France in Focus

A century ago this camera came to the market, an immediate success.

Also a success: my little Panasonic digital camera, released January 2010, with a Leica lens, 12x optical zoom.

My father had a Leica which he used during the war. My brother's got it now. I can't remember which model it is but it's not the one that's worth a fortune today !
I have a Lumix bridge camera as a passe par tout - it also has a Leica lens. I made a mistake getting the model I did which seems more geared up to making videos, which is not what I like to do. It didn't come with a manual but I found one on line. Can't fault the lens though - when I get a shot right, it's very good. I've always found it difficult to get used to finding the settings - not a bit like my Pentax DSLR which I know blindfolded.
Perhaps I need to persevere more ....

Today's Leicas are superb .... and not just given away. They're popular among gifted amateurs at the local photography club and they produce some excellent results.

Size and weight went down: quite a difference. One of my old portable/luggable Nikons together with a 28 mm wide-angle lens, once almost king of the hill. And now a 24 mm wide-angle and 12 x zoom lens in one tiny package. The Dutch photographer Han Singels who in the beginning of his career was almost married to his analog Nikkormat Ftn changed to a little analog Leica, went for long trips on his bike in the polders and along rivers. And made pictures fitting perfectly in the tradition of Aelbert Cuyp.

What about this one?

Back to the hardware.

Sadly I haven't kept my old gear - I had a wonderful Canon with a Vivitar 70-210 lens that was stolen many years ago. I replaced it with a secondhand Pentax and a Tamron 70-210 lens. The Pentax was great, the Tamron not so great, so sold on.
As a result of loving the feel of the Pentax, I stuck with it when changing to digital. No regrets though I rather wish I'd kept the argentique Pentax ....

I was an Olympus fan for many years but had to sell it when downsizing. Then got to like new wife's Sony with largely automatic functions. Point and squirt, perfect shots every time with manual over rides when required. When it finally gave up and couldn't find anyone to repair it I went for a Nikon DSLR. I hate using it. Far too complicated. It takes too long to get rid of all the menu and info screens and then find the well-hidden "auto" function. And more buttons for video that just get in the way.