5 Frames with a Leica M3, TTArtisan 50/1.4 and Tri-X

By Gary Smith

Following my discovery that you can actually acquire Leica cameras without taking out a second mortgage on your home, I returned to my local film camera super-store (Blue Moon Camera in the Portland, Oregon St. John neighborhood) and added a Leica M3 thereby doubling the number of Leica cameras I have available to me. Having recently taken the iiic to the Oregon coast loaded with Ilford HP5+, I decided to return with the M3 loaded with Tri-X.

Initially this article was going to be a lens review of the M-mount TTArtisan 50/1.4 however I decided that there are numerous reviews of this lens that have been done by individuals who are much better at doing lens reviews than me. One might wonder what’s the point of a Leica without Leitz glass or how anyone can afford multiple Leitz lenses? Since I do already have a 50/2 Summicron and given the glowing reviews of the TTArtisan 50/1.4, I decided that the TTArtisan would be my first lens for the M3. I also opted to pick-up a Voigtländer M-to-E adapter so I can use the lens (and any further M-mount glass) on my Sony a7R3.

Living where I do, I’m blessed with the ability to travel to the Pacific coast in less than 2 hours if I drive west or to the Cascade range if I travel east. Going over to the coast is an easy drive. My wife and I usually stay in one of two towns if we go over for a quick stay.

Looking south from Seaside, OR

This next shot was an attempt to duplicate the framing of a shot from an earlier post of mine that used the iiic, 50/2 Summicron and HP5+ to compare the differences between the lenses and film on the overall look of the image. One thing that I should mention is that I have (for the most part) run the black and white scans through a de-noise process. I’ve printed several of these shots (looking south from Hug Point) both with and without noise-reduction and while I like the composition of the shot from the iiic more than this specific image, I like the contrast from the Tri-X and TTArtisan over the shot using the Barnack.

Looking south from Hug Point

I grew up on the east coast of the USA and my first encounter with the sea was from beaches in New Jersey, Delaware and Virginia. The west coast is very different. The rugged volcanic flows come right down to the minimal beach and the rocky geology is often the point of interest.

Looking north from Hug Point

There are often streams that cascade along the shoreline and end with a waterfall onto the beach.

Small waterfall near Hug Point

One of the characteristics of this set of shots that I like is the contrast obtained from both the lens and the film. I shot and developed a lot of Tri-X fifty years ago when I first started my photographic journey. Back then I was able to develop my own film and prints. These days I’ve been relying on mail-order film processing, scanning and printing and once I get the scans back I’ll often do some cropping and straightening (I never seem to get a good, level horizon while shooting at the coast). I wasn’t thrilled with this shot (from Seaside, looking west) but wanted to include it because it shows the Tri-X grain (no de-noise applied by me to the scan).

Looking west from Seaside, Oregon (no de-noise applied)

With 99.9% of my current photography being digital and with fewer than 1% being printed I’ve decided that I miss looking at prints. I don’t typically enjoy reading articles on the computer screen and I much prefer reading printed books and looking at printed images – maybe I need to invest in a decent photo-printer and print more of my shots? I’m OK with grain in a print but for whatever reason I seem to prefer removing grain (noise) when I post shots online.

I think the TTArtisan performs equally well on the M3 as well as on the a7R3. Since taking the above set of images, I’ve added a Voigtländer 21/4 M-mount which I haven’t had a chance to shoot on either the M3 or the a7R3. I expect it will go to the beach with me sometime over the summer.

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About The Author

By Gary Smith
Lived in various US metro-areas from the east coast, south, Midwest and Pacific Northwest while chasing a career. Currently retired and living outside Portland, Oregon. Shooting film again (as well as developing). Have a mix of digital and film cameras and lenses in various formats.
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Comments

Geoff Chaplin on 5 Frames with a Leica M3, TTArtisan 50/1.4 and Tri-X

Comment posted: 04/07/2024

A great camera and lens, the only minus with the TT is the weight but a necessary consequence of the wide aperture and number of lens elements leading to exceptional quality for a 1.4. I'm not a fan of 400asa films but very nice images and you're lucky to be living near such wonderful scenery I particularly like the waterfall and Hug Point shots..
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Gary Smith replied:

Comment posted: 04/07/2024

Thanks Geoff, yes - the lens is certainly larger than my 50/2 Summicron however it performs well, and you can't beat the price.

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Timothy Hancock on 5 Frames with a Leica M3, TTArtisan 50/1.4 and Tri-X

Comment posted: 04/07/2024

I have come to believe that as lenses are do good these days that fitting 3rd party glass on a Leica is the thing to do - I love Leica both film and digital and buy them for the camera “experience” which is unique in my opinion - glass is increasingly a commodity and although Leica glass is undoubtedly great, its investment is most supported by those who have already bought it ! Zeiss , Voightlander and now TT etc are all plenty good enough I believe.
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Gary Smith replied:

Comment posted: 04/07/2024

The rangefinder "experience" is certainly different however my very first camera was a Voigtländer rangefinder. I subsequently picked up an m-mount Voigtländer and I agree that the TT and Voigtländer are certainly plenty good for me.

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Thomas Wolstenholme on 5 Frames with a Leica M3, TTArtisan 50/1.4 and Tri-X

Comment posted: 04/07/2024

Please pick a similar day at Hug Point and go back and re-photograph it with a lower rated ISO film and an appropriate filter, get a really good scan and then re-share it as a One Photo Story. The genesis of a wonderful photograph is lurking in what you have already done there!
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Gary Smith replied:

Comment posted: 04/07/2024

Great idea! Any suggestions for a film stock? It's likely going to be scanned and developed here as I'm in the process of abandoning sending my film out.

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Bill Brown on 5 Frames with a Leica M3, TTArtisan 50/1.4 and Tri-X

Comment posted: 04/07/2024

Gary, you mentioned possibly printing your work. I highly recommend the process as I feel until you produce a print you don't really engage with the total image in all it's subtle nuance. I'm a custom digital darkroom specialist and I enjoy the printing process even if a computer is involved. I'm old enough to have experienced the wet darkroom but the sheer number of images I produce would be too cumbersome if not for a digital workflow. I would agree there is nothing like a silver gelatin print but how geeked out one wants to get when printing digitally can be fulfilling in it's own way. How detailed or complex the process is up to each individual. If you want more analog engagement then learn how to mount your prints, cut rag overmats, cut the museum glass and then fit it up in a frame ready to hang. I do the whole process including installation and seeing your own work beautifully displayed is a great thrill.

I've spent the last two years printing 500 5x7 prints of my personal project of documenting Dallas, Texas. This project is still ongoing and my first images date from 1978. I've not ever moved to digital so this body of work is all film. Seeing my work printed and doing the output myself feels like a completion of the circle. A digital workflow doesn't have to be sterile or banal. I was 30 years producing work traditionally so when I took my studio digital I was intent on remembering my past history. Just because it's a digital print doesn't mean you can't give it heart and soul. If you decide to go down the printing path just be ready to immerse yourself in the complexity and beauty of the process. I'm very passionate about printing so I better stop before this gets too long. It can all be a great adventure. My best to you in your quest.
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Chris replied:

Comment posted: 04/07/2024

Hey Bill I’d love to see your Dallas photos. I was born and raised in Dallas and I live in East Dallas. I just started documenting East Dallas in film and digital. It’s ongoing and I’m not sure what I’m looking for yet but it will come

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Gary Smith on 5 Frames with a Leica M3, TTArtisan 50/1.4 and Tri-X

Comment posted: 04/07/2024

Hi Bill, I also had a wet darkroom back in the day and although I never went larger than 8" x 10" or never did anything other than black and white, I suspect that I'll invest in a photo printer with 8 cartridges. I recently watched a video of a shop doing platinum palladium printing and agree that looks pretty cool. https://www.hiddenlightllc.com/ Thanks for reading my article and for your response. Maybe there will be a future article describing my future venture back to things I did in the past: developing and printing.
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Tony Warren on 5 Frames with a Leica M3, TTArtisan 50/1.4 and Tri-X

Comment posted: 04/07/2024

Great results Gary and again envious of your location. Presumably you are now into monobath developing from other comments you have contributed. A piece on that would be interesting. I also echo Bill's comments re printing - I print the ones I like to look at over and over onto A4 digitally. I used to have a A3+ Epson when I was exhibiting but it went to printer heaven and I now use a much simpler A4 model. One comment I would make is that if you are printing monochrome, as I think you will be, be really picky about what you buy. Monochrome in digital has improved but it can be difficult to get a good, neutral tone.

The lens is impressive, too. I occasionally consider selling all my gear and trying to afford a Leica M4 with a NF Summicron but these newer options have quite an appeal from an image quality point of view. The Leica is undoubtedly the benchmark for quality of design and construction and their lenses have a quite unique character. But this one comes close. No doubt modern glass and coatings have a lot to do with it but it does seem to me to have that wiry clarity that seems so real in a Leica image compared to many others.
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Gary Smith replied:

Comment posted: 04/07/2024

I haven't yet actually shot a roll and run it through Df96 yet. I'm waiting on a tank and chemistry. I have however done some scanning tests using the Valoi Easy35.

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Curtis Heikkinen on 5 Frames with a Leica M3, TTArtisan 50/1.4 and Tri-X

Comment posted: 05/07/2024

Nice piece and images, Gary! The M3 is such a wonderful camera and Tri-X is such fine film. We are so lucky to have quick access to the coast from the Portland area. Thanks for posting this!
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Gary Smith replied:

Comment posted: 05/07/2024

Thanks for stopping and commenting Curtis!

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Alexander Seidler on 5 Frames with a Leica M3, TTArtisan 50/1.4 and Tri-X

Comment posted: 05/07/2024

Beautiful Images Gary !
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Gary Smith replied:

Comment posted: 05/07/2024

Thanks Alexander! All I did was point a camera at beautiful stuff. It helps that I can recognize it for what it is...

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David Tan on 5 Frames with a Leica M3, TTArtisan 50/1.4 and Tri-X

Comment posted: 05/07/2024

Great shots! Hug Point looking North and South are two standouts.

I'm in a similar boat with prints - once I get settled that's probably the next thing to work on.

My wife and I debate the merits of West or East Coast all the time - but I will always concede that the West Coast has unbeaten beaches!
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Gary Smith replied:

Comment posted: 05/07/2024

Thanks David! For me, part of the problem is space for a dedicated printer. We already have a printer/scanner that will take 12" x 12" sheets. As for the ocean, I'm happy to be near enough that a trip over isn't a burden. I don't understand how people could live all their lives in (say) Kansas City (where I lived for several years and where a trip to the ocean required somewhat more planning).

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