D20, D24, D25 etc

[ColinMarr]

(This follows on from posts under the Retromobile thread)

Chris,

Yes, that B20/D20(?) replica was very memorable! I was busy on the track that day too, so my work was cut out to take photos, but here below are some more.

One shows my 6th Series B20 with others on the parade lap line up. The D20R (also owned by Anthony Maclean) looked wonderful, but I didn’t get to see under the bonnet or hear it run.

The D24 was quite extraordinary – the pictures show its trailing arm front suspension with inboard drum brakes, and another with the bonnet off. This car must be similar the one that Fangio drove to win the 1953 Pan-Mexico road race at an average speed of over 170 kph. The mind boggles!

Photo freaks might be interested to know that the colour photos were taken with my Olympus pocket and the B&W one was taken with an ex Roger Perry Leica that had recently been bequeathed to me.

Colin

[rogerelias]

Nice pics Colin, must get me eyes checked as cannot see the b&w piccy i also have a Leica mines a Leica II 1932

[frankxhv773t]

Mine's a IIIc. Aren't they just the perfect camere for taking pictures of old Lancias!

Oops. Are we in danger of starting a new thread for vintage cameras?

[ColinMarr]

Roger,

The B&W one is in General Chat, under Retromobile Paris – a thread I diverted here.

The scans colour above look poor quality. I can send email larger files to anyone interested.

Vintage rangefinder cameras…. yes there’s another world out there!

Colin

[JohnMillham]

Mine's a IIIc. Aren't they just the perfect camere for taking pictures of old Lancias!


Not in my opinion. They had dreadful viewfinders. The M series were a great improvement, but some say still not as good as their Zeiss competitors. I favour Nikon rangefinder cameras, which copied good points from each of the German makes.
Regards, John

[DavidLaver]

Ah - but with a bright line finder clicked to the top !!   I have one to match a 9cm Elmar on a scruffy IIIc with sharkskin.   Now how long a time since it saw a film...

David

[ColinMarr]

Come on then!

Let’s see some photos of your old Lancias and/ or any other interesting cars taken with Leica IIIc and whatever with a 9cm Elmar lens, with or without sharkskin.

Just to encourage you, here’s a photo of my B20 that I have posted before, but it does show the crispness possible from my Leica M2. But I must say my Olympus XA from 1980 was much easier to use and would still be giving me good results had it not be stolen in Paris five years ago – since when it’s been digital all the way.

Colin   

[lee69]

There's a thread on the Autosport.com forum about the D40 http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?s=6e34e11d0828ed66bf34d132ccef1685&showtopic=123185&st=0&p=4114233&#entry4114233

with a link to some period photos of D24s in action at Dundrod in 1954:

http://www.motorsport54.co.uk/carpages/153.htm scroll to the right for more

[ColinMarr]

More on the D24 - let’s forget about cameras for the time being!

Here’s a photo of a period Lancia poster to celebrate their 1-2-3 overall win in the 1953 Carrera Mexicana. I was wrong in my earlier quote – it seems Fangio’s average speed was 169.32 kph, covering 3077 kms in 18:11 hours.

Colin

[DavidLaver]

Sorry - but it was the matt black Uno - am assuming BWE - that jumped out the photos at me.

David

[Sliding Pillar]

Colin, the pic of your car on the track has me in my old B20 (49PE) wearing a  rather subtle jumper alongside. I have some pics of the D24 and B20 corsa from that day too. I will have to look them out and see if they show any more details. Ade.

[frankxhv773t]

"Not in my opinion. They had dreadful viewfinders. The M series were a great improvement, but some say still not as good as their Zeiss competitors. I favour Nikon rangefinder cameras, which copied good points from each of the German makes."

I admit the range-finding viewfinder on the Laica isn’t brilliant but the main viewfinder is much better than the Super IKonta I have used on Lambdas. The thing I like about the Leica is the feeling of solid engineering and mechanical precision. Add the ground breaking concept, trend setting design and continuing usability in the modern world and I think the parallels with Lancia bear recognising. That you can use a 2010 35mm cassette in a 1925 camera is pretty remarkable.

Still the film camera I use most is a Nikon so I guess we both came to the same conclusion in the end.

[ColinMarr]

Come on Frank - let's see some of your photos!

Colin

[frankxhv773t]

Trouble is Colin, I can't for the life of me remember which photos I took with which camera. Also I think I need Brian to give me a tutorial on scanning and uploading photos. Still, I like a challenge so watch this space.

[ColinMarr]

Frank, I know what you mean about forgetting which camera. Here’s a photo by Roger Perry taken in 1970 of my/our Flaminia – possibly taken with a Nikon FTN , or possibly a Leica M2 with long (maybe 90 mm?) Elmar lens. Either way, notice the Cartier Bresson style black-margin to show whole-frame and no cropping. I’ll also post this under Flaminia.

Yes please - I'll watch this space.

Colin