Is new always better?

Like most photographers I find myself hankering over the latest gear, sexy body, crystal clear lens manufactured in  a completely sterile room somewhere on the moon, and of course, the more expensive the better it is, right?

I'm not so sure any more.

For one, with a couple of exceptions few companies produce new equipment for my medium of choice, film and, when they do, is it any better than the stuff my father was using?

Recently I have been using my Leica IIIf more and more often, a camera that cost me 290 Euros complete with a Summitar 50mm f/1:2, a combination that has been serving photographers well for the past 60 years and I imagine shall continue to do so.

Sure, on purchase this camera had faults and was actually thrown in free with the lens which was the reason for the purchase in the first place, I had figured Leica glass on one of my Soviet rangefinders would be a wise investment.

The vendor explained that the fast speeds were playing up and it wasn't economically worth his while to CLA such an old camera so he was happy to include it gratis with the lens.

I put a roll through her which proved she was ill, as the vendor had stated the 1000 and 500 speeds were intermittent at the very least, often not working at all.

She was shelved and my Fed 1 was treated to new glass.

A few weeks ago whilst rummaging through kit to sell I came across the body again and, deciding I had nothing to lose given she cost me nothing, set to disassembling her to see if a Leica CLA was a home DIY proposition.

I was surprised at how easy she was to break down into the various component parts, 30 minutes had her in pieces in a shoebox lid ( to capture dropped screws) and the reason for her malfunction was revealed, years of shredded film had accumulated around the shutter mechanism, seems a previous owner may have had issues with the whole Leica leader thing.

Anyhow, a quick set too with tweezers saw most of the debris removed and a Rocket blower finished off the job.

Re-assembly followed and I loaded her up with a 12 exposure roll to see if she was up to the job once more or whether she was destined for Ebay as a fixer upper.
Heading into Paris I decided on a mix of low light bright light shots to test the various speeds as I only had my ear to check the mechanism at home, the proof would be in the developed shots.
The Renault 8 Gordini shot was taken in the Renault showroom on Champs Elysees, using available light, it was hand held at 1/50 on Ilford FP4 125, processed at box speed in Rodinal R09 (New)
As you can see, despite being a pensioner she can still deliver the goods, and deliver them well.

Have I answered my own question?

Probably not, whilst there are still manufacturers out there producing the goods, folk, myself included, will continue to desire them.

But old still has an important place...

This was not intended as a full review of the IIIf, that will come at a later date.