We’re all used to lining up the dot when we fit a lens, but who first thought of the idea? A British practice in the early 1920s influenced the design of Leitz lenses and, furthermore, set a precedent for all interchangeable lens systems. It’s something we now take for granted, but it took Britain’s technicians to invent the mark which shows where to start when mounting a lens. In a presentation to the leading camera collectors’ organisation last week, Macfilos vintage camera and lens expert, William Fagan, surprised us with this little-known fact.
The first use of interchangeable lenses on Leicas and 35mm cameras in general was in Britain in the late 1920s, some years before Leitz in Germany got around to offering the convenience on its Leica cameras. With the early screw-thread lenses, it was often difficult to know where to start. So an arrow or a dot on the mount helped users by allowing alignment with a corresponding mark on the lens. This was the original of the Leica lens red dot. And it became even more important with the development of the bayonet M-Mount in the early 1950s.
Lining up the Dot
The idea for the alignment marker came from the British makers, Ross and Dallmeyer (the latter through a London dealer, Sinclair). In his recent presentation to members of the Photographic Collectors’ Club of Great Britain (PCCGB), William traced the development of the use of interchangeable lenses before and after the British innovations of the late Twenties. Even Leica’s lens designer, Peter Karbe, told William that he had learned some things he did not know before.
William’s presentation is well worth watching.
More news this week
Panasonic S5II versus Nikon Zf
Two big players in the $2000 market are Panasonic with the Lumix S5 Mark II and Nikon with the Zf. How do they compare? DPReview has just published a comprehensive comparison between these two budget full-framers and reaches some fairly predictable conclusions. We are fans of the S5 II because it is part of the L-Mount Alliance and therefore makes a logical second-camera choice for Leica owners. While it wins on video and handling, the Nikon takes the edge on focusing. It’s a difficult choice, though, if you are starting from scratch and have no investment in either L-Mount or Nikon. Read the full review here.
Thypoch Simera 35mm f/1.4
“Bokeh is beautiful,” according to Feroz Khan in reviewing the Thypoch Simera 35mm f/1.4 for The Phoblographer. He tells us that this lens is a well-constructed head-turner which looks as though it could be made by Leica. “It’s finely constructed, with excellent attention to detail and some admirable finishing”. But, he says, while it can deliver decent images at a price point that Leica users might consider a steal, “it’s a lens you must spend lots of time with to love”. See also our article on Thypoch lenses.
Leica SL2 versus SL3
With the launch date of the new Leica SL3 being suggested as near as March 7, photographs and specifications are floating around the web. We guessed some specification details of the new SL3 in our review of Leica in 2024 and 2025, but Leica Rumors is providing more detail and, even, some leaked photographs of the new camera, including one of the alleged folding screen.
Why film is making a comeback
Writing on the Creative Bloq, Jacob Little tells us why film is again on the march. “As ever, the creative industry adapts, and it is currently doing what it does best and that’s innovate based on what it already knows. There is no doubt that analogue film photography is experiencing a noteworthy resurgence, particularly in the realm of commercial use by agencies.”
According to Jacob, “brands looking to do something different are increasingly turning to film to offer to consumers the ability to say they understand all of the above, and for agencies, many are waking up to the benefits of having this craft firmly rerooted as part of their offering”. It makes fascinating reading.
Leica M: Digital versus Film
“My timeless affair with the Leica M: Digital versus Film” is the title of a reflective article by Marco Secchi on his blog, Ramblings of a Confused: “In a world obsessed with the latest camera gadgets and megapixel wars, I sometimes find myself a charming anachronism. My most cherished tools are my Leica cameras – particularly my M10 digital and the classic M6 film camera. These aren’t mere instruments; they’re extensions of my creative vision.” Read the full article here.
Should you buy a vintage Leica digital?
With almost planned obsolescence of digital cameras, it’s challenging to justify the risk of opening your wallet for a vintage camera that could be 15 or more years old. It’s no different with Leica, with support for even more recent cameras ceasing. In the past, we have advocated the near 20-year-old Leica Digilux 2 and the more recent Leica X1/X2 compacts, and there is no doubt that these cameras, and others, can still offer a great deal of enjoyment and superb results.
Paul Burrows, writing for Digital Camera World, gives a thumbs up to another ancient Leica Digital, the Digilux 3 with its four-thirds sensor and interchangeable lenses. If you fancy a bit of vintage digital action from 2006, a clean example of the Digilux 3 could be right up your strasse.
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I’ve watched William’s presentation, or ‘slide show’, in which some lenses with a very long screw thread are marked with arrows or dots for alignment. It’s handy, but, in my experience, you start a screw thread simply by turning a lens until you feel the threads engage, and then just keep turning!
(No old Leica of mine, nor Leica screw thread lens, has a dot on it to show you where to match them together and start screwing: an old 9cm Elmar screw thread lens; just place it against the lens mount and start turning! Ditto a few old Leica II and III screw-thread cameras; press the lens – a Summitar 50mm f1.5, say – against the camera’s lens mount, and then just twist.)
It was handy to have a red dot alignment mark for the new-style Leica ‘bayonet’ mount of 1954 ..but I just look for the ‘scallop’ – the cut-out on the lens’ own mount which allows the camera’s ‘rolling lever’ focus cam to engage – and with that ‘scallop’ at the top of the lens, I just push and twist. Much easier to find than looking for red dots, I find. “Take two red dots into the shower? No, I just push and go!”
Although most cameras used – and use – bayonet twist-lock lenses now, Canon’s previous, and very successful, FD mount used a ‘breech lock’: push the lens into the camera’s throat, with the lens’ focus marker at the top – it could be pushed only one way: straight up! – and then turn a ring on the lens to lock it against the mount. That allowed no play at all in the mount, and locked really securely. (It was changed in March ’87 to the bayonet ‘EF’ (Electronic Focus) mount only with the advent of assorted metal pins to make contact between the camera body and Canon’s then new range of autofocus lenses.)
(And the original Nikon cameras – copying the body and lens mount of Zeiss’ ‘Contax’ cameras, but using Leicas’ smoother horizontal-travel cloth shutter – had (unlike everyone else, except Contax) an anti-clockwise bayonet mount ..which they’ve kept to this day ..even with the new style mount of their mirrorless cameras ..still, perversely, anti-clockwise!)
David, I presume you watched my talk. You may or may not have ever screwed a lens on or off a I Model A 33mm mount, but if you had you would know that you start at about 7 O’ Clock to get correct registration. With a 39mm LTM thread you can start anywhere you want, as you describe. What I am talking about is something very rare which most Leica enthusiasts will never see. Technicians who work on I Model As will know what I am talking about. My ‘learning’ on this is from one of the best camera technicians in the world who operates from Vienna. Mike’s editing on this may have led to your comment, but I did not want him to repeat everything that is in my talk which was about the ‘rarest of the rare’
William
I remember one of my first SLR’s- a Nikkormat or Practica having a red dot on the supplied 50mm lens It was a refocusing aid for I/R photography