The Legendary Cameras of James Bond

I’ll admit it; Ian Fleming’s Bond novels and the resulting franchise of films are one of the guilty pleasures I’ll allow myself. The books that brought the world of 007 to life are, at times, inspired. Get past the shameless and embarrassing womanizing, the low-level racism, and the blatant stereotypes of any non-British character, and […]

Which Leica Rangefinder Should I Buy? CP Answers

Every day, someone asks me which Leica rangefinder they should buy, and I think they expect me to come back with an easy answer; “Get an M-whatever.” But it’s not that simple. Instead, I ask them a series of big questions, and usually after just three minutes of answers we’ve figured out which Leica is […]

A Year with the Leitz Summicron R 50mm F/2 Lens

Made to fit Leica’s R mount SLR cameras, Leitz R series lenses don’t enjoy the fanfare heaped on their M mount brethren. No surprise; Leica shooters skew toward rangefinders, and sticker shock keeps kids looking for cheap legacy lenses from buying an R. Which is a shame, because I’ve been shooting the 50mm Summicron R […]

Six Months with the M2 and My Struggles with the Myth of Leica

Author’s note: The Leica M2 is an interchangeable lens rangefinder introduced in 1957 by German optical powerhouse Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH. It is the successor to the famous Leica M3 used by Henri Cartier-Bresson, among others. It uses the M-mount lens system. It is very famous and expensive. None of this is new or noteworthy. Let’s […]

We Review the M-A, Leica’s Newest 35mm Film Camera

In 1968 Mercedes-Benz introduced the world to the pinnacle of the luxury sedan. Up to that time, the 300SEL 6.3’s combination of engineering, ambition, and sheer bloody mindedness had never been matched. While others had attempted to combine luxury and serious performance, the 6.3 was the first to do so in a reliable, usable way. […]

Leica Sofort – Instant Camera Review

It’s the end of 2016, a year of global controversies, and today we’re here to examine what might be the most divisive object in the history of mankind. It’s Leica’s newest film camera, the Sofort, the most controversial camera the world has ever known. And while I acknowledge the ridiculousness of the words ‘controversial’ and […]

The Magic of Slide Projectors and Why You Should Own One

Gleeful giggling, happy screams, and the thunderous reverberations of a three-year-old girl hopping up and down on hardwood flooring. These were the sounds that rang through my house the first time my daughter saw a photo projected on the wall of her bedroom. There, towering six feet tall, was a shot I’d made of Disney […]