Bill Smith's Photography

 Haven't shot with Kentmere 400 in a while so I decided to load up some into my Leica IIIg and try out my Nikkor H 50 F2 on it for a wander aound downtown Toronto while I took care of some errands.  First off, haven't used Kentmere 400 since Frugal Film Poject 2023, I used a Nikkormat with an H 50 F2 lens. So why not try the Leica screw mount namesake on the IIIg, technically it was period correct, compared to say the 50 F2.5 Color Skopar from Voigtlander. The Nikkor H 50 F2 cemented Nippon Kogaku's reputation as a lens maker and was shipped on Japanese Leica copies called Nicca. Saw one at the June Toronto Film Shooters Photo Walk and, resisting the urge for yet another rabbit hole.  The Nikkor H 50 F2 is sharp glass in Leica Screw Mount (LTM/M39) and loves both colour and black and white film. The IIIg was a fun camera to shoot with wandering around downtown Toronto. The dual focusing and view finding windows were easy to get used to and with contemparay shutter speeds ...

 A tale of two modern "Nifty Fifties" from Voigtlander, both Leica Screwmount, which means you can use both lenses, on Barnack Leicas, Canon Rangefinders, and other copies. The Color Skopar is a 50 F2.5 lens, with compact dimensions and would be at home on any Barnack Leica, love shooting with it on my IIIG and will live on that body. While slightly "slower" than F2, the Color Skopar is very sharp lens, and at the time of release had a mixed reputation, over time has been rehabilitated with several users including myself. I shot a roll of black and white with the Color Skopar on my IIIG almost a month ago and loved the results and wondered why people were dumping on this lens. Look, the real proof is how does the negative print either from a darkroom print or scanned and printed via inkjet or some other media. At say 11x14 that's where the true performance lies.  Now, the 50 F1.5 Nokton is a different beast, it's a big lens, with a 52mm filter thread, yet do...