General Information

Serial #

3281401

Part Number

1

Total Parts

4

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

All metal body is predominantly black: most surfaces have mat finish; camera attachment point is bright silver metal; glass optics; some minor trim is synthetic.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

N/A

Width

N/A

Height

3.7 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

5.5 cm

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Photography

Category

Still camera parts

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Leitz

Country

Canada

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Unknown

Period

This example used c. 1983-1996, and probably later.

Canada

The camera and all accessories [except lens hood for this camera] were manufactured in Midland, Ontario by Ernst Leitz Canada, subsidiary of the German optical maker Ernst Leitz. All items were owned and used by Fred Phipps, a professional photographer based in Toronto and employed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Mr. Phipps studied photography at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute. Running short of funds, he left the program before graduation in January 1957 to take a job with the CBC photography department. He remained with the CBC for almost 35 years, during which he worked as a staff photographer and as National Photo Editor. After retirement in 1992 he continued to produce photos for the CBC as a freelancer. Over his long career, Mr. Phipps completed thousands of portraits and candid photos of CBC personalities and productions (e.g. David Suzuki, Foster Hewitt, Joe Schlesinger, Front Page Challenge, The Beachcombers, Friendly Giant, Mr. Dressup, Seeing Things). These were circulated to print media for publicity purposes or were used internally as “ID slides” for on-air program promotion. Attracted by the Leica’s reputation for craftsmanship and excellent optics, Mr. Phipps purchased his M4-P around 1982 from Toronto Camera Exchange (Rutherford Photographic). Although Mr. Phipps was also using Nikon and Hasselblad SLRs at the time, he liked his MP-4 for use in the television studio because its quiet operation (without winder) was less likely to be picked up by microphones. This was a feature that Leica promoted in its marketing of the M4-P. With its bright, high contrast viewfinder and fitted with the Summilux 35 mm f/1.4 lens, the camera was also excellent for shooting in available studio light where a flash would again have been disruptive. Offering a wide angle of view and good depth of field, the Summilux was his preferred lens for candid studio shots where he wished to show the performers in context. Its optics were so good that a 35 mm negative could be enlarged to 16x20 inches with minimal grain. The Summilux was designed in Midland, Ont. by Dr. Walter Mandler, who also computed the optics for the Tele-Elmarit. [Ref. 1]

Function

To focus image on film plane.

Technical

The Summilux 35 mm, f/1.4 is a wide angle lens that excels in difficult, low light settings. Compact and lightweight, it consists of seven lens elements made of rare earth optical glass, which was a recent innovation when the lens was introduced in 1961. This extremely successful model was in continuous production until 1995. [Ref. 1]

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

All settings labelled. "SUMMILUX/ 1: 1.5 / 3281401/ LEITZ" printed in white on face of lens housing."LENS MADE IN CANADA" stamped into lens body casing.

Missing

Appears complete: said to be operational.

Finish

All metal body is predominantly black: most surfaces have mat finish; camera attachment point is bright silver metal; glass optics; some minor trim is synthetic.

Decoration

N/A