What kind of Leica did Robert Frank use?
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See https://www.moma.org/collection/works/49767 for the full size image:
Robert Frank, Photographer, New York City, Covering Opening Night, in 1953-54 Season, at the Old Metropolitan Opera, 39th Street and Broadway, photograph by Bedrich Grunzweig.
Robert Frank, Photographer, New York City, Covering Opening Night, in 1953-54 Season, at the Old Metropolitan Opera, 39th Street and Broadway, photograph by Bedrich Grunzweig.
I'm sure he used a variety of Leicas. According to the book, Robert Frank In America, he definitively adopted the Leica 35mm camera in late 1948. That would be before the M cameras.
The black Leica's finish looks too good for a used camera. Maybe an explanation is in the letter but I cannot read it. re. link above
Here is what I read in the letter:
This is to certify that the
camera:
LEICA NO. 132545
With the lens:
NIKKOR-S . O
NO. 331845 1:1.4 f 5 cm
used to belong to ROBERT FRANK
in New York. This camera was
his property, with which he
photographed the images of
his book : “THE AMERICANS”
He donated this camera with
Lens to his friend DADI WIRZ
In the early sixties when
DADI lived in New York.
Monsieur JEAN-MARC YERSIN,
The conservateur of the
Musée Suisse de l’appareil
Photographique à Vevey,
receives today 31. January
2013 above camera and lens
as a gift for that museum.
Did thy make black screw mount Leicas? I know that few taped the chrome or painted the chrome.
Cameraquest shows a number of black Leica III's made in 1934.
Black paint was actually the standard for Leica until the Leica III (I believe) was introduced with chrome as an available option.
David Douglas Duncan was one of the photographers who began using Nikkor lenses on his Leicas after having the opportunity to compare them to Leica and Zeiss lenses of the time. They gained a favorable reputation among photojournalists, and this may have been why Frank used them as well. Noted for better and more durable coatings than Leitz lenses of the time. I've got a few Nikkors from the mid-50's and the glass is in perfect shape.
Just guessing it was the fastest lens available then.
Garry Winogrand used a Canon lens on his Leica M4.
One more reason - from Leicaphilia / ''The man responsible for the rise of Nikon - David Douglas Duncan''
...The difference the Nikkors produced was easily seen. The slightly higher contrast range of the Nikkors translated better for newsprint output than the lower contrast of the Leitz optics, yielding better prints for newsprint’s resolution of around 80/120 lines. Within weeks every Life staff photographer passing through Tokyo had bought a set of Nikkor lenses ... http://leicaphilia.com/tag/nikkor-ltm/
I don't think Frank was shooting with newspapers in mind. Also, newspaper resolution back then was 65 lines per inch, magazine 133 lpi. Sunday supplements could be higher resolution, most of them being produced by photogravure on cheap paper.
As I understand it, the situation was roughly that Leica lenses of the time had often higher resolution but often with more flare - especially in the fast glass. Nikon had better contrast and at least equal resolution - & was available in L39 mount - unlike Zeiss Opton.
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Prices? even then Leica was the luxury model.
I've also seen a few pictures of him with a Nikkor 8.5cm lens on his Leica.
The above image an f2 lens is hanging on a 2nd body. Another one he had an 8.5cm f1.5 Nikkor.
The above image an f2 lens is hanging on a 2nd body. Another one he had an 8.5cm f1.5 Nikkor.
Before Summilux, they had Summarit 50 1.5. Soft, except some area in centre and glowing at f1.5. Works for family photos (I did 
) but, probably, was not good for Americans.
It also has incredibly soft front lens and coatings, not something he wanted to deal with while on the Route 66, I guess.
) but, probably, was not good for Americans.It also has incredibly soft front lens and coatings, not something he wanted to deal with while on the Route 66, I guess.
Wonder why not just a Nikon, when did the SP come out?
The SP wasn't introduced until '57. The S2 was Nikon's first camera in standard 35mm format (24x36) but it didn't appear until late '54. Nikon had been making lenses in other mounts since before the war, and they were often seen on Canon and Nicca RF bodies. They had quite a bit of experience in lens manufacturing before introducing their first camera, the Nikon I in 1948.
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