Leica S Test Shoot - Jackie O Photo Recreated
EditorArticle and photographs by Allan S. Adler
When you purchase a Leica camera you become a member of an exclusive club I call the Red Dot Club. The Leica name in the Red Dot is their company logo and on nearly every Leica Camera produced. A raised Red Dot marking is on all lenses to mount it to a camera body and the lens the flange of all camera bodies with removable lenses has a recessed Red Dot for proper alignment.
Leica's storied history is second to none in the photography world. Behind Leica cameras and the Red Dot were - and presently are - the finest photographers for over 100 years and many years to come. I'm honored to be a member, and when I pick up any Leica I am inspired to create.
I became a member in the late seventies when I purchased a Leica M4 with a 35mm Summicron and eventually I added the 21mm, 28mm, 50mm, 90mm and 135mm lenses. It was my quiet camera used to capture intimate moments when I did not want my bulky and loud Nikons with motor drives to impose or disrupt the setting.
The M4 was a smooth as silk camera to hold in my hands and the winding and firing of the shutter was therapeutic. There was no sound sweeter to a photographer's ears than the sound of a Leica shutter. I was in Boston on assignment with Bob Hope when Ted Kennedy decided to run for President in 1980 against Jimmy Carter. I had no credentials, but at age twenty-one I had a fearless attitude and drive to go and do anything. I left Bob and the private jet and said I would catch up at our next location.
I arrived at Faneuil Hall the historic Boston location where Ted Kennedy announced. I roamed the crowd capturing the activities when Jackie Kennedy Onassis exited and came towards me. To my surprise I was the only photographer in that location where Jackie exited. I captured several frames on the run with the crowd moving in. When a horse mounted police officer entered frame to control the crowd Jackie began to interact for a brief moment I took a few frames up close The M4 was perfect for this situation; the quiet shutter did not interrupt the moment of Jackie with Algernon the horse. After a few more frames she entered her car and drove away. My Leica M4 captured a set of pictures of the last living member of an era we called Camelot, as many Leica photographers and Red Dot Club members had before me.
Jump ahead thirty-four years: Leica came out with it's 100 year anniversary special edition Leica S Camera with 30mm and 70mm Lenses in a special case limited to only fifty sets worldwide. The Leica Boutique at the Samy's Camera in Los Angeles has a 50 Year Anniversary Leica M4 on display alongside the Leica S 100 year Anniversary Kit, a collectors "Dream Team." After chatting with Tibor, Samy's Mr. Leica, manager of the Leica Boutique and after seeing photographs of the two special cameras I went to work.
The Leica S felt as nice in my hands as my M4 and R4 did years ago. The Leica S controls are situated similarly as all reflex Leica 35mm cameras were. The S Camera was easy to operate, the display was intuitive and I didn't need the manual because guys don't ask for driving directions or read instruction manuals
The S Camera is paired with a Leica Summarit-S 70 mm f/2.5 ASPH CS and Leica Elmarit-S 30 mm f/2.8 ASPH. CS lenses, all bearing the centennial insignia and encased in a custom aluminum Rimowa Cabin Trolley Case. A perfect addition to any Leica collection
The S handled my shooting pace and captured my RAW images with ease. The Leica S is the most advanced Leica DSLR made and still maintains the feel and precision of its predecessors and unlike all other medium format sensor cameras on the market, none are shaped or configured like the Leica S and feels natural in my hands with all of the controls in a familiar place. The sensor captures a 37.5 MP image with no optical low pass filter in a universal DNG file format. When combined with Leica lenses there is no finer image with edge-to-edge sharpness and color rendition. A perfect combination to capture the most demanding images.
The Leica S 100 Edition is more than a camera; it is a piece of art worthy of any museum. To own a piece of Leica History and become one of 50 worldwide you may order online or call Tibor, Mr. Leica at the Leica Boutique in the Samy's Camera Flagship tore in Los Angeles. Tibor's direct phone number is 323-938-2420 x1352.