Hi All :-),

I'm new to pro type photos but my uncle gave me an old camera calledLEitz (like Leica?) so I', hoping you will bekind enough to help a newcomer (smile). Some of the stuff is wore off. My boyfriend told me the "B" mark on the wheel means bulbs? and its a pro trick that you don't need lightf you set it to work like a bulb. I haven't tried it yet. Any Suggestions? We do a lot of stuff in abandoned places. My boyfriend is away at Miskatonic and I want to learn something before he comes home (smile).

-- Missy Whately (misswhat33@pacbell.net), May 30, 2002

Answers

Hi, if it is a Leica M type of camera it will say so on the top: it says M3 or M2 or M4. But probably it is older. There will be a serial number on top, when you tell us I (and some others) can look up for you what type it is and how old. The B has nothing to do with bulb. The ring gives you the shutter speeds you can use, and when you choose B the shutter will remain open as long as you keep your finger on the release button. So not some kind of trick, but a possibility in shutter speeds that is used on all camera's. There are also some websites you might like to check, like http://www.cameraquest.com/

-- Lex Bosman (lexb@wanadoo.nl), May 30, 2002.

The B setting is for bulb, as in the old air-driven bulbs used for shutter releases. The shutter stays open as long as the release is pressed, and would be used for time exposures at night and such. (Obviously with a tripod.)

Leitz is the old name for Leica.

Two excellent resources for those new to Leica photography are:

various Leica info pages at Camera Quest (scroll down for the Leica links)

Spend some time at those online resources, and you'll be able to amaze your boyfriend with Leica lore upon his return.

-- Ralph Barker (rbarker@pacbell.net), May 30, 2002.

Oops. That should have included:

The Leica FAQ maintained by Andrew Nemeth

-- Ralph Barker (rbarker@pacbell.net), May 30, 2002.

The word bulb comes from the use of an old squeeze bulb, a rubber air bladder that was attached to a flexible air tube going to the shutter release. When you squeezed the bulb, it would trip the shutter, and the shutter would stay open as long as you held the bulb.

Today, the bulb has been surplanted by mechanical releases that use a spring loaded inner linkage, (usually in a hollow tube) to trip the shutter.

-- Al Smith (smith58@msn.com), May 30, 2002.

"Leica" comes from "Leitz" (both in Germany) as re LEItz-CAmera. The "B" mark (not invented from Leica) stands for Bulb, not Bulbs. Bulb is a timing and "only" means that the aperture opening is as long as you press, not just exactly 1, 1/2, or 1/4 seconds etc (using the settings 1, 2, or 4 etc). It 's hard to give you any suggestions since such settings usually depend on the light available and on the type of film used. Abandoned places are my speciality too, so if you use any allround film like 200, 400 or 800 ASA/ISO then you'll probably never need/use "B". If "worst comes to worst" use a tripod.

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), May 30, 2002.

Is that you Phill Kneen, trying to disguise your typing? Where have you been, prison?

-- Allison Reese (a_b_reese3@hotmail.com), May 30, 2002.

Missy, I'm certain you'll get a lot of replies & further help. But regarding the B mark on the speed dial, the setting does stand for Bulb as your boyfriend noted. But it's not pro trick of any kind. At that setting the shutter simply stays open as long as you keep your finger down on the release. Let your finger up & the shutter snaps closed. The B setting is typically used for long exposures, for instance, 2 - 10 seconds or longer... If you could repost & give the serial number of the camera, many of us could tell you much more about your particular Leitz.

-- Patrick (pg@patrickgarner.com), May 30, 2002.

Don't do anything gross in those abandoned places because it turns off the bulbs. Cheers.

-- Don (wgpinc@yahoo.com), May 30, 2002.

Allison, for crying out loud, don't mention the PK word!

-- Olivier (olreiche@videotron.ca), May 30, 2002.

Maybe Phil got run over by a Matchless G-50 after he staggered home from the pub while being seduced by the smell of Castrol "R" bean oil.

Gotta love the TT.....

FWB

-- F. William Baker (atelfwb@aol.com), May 31, 2002.