The Cameras

I started working in my first job in August of 2010 and, armed with financial independence, I started on a project that I had promised myself I would start as soon as I could finance it with my own income - the restoration of my lolo's Leica.


My mom first mentioned it a couple years ago, and she told me that since I was the only one seriously interested in Photography in my family, she was sure that my lola would let me have it, which she did. I had neither the means or the knowledge to use it at the time,  so it sat in my room for another couple years, as I focused on taking pictures with another hand-me-down: a Canon Kiss Digital (thats JDM, son), with which I slowly matured as a photographer. Around the time I graduated, I felt that I could go no further with the digital equipment that I had. i figured that to move forward, I had to go back to the basics, and what better way than with one of the best cameras ever made?

Now the nearest Leica service center I knew at the time was in Hong Kong, and it would cost around USD300 to do the restoration. Luckily, through a friend of mine who's also into old cameras (you can findhis pictures here: http://thisismanila.tumblr.com/), I found a guy here in Manila who could do it for just Php2000 (links and info at the bottom if you're interested) and now its working perfectly. Along with the Leica, I found two other cameras in the house that were worth restoring: a Canon A-1, and an Olympus XA, both of which I had restored relatively cheaply in Quiapo (again, if you're interested, info at the bottom). Here's the rundown:

Canon A-1

Aperture Priority

Shutter-speed Priority

 Steaksauce! Im not sure how old this one is, but according to Wikipedia it ran from 1978-1985. It was the first SLR with a electronics inside that could automatically adjust either the aperture or shutter speed. I had used it only twice before and it takes pretty good pictures, It also has an interesting shutter sound, more of a whine than a click, like the EOS 400D. The part I like about it the most is how you move from aperture to shutter priority. A small switch just covers part of a small wheel where the shutter speeds and apertures are written on (Japanese engineering!). Observe:

The problem is that the lens it came with, a 50mm f/1.8, is fogged up. You can see it in the first photo. The other lens, a 28-85mm f/3.5 is also dirty but still ok, although its much heavier. The official Canon service center in Mandaluyong doesn't clean old lenses so its either I find another place or buy ones in better condition, if I can find any.  I have yet to take a roll with it. Watch out for that soon.

Olympus XA

Again, according to everyone's favorite free encyclopedia, this camera came out the exact same time as the A-1, but its not an SLR, its a rangefinder. I believe its the smallest *rangefinder ever made. This is probably because it has a fixed 35mm f/2.8 lens. Also probably because the Japanese engineers are so good at fitting complex buts into tiny enclosures. Its Aperture priority only and comes with a cute detachable little flash unit. Its sliding shell design makes it look years ahead of its time. That design is still pretty common, especially in Sony P&S's. The flash and compact size make it a great party camera. The pictures that come out look kind of like Terry Richardson's (he uses a Yashica T4 P&S). The rangefinder patch inside is faded though, so the focusing kever at the bottom is pretty useless. I just leave it on infinity. 

Leica IIIc

And now "die alte Deutsche" (the old German). When I tagged along with my dad on one of his work trips to Germany, I got to visit a Leica store and gave them the serial number of this particular camera so I could get some specific information about it. According to the company records, the body was made in either 1941 or 1942 and the lens was made in 1940. Hitler had just unleashed his Wehrmacht onto Western Europe when this camera left the assembly line in Wetzlar, Germany. My mind exploded. I'll probably write a post dedicated to this camera and Leica itself because really, there is just so much about this mechanical jewel to geek the hell out on. Its a *rangefinder, like the XA, but the patch is in much better condition, although hard to use indoors (take note that the patch on this is 40 years older). Used correctly, the quality of the pictures from this 70 year old camera are up there with today's DSLR's.

*Rangefinders were a popular type of camera before SLR's. They dont have a pentaprism or a flipping mirror so it makes them much smaller and lighter. Since there is no mirror, what you see in the viewfinder is not what the lens sees, like in SLR's. What you do see is a patch in the middle with two superimposed images. As you move the focus ring (or lever on the XA) the images line up, and thats how you know the image is in focus.

If you're interested:

The guy who fixed my Leica: Jay Javier of Russian Camera Fix (http://russiancamerafix.multiply.com/) Jay is also the founder of Rangefinder Filipinas, a classic camera forum. They have workshops on film processing from time to time. Very nice guy. Tell him I sent you.

The guy who fixed the A-1 and the XA: Bong Alicos of Luminance. Luminance (7362314). They are located along Hidalgo St. next to Quiapo church. Its a small shop right next to a Ministop. Cant miss it.