Filmtown: Leica IIIf and Fuji Provia 100F
Coming home to Filmtown Series by Josh Root, December 2008 (updated February 2011)
This month, we are looking at a camera with more history than all the digital gadgets on your desk combined: the god-king of Life Magazine images through much of the 1950’s, the Leica IIIf rangefinder. In this column, we will be pairing the Leica with Fuji’s Provia 100F, a tightly grained 100 speed color reversal film that aims for faithful color reproduction while still offering strong primary colors and saturation.
The Camera: Leica IIIf
Josh Root
Depending on how you want to count, the Leica IIIf is the seventh generation in Leica’s series of screw mount interchangeable lens rangefinder (more commonly called the LTM or Leica Thread Mount) cameras. These cameras were produced starting in the 1930’s and evolved through to the 1950’s. The LTM series of cameras was particularly important, not only to Leica, but to photography in general. The Leica II was Leica’s first rangefinder camera and is arguably the first 35mm “system” camera ever with its standardized interchangeable lenses from 35-135.
In Use
If you have never used one, an LTM Leica offers an experience that will probably surprise, excite, and infuriate you in any number of ways.
In your hand, the Leica IIIf is an impressive jewel of a beast. It doesn’t take an engineer or historian to realize that this camera is from an age when products were built to last. Despite it’s small size, it is solid feeling with the weight that comes from being constructed almost completely of metal. I’m guessing that the rubberized shutter curtains, the body covering, and the glass in the finder windows and RF assembly are probably the only non-metal parts of the IIIf.
The most frustrating thing about he IIIf has to be it’s film loading. Now, before I complain too much, keep in mind that the 35mm film format was still in it’s early infancy when these cameras were designed. So it’s not like Leica had many other cameras to look to for ideas. They were flying blind on a lot of this stuff. That having been said, the film loading system in the LTM Leicas is maddening. Here is the process:
- Take new roll of 35mm film and pull out 10cm or so of film
- Use scissors to cut the film leader into the shape shown in the image below
- Turn camera upside-down and remove bottom plate
- Pull out take-up spool
- Tuck leader under tab on take up spool.
- Carefully place film canister and take-up spool back into camera and make sure they are seated down (towards the top of the camera) as far as they will go.
- Slowly advance the film knob a bit and try to ensure that the teeth of the film advance sprocket are engaging the holes on the film. If not, you likely do not have the film canister and/or take up spool seated properly.
- Once you are sure the film is advancing properly, replace bottom plate and advance film 2 more frames, making sure that the rewind knob is spinning as you do so. That is how you will know that everything is operating properly.
Josh Root
With practice, it becomes a lot easier to do. But there is nobody who can say with a straight face that it is easy or quick. Some LTM users find that setting the camera to T and leaving the shutter open can help them make sure that the film is seated correctly. I myself rarely do this as I worry that I’ll muck something up if the shutter closes early or I gouge something on the inside of the camera. Perhaps that is just my ham-handed lack of coordination talking.
Leica did make an accessory at one time that quickly cut the film leader to the correct length and shape for LTM loading, it was called ABLON. Like all many old Leica gadgets and accessories, it is terribly overpriced. However, unlike many old Leica accessories, it is totally unnecessary. Virtually every LTM user I know simply cuts their film leader with a knife or a pair of scissors. Some have even been known to tear the leader with their teeth in a pinch. If you have an ABLON, go ahead and use it. But I don’t suggest going out and buying one, most people would rather save that money for more film.
Mounting a lens is slightly harder than your average bayonet mount SLR. But for anyone who has ever used a screw mount lens of any sort, the Leica IIIf will bring back fond memories. For those who haven’t used a screw mount camera the operation is pretty simple. With the camera front facing you, it’s the basic “righty tighty, lefty loosey” system. To remove the lens, grasp it with fingers and rotate it counter clockwise. It takes about 2.5 turns to remove it. To mount a lens, do the same thing but rotate clockwise. When mounting a lens, you may have to apply a little pressure inwards towards the camera until the threads catch. That is because the RF cam arm is springy and will push back on the lens just a little bit. I suppose it would be possible to cross thread the lens and body. But to be honest I haven’t ever gotten close to doing so.
With the split focusing and composition viewfinders (and the limit of just a 50mm FOV for the internal composing viewfinder) speedy image making is a bit of a challenge on the IIIf. It goes a little something like this:
- Compose image in either the right hand internal finder (if using a 50mm lens) or in external VF
- Switch to left hand internal finder and focus image
- Switch back to other finder and recompose image
- Finally press shutter button
To be fair, it sounds like it takes a lot longer than than it really does. But compared to using an SLR viewfinder or even a modern RF viewfinder, it is significantly slower. You do get used to it after a while. Besides, the final judgment may be the fact that many amazing images have been taken with LTM Leicas, so the split focus/composition finders can’t be that much of a problem for people. After all, if Cartier-Bresson could do it, you should be able to also. Right? One advantage of the split focus/composition viewfinder is that the highly magnified focusing finder is quite accurate. This is an advantage when using fast lenses wide open. With the narrow depth of field that a 50/2 has at f2, you need all the focusing help you can get.
Josh Root
The RF patch on the IIIf is not a neat little rectangle like on modern rangefinders. Instead it’s a sort of blobby circle shape with no defined edges. To those used to using the edges of their RF patch to assist in focusing, this will take some getting used to. Speaking of the RF patch, one of the common problems with these 50+ year old cameras is that the RF patch just slowly fades away. This is due to the RF mirror/beamsplitter becoming, essentially, non-reflective any more. I’m sure there is some technical reason for this, but I have no idea what it is. The important thing to know is that a good Leica repair person will be able to replace it for you. I had mine done at the same time as a CLA and the whole thing cost less than $300. Which is pretty good considering that a normal CLA is not a whole lot less than that. Since lots of the cost is in the labor of taking these clockwork LTM beasts apart, it pays to get as many repairs/upgrades done at once as you can.
There is no meter in any of the LTM Leicas and the IIIf is no exception. Users commonly have two choices in this department. The first of which is a shoe-mounted meter such as the old Leica MR or the newer Voigtlander VC meter. The second option is a hand-held incident meter from a company like Sekonic or Polaris. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. The shoe mount meter causes problems if you are using a shoe mounted finder (though Voigtlander does make a series of dual cold shoe mounts to solve this), but these meters are small and stay attached to the camera. A hand-held meter is a great accessory for any photographer, but it does require taking your eye and one hand far away from the camera and can slow down the image making process even more. For what it’s worth, I myself use a Sekonic incident meter.
Speaking of the camera’s shoe, let’s talk for a moment about flash photography with the Leica IIIf. The IIIf was the first Leica with a flash sync, though it was pretty slow at 1/20 of a second. What is worse is that, due to the lack of a hot shoe, you must use a PC cord to connect to the camera. This would be fine if the PC plug was on the front or the side like a normal camera body. But no, Leica placed it right next to the viewfinder, making it quite easy to poke yourself in the eye fairly painfully. To be fair, newer Leicas aren’t exactly immune to this either. Though they do have the benefit of hot shoes, making the PC plug a lot less likely to be used.
The LTM Leicas use an old non-standard shutter speed progression that doesn’t match up with today’s cameras or meters. For example, instead of the standard 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 speeds, the IIIF has 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/200. This isn’t a particularly big deal but you might have to use a little brain power to adjust your exposure to take into account that 1/50 is slightly slower than 1/60 if you are the sort who cares about being precise. Then again, considering how far off your the shutter speeds can be in any mechanical camera (especially one that is 50+ years old) it may not make any difference. In any case, the IIIf has two different shutter speed dials for choosing these oddball speeds. T, 1, 1/2, 1/5, 1/10, 1/15, & 1/25 are on the smaller dial on the front of the camera 1/50-1/1000 + B are on top of the camera, along with a 1-25 setting. To set the shutter speeds on the upper dial, you just line the speed up with the little arrow mark that is on the hot shoe. To use the slower speeds, you set the upper dial to 1-25 and then line the speed up on the lower dial. One thing to note about the LTM Leica’s and their shutter speed dials is that the upper dial rotates during exposure. If you aren’t careful, and something is resting on or rubbing against the upper dial while you are trying to shoot a photo, the friction will change your exposure time significantly. Just another of the wonderful LTM oddities to be aware of.
Finally, rewinding your film at the end of the roll is slow and annoying. The knob rewind is, in my opinion, just awful. So awful that over the years Leica and many others have made various add on rewind lever accessories. But on some level you just can’t improve on something that is this badly designed. Of course, I’m exagerating a bit, but between this and the crazy bottom loading, one starts to wonder if Leica was just playing some sort of cruel practical joke on the world. but be patient, your film will end up back in the canister eventually. Then you can look forward to loading the darn thing again, what fun!
Josh Root
The Verdict
The LTM Leicas are a labor of love for many people. Compared to later RF bodies, they are fairly difficult to use. Now, is something being difficult a reason not to do it? Of course not! Many wonderful images are still made with these cameras every single day. And that, in and of itself, is a pretty strong testimonial to the high quality of the LTM Leicas. But the fact is that with it’s awful film loading, knob film advance, weird shutter speeds, and split focusing/composition windows, the IIIf is quirky at best and throw-it-across the room frustrating at worst. So who would want to use one of these then? Well, if I were an RF photographer looking for a new experience and a way to revisit the roots of RF photography, a IIIf would be a wonderful way to go. They are easy enough to find in good shape and their prices are reasonable. Although, if I were trying to get a photographer interested in the world of RF photography, I absolutely would not hand him a IIIf and hope that he got excited. While everyone is different, it is my experience that RF photography is a big enough change for most people (from SLR photography) that starting them out with a camera that they are less likely to be frustrated by is probably a better idea.
However, strangely enough, LTM Leicas are frequently the first experience that photographers have with RF photography. I can’t tell you how many “My grandma gave me grandpa’s old camera kit. What have I got here?” type questions I have seen over the years where the answer was, “You have a LTM Leica rangefinder.” And the good news is that these cameras are likely to be perfectly usable with a little clean, lube and adjust repair work. Which brings up a very important point, as of this writing (January 2008), repair parts and knowledgeable repairmen/women are still easy to find. As I mentioned previously, last fall I sent my IIIf off to get its mirror resilvered and have everything adjusted. $300 and 3 weeks later it was back better than ever. At the risk of being annoying by repeating myself, this is an important fact that cannot be overlooked. There are many other great classic cameras that are suffering from lack of parts, lack of knowledgeable repairmen, or both. Thankfully, the old Leica rangefinders are not in that group just yet.
Overall, the Leica IIIf is a fun camera to use. It doesn’t suit my particular brand of photography perfectly because I find it to just be too slow overall to use for most projects I do. However, I enjoy using the IIIf just for it’s wonderful build quality, the history that it embodies, and the sheer difference of experience that I get in comparison to any of my usual tools.
The Film: Fuji 100F
Fuji Profia 100f is a 100 speed E-6 process color-reversal film. For those unfamiliar with the term, color-reversal film is the fancy name for what most of us call “slide film”. Provia 100F (Also called RDP III) is the successor to Fuji’s popular Provia 100 (RDP II). Provia 100 was a film that came of age in the late 90’s when “colors that pop” were all the rage. It has less saturation than it’s cousin Velvia, but it still gave very strong reds/blues/greens and was a favorite of editorial outdoor shooters. It’s skin tone reproduction wasn’t great, but was serviceable (and much better than Velvia) if using something like Fuji Astia wasn’t an option. The Provia 100’s main drawbacks to many photographers were that it was fairly grainy in comparison to Velvia considering that there was just a 1 stop speed difference between the two and that Provia was a film that didn’t tolerate being pushed very well. In 1999, Provia 100F was released largely to address both of these issues.
Initial feedback was good, with most photographers claiming a significant decrease in grain and improved success with push processing. Initial batches of Provia did seem to suffer from a slight green tint. If my memory was correct, this was even officially acknowledged by Fuji. Even if it was just anecdotal, the issue was gone from subsequent batches and Provia 100F has remained one of the world’s most popular slide films.
Josh Root
In Use
It is true that Fuji Provia 100F is not a new film by any means, it has been on the market for almost a decade now. However, it still remains a favorite emulsion of many slide film shooters. It’s colors are bright without without the exaggerated “cartoon” color results that some accuse more saturated films like Velvia of having. Provia 100F’s improvements over the original Provia remain important today. The grain is quite tight and the film can withstand push processing within reason. For me personally, “within reason” was never more than two stops.
The most common complaint about Provia 100F is probably that many shooters claim to see a blue cast some situations. The fact that this issue crops up on both sunny and overcast days would indicate that it is not just a color balance or exposure issue. However, I myself have not found this issue to be something I notice. Perhaps it is where and when I shoot or perhaps I’m just blaming other issues whenever I see a color cast, but it just hasn’t been that much of an problem for me. But if it is an issue for you, as it is for some photographers, the general consensus is that carrying a couple slight warming filters should fix the problem for the most part.
Unlike many film emulsions these day, Fuji Provia 100F has not been particularly affected by the “digital revolution” and is still available in many different sizes and format. Currently Provia 100F is available in:
- 35mm rolls
- 35mm 100 foot bulk load rolls
- 120 rolls
- 220 rolls
- 4×5 sheets
- 8×10 sheets
- 11×14 sheets
- Quickload 4×5 sheets
This is a pretty expansive list of formats to choose from and it really speaks to the popularity that Provia 100F has had over the years and continues to have.
Overall user experience with scanning with Provia 100F seems to be positive. Though like many slide films, scanning underexposed film is particularly difficult. Especially when compared to scanning underexposed negative film. But exposure latitude has never been one of the hallmarks of slide film, so that shouldn’t be news to anyone.
The Verdict
I shot a boatload of this film when I was shooting for “extreme sports” magazines in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. It was a great film for this purpose. Editors loved it’s punchy but accurate colors, I loved the ability to fill my bag with one slide film and still be able to push one or two stops if needed, and the athletes loved the…well, the athletes didn’t care about anything except making sure I got the shot. Fuji Provia 100F served me very well in almost every regard. I tried many other slide emulsions during those years, but I never found anything that I preferred more.
Not the best situation for Provia 100F
Now, in 2008, I find that my feelings have not changed all that much. I still enjoy almost everything about Provia 100F. However, it is important to recognize the limitations that all slide films have. If you are looking for a low light, high speed, contrasty situation type film, you are going to have a tough time of it with almost any slide film. If you are looking for a nicely saturated daylight balanced slow to mid speed film that will perform well in virtually every situation that you could expect it to perform well in, Provia 100F is a great choice.
All Together Now
Quite honestly, this wasn’t the greatest film/camera combo for me personally. I love rangefinder photography (as readers of the “Filmtown” series are going to become painfully aware) but I typically use them in low light candid type situations. In the bar, at a party, on the street, in a horse barn, and so on. The ISO 100 speed of Provia 100F really crimped my style in this regard. That having been said, I admit that this is totally a “me” problem. There are any number of rangefinder photographers who have made amazing images with slow speed film. From contemporary RF photographers like William Albert Allard to icons like Alfred Eisenstaedt (who very likely used a Leica IIIf with his slow film). If I were the kind of guy who spent more time out doing photography in the outside world where natural light exists rather than in dingy bars, I would have had more fun with this film/camera combo. As it was, I felt like I had a hard time coming up with images that I liked.
This Month’s Contest
We want our dedicated film using members to post their own experiences on the Filmtown articles. So, to encourage participation in this article series, we are going to give away a five roll pack of Fuji Provia 100F (35mm or 120) to two of the users who leave comments on this page. How to enter? Just click “add a comment” at the bottom of the page and post a suggestion, personal experience, or review about using either a Leica IIIf (or any Leica screw mount) or Fuji Provia 100F. Or you can post a photo taken with the camera or film (one photo per person please). We’ll pick one film and one camera post and give away the prizes. Super easy.
Where to Buy
Given that the Leica IIIf is over 50 years old, it would be a minor miracle to find one new and in-stock at a camera store, but I suppose anything is possible. A better bet would be the Leica & Rangefinder category of the Photo.net classifieds or your favorite used camera retailer. You can find Provia 100F at just about any professional photo supply house. Or you can get a better deal and support photo.net if you order it through one of our retail partners:
More
Original text and images ©2009 Josh Root.
Article revised February 2011.
Add a comment
Notify me of comments