but he has a certain charm that cannot be denied. Let’s take a closer look at this splendid machine, shall we?

Technical Specifications (aka The Nerdy Bits):

• Film Type: 35mm rangefinder camera (because who doesn’t love a good rangefinder?).
  
• Production Years: 1950-1957 (Ah, the golden age of film, when selfies were a mere twinkle in the eye of humanity). Mine was built in 1953 so it is one of the few things older than me that still works!
  
• Frame Size: 24mm x 36mm (the classic film format known as “the size that fits in your pocket!”). 
  
• Viewfinder: I would be careful calling these little holes viewfinders...but it is a delightful combo of an optical viewfinder and rangefinder (perfect for pretending you’re a secret agent). 
  
• Lens Mount: M39 screw mount back when you had to screw things in with some elbow grease. 
  
• Shutter Type: Focal-plane shutter 
  
• Shutter Speeds: From a leisurely 1 second to a zippy 1/1000 seconds (ideal for catching that perfect moment when your top hat goes flying).
  
• Film Advance: Manual lever (because winding film is a workout for your fingers!).
  
• Metering: Sunny 16, external light meeter, wild guess....take you pick.  No built in meter is the point.
  
• Weight: Approximately 500 grams (not exactly featherweight, but hey, it builds character!).

The Marvelous Advances Over Previous Models:

1. Improved Shutter Mechanism: The IIIf said, “Faster is better!” with a reliable shutter that would make even a cheetah jealous. No more blurry shots of your friend’s epic sneeze!
   
2. Enhanced Viewfinder: This beauty got a makeover, sporting a viewfinder that lets you focus like a hawk—sharp images, no blurry business! Or that is what it is supposed to do. I find it small and difficult, kind of like a toddler.  
   
3. Interchangeable Lenses: With a screw mount that welcomes a host of lenses, you can swap them out like hats at a fancy tea party. Who doesn’t want to play dress-up with their camera? But honestly who would bother....I bet most of these sat with a 50mm and was forgotten about.
   
4. Film Loading: Gone are the days of wrestling with film! The IIIf made loading easier, so you can save your wrestling moves for the gym.
   
5. Increased Durability: Built like a tank (but way cooler), this camera could survive the clumsiest of photographers—much like a cat that always lands on its feet!

A Few Drawbacks (Because No Love Story is Perfect):

1. ​The rangefinder is very small and takes little getting used to. 
2. Loading film, while better than previous versions is a pain...or a education in being calm.
   
3. You will need to pull the camera from your eye to set it. 

In Conclusion

The Leica IIIf is a delightful blend of vintage charm, advanced mechanics, and a sprinkle of quirks that make it a true treasure in the world of photography. This thing is much smaller than most 35mm film cameras but it does have a bit of bulk. It is so well built that if you get a good version, properly CLA it you will have a great tool for years!  

I purchased mine via eBay from a seller called Granite_rose_studio by a gentlemen known as Steve. Steve is a Mechanical Engineer who likes to rebuild these cameras. He had completed a CLA and changed out the shutter curtains. This baby works as smooth as silk thanks to him!

I am running it through a roll of film and will post the results soon!

Why I bought it....
Sometimes photography is about the photograph. Sometimes it is about capturing the moment. But there are times when photography is about the experience. The history. Looking through the viewfinder I wonder of the many eyes that looked through it and what they saw. 

I wanted a camera dripping with history, one that is not simple to use, but one that you take out because you want to play with it. Like a fidget spinner for photographers! 

We are losing the written word and it won't be found in the seat cushions. These days we are all looking to devour more information at a faster rate but this is nothing new. We went from reading books, to magazines and from that to internet pages and then to YouTube and now we are going to Tik Tok or Reels, or YouTube Shorts. The point is that we are looking for a rapid way to assimilate information.

I don't complain, this is a normal part of being human. I do however, wonder what we are giving up? While videos can show us a continuous series of steps on what to do, and a short reel of 2 minutes can focus on the key parts of the process, we are losing the opportunity to understand a wider range of topics. 

Don't get me wrong, I love some of my YouTube channels, the content creators work so hard to make something meaningful for us to watch. I appreciate their efforts and support them anyway I can. But again, for many of us this is our passion.  Do we really want to digest our passion in massive bites? Or do we want to savor each piece, enjoy the additional flavors we can interpret by slowing down. 

Are we getting hooked on watching other people do what we are passionate about?  My kids watch other people playing video games and this baffles me. But then I will watch a one hour YouTube video on some large format photography without missing a beat. Have I learned something?  Usually...no. Have I been inspired, sometimes yes. But have I taken out my gear and used it on my own? No.

Perhaps it is time to move back to internet blogs, magazines (even if out of print) and perhaps the occasional book? Perhaps we should consume data differently when we are in love? Perhaps we should not be looking for the quick lunch time special? Perhaps we should sit back and enjoy what we are learning. Take our time consuming the data and then go our and pick up our own gear.

To this end, I have loaded some film in my old FED-1 this evening, after reading a bit about the old camera on an internet site. I plan to spend the morning in the darkroom but I will pull out this little camera in the afternoon and take a few pictures of the neighborhood.  Nothing artistic, nothing to write home about but I will shoot just to shoot. Sure a YouTube video could have told me everything faster, but I enjoyed finding the right site, and going through the post and the comments of other readers.  I will go back to YouTube to be sure....just not tomorrow.  

This is a special end of the year for me.  On one hand, I am turning 50 at the end of the year but I  am also celebrating 10 years since I picked up film photography again. I first learned on my fathers OM-1 camera and back in 2013 he gifted me his old camera.  I put it away and forgot about it until 2014 when I pulled it out, put in a battery and some film and shot my first roll.  I still have those negatives and adore some of the photographs that came out of it. I was hooked and never looked back.

I thought that in celebration of this occasion I would write up a simple, straightforward list of lessons I learned in photography.  They are in no particular order and I will not bore you with the reasoning behind it.  Consider it a grocery list of lessons I learned.  Let's keep them down to 10, one for each year of my film photography journey....  

1. I already gave away the first lesson. Photography is a journey not a destination. Learn, practice, be patient, be proud and grow.
2. Pick a camera and a lens and leave it at that. You need to be able to see the camera perspective without lifting the camera. You should know the mechanics by heart. This is called craftsmanship and it is critical for your journey.
3. Craftsmanship and artistry are two sides of the coin of photography. You need to work and build on both. Talented photographers have an eye but often lack the craftsmanship to be reliable. 
4. True...it is not the gear but the photographer...and the light, and the film, and the darkroom technique, and luck...it takes a host of things to capture good shots and yes gear is important but not in the way most think. Good gear is reliable gear. If your gear is reliable chances are it is more than good enough.
5. Copying the work of others is great practice. Feel free to steal anyone's idea and try it out yourself.  Don't be ashamed, give credit, capture the image and learn from it. The ONLY person you should never copy from is yourself. As much as you would like to revisit a location where you took an amazing shot, you will not learn anything from it. Your journey must move you forward not backward. 
6. Always leave yourself and out. Photography gear is expensive, but it does you no good to keep it at home unused. You need to take it out and use it but that opens you up to theft. When you are on the street with your gear, leave yourself and out. Look around you and always have another way out in mind. Train yourself to think like this. Be aware of your surrounds, the people around you, and where you will run if needed and what is your other way out.
7. Be prepared to lose your equipment.  This is key. You need to be ready to have your gear stolen and not let it break your love of photography. This is a risk we must take and while you can mitigate the risk, you must accept some residual risk is beyond your control.Be mentally ready to lose it and remember that your safety is more important than gear.
8. Print your pictures...and yes they will end up in a box under your bed. This is where they should go. But your photography is not over until a print is made. Your lessons are not learned until you see the photo in print form. You need to hold it, feel it and then consider its artistic value. Composition in a viewfinder is different than in a print and that is different again from composition in a framed print. Learn the difference.
9. Don't overpack. All you need is a pocket full of film and a reliable camera with a single lens. You can take more but you don't NEED to take more.
10. Finally, and this is key, the 50mm lens is perfect. Sure I can talk of the advantages of longer focal lenses or wider ones. But that 50mm....get a good 50 and move on. It will outshoot you any day, everyday.  

I stumbled upon a YouTube channel where a young photographer spoke about his introduction to film.  I love to hear how young people were drawn to film because it is so different than what I experienced.  I grew up with film, but never took photography seriously until I was older and shot digital.  After a bit, my father gave me his OM-1 and I took it out to shoot and never looked back.  I was reintroduced to film.

But young people did not grow up with film and had to be introduced to it fresh. This is a massive undertaking so I respect their journey greatly.  I probably would have given up at the third frustrated loss of images.

Back to the YouTube channel, here was this young man speaking about film and he mentioned something very insightful.  The size of film you shoot dictates the camera you use and the camera will dictate your style.  The example he gives us is the following...

If f you are new to film and pick up a roll of 35mm and then reach over for a simple camera for a beginner you will grab onto a pocket sized automated, point & shoot camera. This has all manner of electronics to focus, determine exposure, decide if a flash is needed and shoot the picture with a single button press!  But if you select medium format lets say in 6x6 then you would pick up a Hasselblad which has no light meter, no automated function and nothing to help or guide you.  

So the film size you select dictates the camera choice and the camera choice then determines your photography. A Hasselblad 500com is a wonderful camera, one of my favorites but it is not for street photography. It is for portraits and perhaps some landscape but certainly nothing fist action like street or sports. 

So, young grasshopper, pick your film wisely as all you do after that will be determined by your film size.  

Ah, the Leica camera—an instrument so revered that it inspires a dedicated following comprised of enthusiasts, zealots, and fanboys. You know the type: the Leica loyalists who believe that unless you’ve committed to that little red dot, you're simply not a “real” photographer. They’re the ones with an arsenal of gear that could fund a small country, and let’s be honest, we all love to roll our eyes at them. Yet, despite this, I can’t help but count myself among the Leica admirers. 

There’s something undeniably magical about the rangefinder format. Maybe it’s the promise that one of these beautifully crafted machines could, in some miraculous way, turn me into a photography god (hey, we all have our delusions, right?). Plus, the thought that a Leica can last a lifetime is tantalizing—imagine passing it down to future generations, who might use it to capture their own awkward family moments. What a legacy!

But here’s the kicker: while I adore my Leica M series cameras, I find myself rather underwhelmed by their lenses. Don’t get me wrong; they’re exceptional pieces of glass. It’s just that the price tag is so intimidating it might as well come with a side of therapy bills! 

Years ago, I splurged on a used M6 for a cool $2,000 (it was either that or redesign my living room to fit my hoarding tendencies). Naturally, I needed a lens, but the thought of surrendering my entire paycheck—maybe even my dog's college fund—for that pristine Leica glass made me break into a cold sweat. So, in what I can only describe as a poor life choice wrapped in the delusion of practicality, I opted for a used Zeiss 50mm f/2 lens. The moment I attached it to my M6, I was hooked.

Now, let me sing the praises of this “backup” lens for a moment: it’s sharp, full of character, and boasts fewer shortcomings than my last romantic relationship. It’s perfectly built and offers a buttery-smooth focus within a two-inch range that makes me feel like a photographic ninja. I can nail my focus quickly without worrying about glare or other pesky artifacts, and the bokeh? Let's just say it’ll make angels weep tears of joy. It matches the silver aesthetic of my M6 perfectly, and honestly, this lens has become somewhat of a permanent resident—it's rarely detached from my Leica.

Here’s the real conundrum, though: despite my occasional dalliance with a Leica lens (I did buy the Leica 28mm f/2.8 while on vacation—what can I say, I was feeling spontaneous), nothing compares to my beloved Zeiss 50. I mean, I might as well serenade it; it’s been with me on epic journeys, shoved into hotel room safes like a rare treasure, and put on display atop some world-class restaurant tables. 

This camera-and-lens duo has traveled to crazy places: Germany, England, Indonesia, Australia, Argentina, Cambodia, Malaysia—the list goes on like an overzealous travel vlog. There was that one time in the UK when my camera meter failed me, but honestly, it was just some moisture—like the unreliable friend who promises they won’t bail on plans and then ghost you at the last minute. But my trusty Zeiss lens? Flawless.

So here’s my take: great cameras are wonderful tools, no doubt about it. They won’t magically transform you into the next Ansel Adams or Henri Cartier-Bresson—trust me, I’ve tried. But a good lens, one you truly understand and bond with, is like a sturdy partner who sticks with you through thick and thin. Those lenses that resonate with us, that help us realize our creative visions and fit so seamlessly into our style? They deserve a celebration.

While I’m not exactly waving a flag for Leica as a brand (I do own a M9 after all), I’ll gladly defend my love affair with this specific Zeiss lens. It's a faithful companion, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: in the quest for photographic excellence, what matters more than the name on your camera is the glass you choose to put in front of it. So here’s to Zeiss—the lens that makes me feel like a superhero, even if my photography skills still put me in the sidekick category!