Airline strikes are not new. 50 years of historical photographs.

TWA planes stand idle during the 1961 Strike in the US Photography has the amazing ability to freeze moments in time, as we are a reminded in this stunning collection of images. Scrolling through these 50 images from 1961 is like taking a walk through history – from the inauguration of John F. Kennedy as [...]

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Looking for a photographic workshop with a difference. Try this one.

The Dawn of Photography workshops are run by The Eastman Musuem.  This particular workshop is run in the historic village of Lacock, England where the  Lacock Abbey was once home to Henry Fox Talbot. Who produced the world’s first photographic negatives in the mid-1830s and thus this place is considered the birthplace of negative/positive photography. [...]

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Improve your Photography. Learn about yourself.

If you are going to pay to learn about something there is one key factor that will make the difference between just completing  a course or actually achieving a transformation. The quality of the teacher.  Lenard Metcalf is a teacher and trainer of the highest calibre and also a very accomplished photographer. Len’s runs Len’s [...]

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New Voigtlander 75mm 1.8 M lens. The Heliar Classic.

Just announced from the factory! The team at Cosina have released a completely new fast 75mm M mount lens. The Heliar Classic looks like it will be a little winner. especially for those who own M8 cameras. Available mid Sept 2010 expected price of $795.00 AUD Specifications: Lens construction: 3 groups of 6 elements Aperture [...]

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Leica pulls a rabbit out of their hat. Will the M9 become the digital equal of the M6.

Well then…. Leica get’s it right with the M9… kind of reminds me of the M5 and then Leica got it right with the highly successful M6 which sold virtually unchanged for 24 years! Now that’s what I call a product life cycle. This camera will be a winner on all front’s for them. Full [...]

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Could it be that the Leica M9 release is about to become a reality?

NOW 100% confirmed the event is for the S2 and M9 release!!!! Doing the rounds of Leica dealers and the like here in OZ is a flyer inviting those valued folks to a secret and special PREMIERE EVENT! Maybe Leica has employed the security team from Apple and actually managed to keep the M9 completely [...]

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Leica M9 rumors… we have it on very good authority that…

It seems that the M9 is due to become a reality sooner than we think! As an interesting thing happened today… we had a visit from the manager of one of Australia’s biggest Leica dealers who stated the following! ( disclaimer we are not a Leica reseller): That Leica distributors worldwide are accepting orders for [...]

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Bessa III review by Ed Dale

Mainline Customer and recent Bessa III purchaser is so delighted with his camera that he has sent through this personal hands on review. Ed writes: Is this camera worth the expense?. Does it take a good photo? Does it work? Does it make sense? The Short Review – This camera is superb. But I suspect [...]

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A visit to the Leica factory! History, beer and gossip by Geoff Hopkinson.

Mainline customer Geoff Hopkinson and rangefinder fanatic got the chance of a lifetime to visit the fatherland and the Leica factory! Geoff writes: Scott knows me as a Leica M enthusiast and Mainlinephoto is on speed dial here; always an absolute pleasure to deal with. In June I was lucky enough to visit Germany with [...]

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The Travelling Bessa III is on it’s way!

Our Travelling Bessa III has arrived and is now with it’s first participant. A happy Phil Ramsden picks up the camera!  While Rufus continues snoring… Our first delivery has sold out!  in fact we did not even get the quantity we ordered. Cosina are short of production  time and only produced 100 in this run.  [...]

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Nokton 1.1 50mm my first take on this fast lens.

I didn’t spend as much time with the Nokton 1.1 as I wished I could have. But here are some first shots taken on the M8 no IR filter and just on fine jpeg. The lens feels good to shoot with and mechanically is superb. Like anything well made the lens becomes a part of [...]

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They have arrived! The most sought after Voigtlander M lens ever! The Nokton 50mm 1.1

Well we finally have received our first delivery of the Nokton 50mm 1.1 lenses! This has been ( going by the number of pre-orders) the most sought after Cosina-Voigtlander made product ever. So we are going to be busy packing and shipping for the next day or so. But for your viewing pleasure here are [...]

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New Canon Rangefinder book… a must have.

Canon collector and writer Peter Kitchingman has published the first of three volumes on the Canon Rangefinder system. This first 215 page volume focuses solely on the M39 lenses made by Canon over the years 1933 to 1971. A customer has loaned me his copy and it is an outstanding piece of work! As a [...]

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New 50mm f1.1 Nokton M mount from Voigtlander!

Hot gossip from the factory in Japan!! Our inside source has told us that this new 50mm f1.1 Nokton lenses performance is up there with the big L brand or in fact betters it. Only time will tell on that one, but for the time being be very, very excited! What will they bring out [...]

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Tim Isaac goes design crazy! His new soft releases are the best yet!

Are strange things going on in Tim’s mind? Has he been imbiding in Absinthe? Watching too much Roadrunner on cable? Who knows but we couldn’t wait to see and try his latest soft release range. I mean with names like beep, bop and bip… who wouldn’t. Well folks here is my review after using all [...]

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The Traveling Bessa III Australia project. Get to use one for 14 days!

Here at Mainlinephoto we know that many of our customers would love to own a Bessa III, but just cannot afford one. The price just blew out due to circumstances beyond our control. So in order to give everyone a fair chance to at least use one and have some fun. We have instigated the [...]

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New Voigtlander 15mm 4.5 M mount lens. First take. Very nice!

Cosina certainly are not the type of company to sit back and watch the world pass them by. Every new product they bring out is a winner and here is another one. We have just received our first delivery of the new 15mm M mount lens. Which while the same optically ( razor sharp and [...]

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More on the 28mm Ultron f2 M lens P.Lynn Millers review

Photographer and bicycle wheel building master P.Lynn Miller has spent some time with his new toy the Voigtlander 28mm Ultron and has given permission to repost some of his images and comments here on the Mainline blog. After spending a few days with the Ultron 28mm f2.0, I am even more impressed with this lens. [...]

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How to load a Leica M6 a short instructional Video.

Tom Abrahamson of Rapidwinder.com has produced this short video on how to quickly and correctly load film into any of the late production M film bodies. Thanks Tom!

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More New gear… Artisan and Artist Camera bags and cases

Artisan and Artist bags and accessories now available in Australia! “No ordinary bags for your camera these are your invisible assistant in the field – Be like the ninja all black and unseen!” Imported from a small company who’s artisans hand craft these bags in Tokyo, these discrete new camera bags are as fashionable for [...]

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