Viewpoint
A persistent drizzle and a junk shop in a small market town in rural Wales led to John’s lucky find of a classic that time forgot
Many photographers have had the wish fulfilment dream where you wander into a junk shop and find, sitting unregarded on a shelf, an old Leica that time forgot. Personally, I’d hope for an M4-P, but other fantasies are available. However unlikely this scenario might sound, I’m here to tell you that it has happened to me – almost.
I was between buses in a small market town in Wales, and a persistent drizzle drove me into a not- quite-junk shop on the main street. In the corner of a glass cabinet, tucked behind a heap of cheap APS compacts, I saw the unmistakable Leitz logo peeping out. The shopkeeper hauled the object out onto the counter for me, and with a burst of recognition I realised what was in front of me.
Leica 35mm rangefinder cameras are a design classic, and beautifully evolved for their role. Even their biggest fans would agree, however, that there is one thing they aren’t great for – macro photography. Lacking through-the-lens viewing, it is very difficult to focus a Leica when using standard close up lenses or bellows – but, perhaps concerned that part of their customer base might be tempted away to SLRs, Leitz produced a series of Visoflex adapters to add TTL focusing to their rangefinders.
The example in front of me was the last version: a model 3 designed for the M series cameras. Nicely finished in black crackle paint and equipped with a prism viewfinder, it is a gem of industrial design and engineering – but now, it has to be said, almost redundant for practical purposes. I classified it as an ‘interesting object’ – one that I didn’t want to leave on the shelf because the Visoflex and I have some history.
Visoflex, me: our story
As a teenager, I owned a Russian FED 3 rangefinder camera, but desperately wanted to get into macro work. An SLR was double the price and wildly out of reach, so having read about the Visoflex I set out to make one. Juggling bits of aluminium, some ground glass and a mirror, I managed to concoct something that almost worked and the exercise set me on a path of environmental photography and helped shape my career.
As I negotiated a price for the Visoflex, I discovered that it came with an unexpected bonus: a 13.5cm Leitz Hektor lens and focusing mount designed for the system. Acquiring a cheap adapter a few days later meant I could mount the Hektor on my Nikon D800, which added a new practical element to the exercise.
Although coated, I discovered that this is far from the sharpest lens in the world; yet the Hektor has some interesting features like a fifteen-leaf iris – count them, fifteen! Along with the flat field gifted by its simple long-focus design, this helps give the lens an unobtrusive bokeh which - added to the soft focus - makes it an excellent portrait lens.
Much of the fun of photography for me involves diving into new experiences and trying things out, so keep your eyes open for unusual bits of kit when you are out and about – you never know where it will lead.