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Dear Uli,

 

IMHO the 5cm Hektor is a much under-rated lens. Even Erwin Puts considers it a better lens that the celebrated Elmar, whatever 'better' means.

 

I have ended up with three by default and will probably sell one.

 

The first one bought with the Leica II was 'coated' by Malcolm Taylor. The results were surprising, even to the people at the Leica factory to whom I showed a few shots. It was a very expensive lens to produce, particularly with its Merthe curved elements and required precise hand assembly. That and the drive for an f/2 lens drove Leitz to the Summar, a lens I have never regarded particularly highly.

 

Naturally the Hektor is not in the class of the latest lenses, but what I want with it is a compact early camera which slips in a pocket, but produces excellent results optically. It is surprisingly good at full aperture, which is a full stop faster than the Elmar.

 

Here is a picture of one of my neighbour's children, admittedly at f/9 it's optimum aperture, but the picture does show the resolution with the boy's hair. At 72 dpi on a computer monitor it is impossible to truly evaluate a photograph, particluarly with the 244 kB limit on the Forum, but it will give you some idea:

 

 

Hello Justin,

Very nice photo,thanks for posting. I also think that the 5cm f/2.5 Hektor is a very underated lens.Why it gets termed as a "dismal performer" I do not know.I have seen some excellent photographs taken using this lens.Tom Abrahamson of "Rapidwinder" fame( in Vancouver,Canada) who has had experience using many Leitz lenses both "early" and "modern Leitz" glass over many years,also rates this lens highly.

It's the lens on the top of my "wants" list.

Regards,

William

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Hello,

 

Here is my II. Still going strong with regular Exercise:)

 

Best,

 

Frederic

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Dear Uli,

 

IMHO the 5cm Hektor is a much under-rated lens. ...

 

 

Hello Hektor,

 

I saw your reply just now. Thank you so much for your instructive information and your real Hektor photo!

 

I think its worth going on looking for a usable example.

 

Uli

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Leica A, about 1961...North Beach street fair. 50mm Elmar. Not a screw mount, of course.

Good example, I think, of the hesitant moment.

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Count me in !!!

In January of this year, I bouhgt a plain old vanilla flavor IIIf, then an Elmar f=5cm 1:2.8, then a yellow filter for B&W, all purchased separately from eBay. Looking to get a faster lens in the future.

I have used Fuji Superia x-tra 400 (cheap film) for color, and now Kodak 400cn for B&W trial. Will try color Fuji Reala 100 soon.

Because of my inexperience with film loading, the very first roll had all the frames overlapping, but the second roll was much better. The sharpeness of the Elmar was astounding. Haven't done the CLA yet.

Its a bit of challenge for me since exposure settings are all manual, but I am excited about the camera beyond belief.

It is with me almost always, but haven't really taken any candid street shots.

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Just bought a 1935 III (F) apparently converted to a IIIf (confusing!!) and a 5cm Elmar (1936). Haven't developed any films yet but the pleasure in holding it and taking pictures without advanced technology is overwhelming....

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Never seen anything like it before. Were I to guess, I'd say a rangefinder with guide numbers for instant calculation of F/stop at any given distance. ( I still have hundreds of flashbulbs for my CEYOOs ).

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Never seen anything like it before. Were I to guess, I'd say a rangefinder with guide numbers for instant calculation of F/stop at any given distance. ( I still have hundreds of flashbulbs for my CEYOOs ).

That is exactly it! :) It is the Norwood Flash-Mate and they made a similar model for electronic flash units.

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brother and sister: IIIf and IIIf ;):):

 

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OLAF

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here's a quick snap (pardon unwelcome highlights) of a 1950-1 IIIf BD and a 1932 Leica II, with some lenses & visiting Soviet second cousin -- Zorki w/Jupiter.

 

I'm very much a novice with these -- from loading to focusing -- and overly fiddly, but am very drawn to them, esp the IIIf, and intend to turn to it in ernest in due course . . .

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I'm very new to the Leica world, but now have a IIIf with a 5cm f3.5 collapsible Elmar. So far it's been on a cruise to Norway and the Goodwood Revival (this weekend). Love it.

 

Malcolm, I'm sure we all would like to see some of your pictures. What exposure meter do you use? What film?

 

I'm recently returned from a European vacation shooting LTM and (Canon) digital. I had the seven rolls of film developed and scanned to CD and was genuinely impressed with the pictures, some of which I've posted in this forum.

 

I'm just now finishing up going through the 108 GB of RAW + SJPG digital images (some of which were taken side-by-side the Leica) and, except that I had an ultrawide 16-35mm and light tele 70-200mm for the 15MP digital which extended the 35-50-90mm range of the LTM lenses I took, in that mid-range of 35-90mm I prefer my relatively few film exposures. My wife says they have more "oomph".

 

I'm honestly very surprised about that! I'm thinking of writing an article about it for one of the photo magazines. Aside from tooting my own horn I'm saying that at least from my own recent experience you're not wasting your time with film and Leica lenses.

 

All I would suggest is have your camera and lens CLA'd to make sure they are up to par. In particular you need the full gamut of accurate shutter speeds and a clear sharp lens. After that it's up to your vision, your choice of film, your exposure meter, and how still you can hold the camera. Cheers! :)

Edited by iShutterbug
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