{"title":"Sold","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"leica-summicron-50mm-f-2-m-mount-titillates","title":"Leica Summicron 50mm f\/2 V3 M-mount","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWHAT CONDITION THE CONDITION IS IN: This lens was recently CLA’d and is optically clean. Focus is smooth and the aperture has solid clicks. It’s in great cosmetic shape with only minor, hard to spot blemishes. More below on what makes this lens special. Or allegedly special, depending on how much you’ve spent today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"172\" data-end=\"359\"\u003eMidland, Ontario, 1969. Walter Mandler*, a German optical designer exiled to the frozen wilds of Canada, stares at the blueprints for the Summicron 50mm f\/2 Version 3 with a quiet smile.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"361\" data-end=\"579\"\u003eOptimized for contrast and flare reduction and improved colour fidelity. He ships the specs back to Germany, where his former colleagues nod approvingly and begin production.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"581\" data-end=\"980\"\u003eExcept some lenses are also made in Canada, because apparently Leica couldn't decide which country deserved the honour. It's the photographic equivalent of the European Stag Beetle: found across Germany, France, and beyond. Technically identical, yet collectors lose their minds over which forest birthed it, as if a beetle from Bavaria has better mandibles than one from Bordeaux.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"982\" data-end=\"1353\"\u003eThis Summicron 50mm f\/2 M-mount, serial number 2535801, made in Germany in 1971, features Mandler's optical formula: smooth long-throw focusing helicoid, precise hard-stop infinity focus. Sharp centre performance wide open, smooth bokeh, natural colours, minimal distortion, low chromatic aberration. Compact, lightweight, all-metal barrel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1355\" data-end=\"1687\"\u003eIt's brilliant. It's also made in Germany. Or Canada. Depending on when Leica felt like using which factory. All equally excellent, all equally coveted by people who'll spend twenty minutes explaining why their lens's birthplace matters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1890\" data-end=\"2184\"\u003eIn the end, the Summicron 50mm f\/2 Version 3 is like the European Stag Beetle: one design, multiple birthplaces, identical mandibles. German-made or Canadian-made, it's still Mandler's masterpiece. The beetle doesn't care which forest it crawled out of. Pour another schnapps or rye and stop caring.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e*Walter Mandler was born to a German farming family, he joined Ernst Leitz at Wetzlar in 1947 as a lens designer, presumably because farming wasn't sufficiently precise. In 1952, when Leitz established Ernst Leitz Canada (ELCAN) in Midland, Ontario, Mandler was sent over \"on loan\" for what was supposed to be a short stint. He stayed for more than half a century, became a Canadian citizen, and eventually Vice President of ELCAN. One imagines the Germans asking when he'd return and Mandler, having survived his first Ontario winter, thinking, \"Well, if I made it through that, I can make it through anything.\"\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(179, 179, 179);\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Leica Leitz","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47158092103867,"sku":"LEI-LNS-CRO-50-2-MM-GD-100042","price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0645\/6960\/6331\/files\/LEI-LNS-CRO-50-2-MM-GD-100042-leica-summicron-50mm-f2-rangefinder-m-mount-leitz-vintage-lens-used-0002-front.jpg?v=1763089502"},{"product_id":"fujica-half-camera-moans","title":"Fujica Half Camera - SOLD","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWHAT CONDITION THE CONDITION IS IN: This unit is in excellent cosmetic condition. The viewfinder has been cleaned, the light seals replaced, and the shutter speeds checked. There is minor dust inside the lens, but it does not affect image quality. The built-in meter is inactive, but the camera is fully usable and a great, user-friendly option for shooting. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eScroll down if you're curious about the design, performance, and story behind this camera. Or don't. It'll be here either way.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet's talk about compromise. Not the noble kind, where two reasonable parties meet in the middle, but the scrappy, make-it-work kind born of necessity and Japanese ingenuity in the early 1960s. Film was expensive. Cameras were expensive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo Fuji Photo Film Co. looked at the problem and thought, \"What if we just... used half?\" And thus, in 1963, the Fujica Half was born: a camera that takes your 36 exposures and stretches them to 72 by shooting frames that are, shall we say, adorably modest. It's the photographic equivalent of ordering a small coffee and making it last all day. Economical? Sure. A little sad? Perhaps. But also kind of brilliant.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis Fujica Half, serial number 325460, represents an early production of that first-generation half-frame 35mm format. Constructed from sturdy metal with a compact, well-balanced form, it's got a Fujinon 2.8cm f\/2.8 lens that's perfectly suited for street photography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe camera provides manual and automatic exposure controlled by a selenium meter that, on this example, has retired permanently and no longer functions. So you'll need an external light meter or the Sunny 16 rule.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe zone-focusing arrangement is quick and intuitive, the bright viewfinder has been recently cleaned, and the light seals have been replaced, because someone cared enough to keep this little scrapper alive. Though petite, it carries satisfying heft, like a flask in your jacket pocket.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRenowned for durability, handling, and optical performance, this model offers a stylish, reliable option for those exploring the half-frame format.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Fujica Half is what happens when practicality crashes headfirst into photographic ambition and somehow they both survive. You'll shoot twice as much, spend half as much on film, and end up with negatives that require a magnifying glass to appreciate. But you'll have fun doing it, and really, isn't that half the point? Yes, the pun is intended. Someone had to say it.\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(179, 179, 179);\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fujifilm Fujica","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47161030344891,"sku":"FJC-HFD-ZFC-FXL-EX-100060","price":0.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0645\/6960\/6331\/files\/FJC-HLF-ZFC-FXL-EX-100060-fujifilm-fujica-half-frame-35mm-rangefinder-vintage-film-camera-used-0001.jpg?v=1766972065"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.foxandtalbot.com\/collections\/sold.oembed","provider":"Fox and Talbot Cameras","version":"1.0","type":"link"}