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"32 years in a box"
A black
Leicaflex SL from Leitz Wetzlar, Germany
(80.995 of these cameras were build 1968-1974)
Serial no 1371464
My
Leitz Leicaflex SL in black, here with
50 mm Summicron-R f/2.0 from Canada
This
specific camera was build in 1973 as the 3.346th last Leicaflex SL to be build. A total of 80.995 Leicaflex SL were made in black and chrome, then the SL2 model was released
This one has been on a shelf in Bremen, Germany since it was build. A Bremen photo shop had it in stock till 2004 when the photo shop was bought by a photo chain. They wanted to clean up the stock and Photografica photo shop in Denmark was offered the camera along with some "new" lenses from back then. I managed to snatch the camera at Photografica for a very decent price.
The reason I couldn't resist this SL was that I already had a Leicaflex SL mot in black which I had sent to Leica in Solms, Germany in 2004 and got a new top plate, front plate and bottom plate.
As well as new buttons on the top. Here you can see the two together:
The original
Leitz Leicaflex, the following Leitz Leicaflex SL and the Leitz Leicaflex SL2 that was later replaced by the Leica R3 all have an extremely nice shutter sound and is build like a
tank. These babies will go to work like my other cameras.
Leica
SL2
manual [PDF]
Leica SL
manual [ on-line at https://yandr.50megs.com/leica/sl/sl.htm
]
Thorsten Overgaard, August 2005. Updated October 28, 2015.
Leica SL 2015
In October 2015 Leica Camera AG revealed the Leica SL type 601 that has been designed under the codename. While it is a full-frame mirrorless camera, it is more a dSLR without the mirror. It is somewhat the Leica R10 that never came, but here it is and it takes all Leica lenses ever made (Leica T, Leica M, Leica R, Leica S, etc).
Leica SL type 601 "Max"
Black
Leicaflex SL mot from Leitz Wetzlar, Germany
(827 of these cameras were build 1968-1974)
Serial no 1282435
My Leitz Leicaflex SL mot in black, here with
80 mm Summilux-R f/1.4
This
specific camera was build in 1972. I got this camera and some
other Leica cameras/lenses from a private owner in exchange
for my Nikon F3 gear and have no history of the camera besides
that. I had used the camera very little as the lightmeter
was off. But I then decided to get it not just repaired and
cleaned/lubricated/adjusted - but also to get it cosmetic
renovated.
This was done at Leica Solms in 2004 and the above
photo is the camera that came back. The photo below shows
the camera before it went to Solms.
The
camera got a new top plate, front plate and bottom plate.
As well as new buttons on the top.
The
SL has an extremely nice shutter sound and is build like a
tank. This reborn baby will go to work like my other cameras.
The
motor for this camera is larger than the camera itself so
I doubt I will ever attach one to it.
There
were made 70.995 SL cameras and 827 SL MOT cameras from 1968-1974.
The figures are not exact, but is the blocks of serial numbers
allocated by Leica for these camera models. After the SL and
SL MOT came SL2 and SL2 MOT – and after that R3.
After I got the camera back I started using it almost daily. Most SLR assignments I do with an SL and an R8 and this SL mot's 'maiden voyage' was a one month reportage trip to South East Asia after the tsunami. It got a great deal of heat, dust and a few bumps but did a terrific job without complining. You can see some of those shots at the "After The Tsunami" site www.afterthetsunami.org
Leica SL2
manual [PDF]
Leica SL
manual [ on-line at https://yandr.50megs.com/leica/sl/sl.htm
]
My Leitz Leicaflex SL mot before it went to
Leica in Solms for CLA and cosmetic upgrade (CLA=Cleaning,
Lubricating, Adjustment):
Thorsten Overgaard, March 2004
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