The Leica world lost one of its greatest proponents with Erwin Puts’ death last week after a short illness. Erwin was a good friend and I was devastated a few months ago when he was first diagnosed and learned nothing could be done.
Erwin, who was 77, was one of the foremost experts on Leica and was known and respected throughout the world. He had a lot of the excited little boy about him with a brilliant mind, always curious and wanting to know more, always with that twinkle in his eye that you can see in the accompanying photographs.
With an encyclopaedic knowledge of Leica history, especially the development of lenses through the decades, Erwin was happy in whatever level of company he found himself among. He was never an attention seeker or, in any accepted way, an extrovert. He was, in short, just a very genuine and thoroughly nice man.
Erwin’s book, The Leica Lens Compendium (Hove Books, 2001), first introduced me to his decisive and scientific mind, and I still regard it as the definitive evaluation of Leica lens development.
The late Michael Reichmann of Luminous Landscapes was equally impressed by the authority of this weighty tome: “It is one of the most valuable photographic books that I have added to my library in recent years. It is a book every photographer interested in lenses and optical theory should immediately add to his or her collection, whether they are a Leica owner or not.”
Erwin had a knack for appealing to readers of varying technical ability and knowledge. Those who did not necessarily seek the full scientific explanation but, as with modern media, were content to dip in and out or fast forward to a few pages to reach a concise and well-crafted conclusion. He impressed by his ability to provide careful and scientifically derived facts resulting from his exhaustive testing. He never over-emphasised his opinions, leaving it to the reader to decide from their own perspective and requirements whether a particular lens was for them.
My wife Jo and I met Erwin and Els Puts when they came over to England from his native Netherlands to join the Leica Fellowship and take part in one of our annual meetings. I confess to being almost desperate to meet the man whose writings about all things Leica had become legendary. What a joy that first meeting was, as the wet weather put paid to our photographic ambitions and we all sat around chatting to Erwin, questioning him and listening enthralled to someone we all knew was a master.
He loved his Leicas, especially the M3 and MP film cameras, but was scrupulously fair to the digital M models as well, although one sensed he was never quite as keen as on some of Leica’s other digital models. However, if put into context in mere Leica terms, it’s enough to say that this man was a legend. His talents were recognised throughout the world, though he was so grounded that I doubt if he ever knew how much esteem he enjoyed.
Since our first meeting, Jo and I have frequently met Erwin and Els and shared many happy experiences. We had hoped to meet again in 2020, but, sadly, the pandemic prevented us from going to Holland despite Erwin’s diagnosis.
Erwin will be sorely missed by his many friends, by my colleagues in the Leica Fellowship, and by Leica students throughout the world. I will remember him as one of the kindest, friendliest of men, one of the most grounded, yet most knowledgeable figures I have ever been privileged to meet.
All images © Don Morley
Erwin Puts reviews the Leica M10-D on Macfilos
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Hi
Anyone who has a digital PDF of “Leica Pocket Guide 1953 – 2018” by Erwin Puts
Cheers
J;-Danke
Dear Mr. Morley,
thank you for this wonderfull article. Since now, Erwin Puts is not mentioned on Wikipedia.
I am not a professional, so an expert should write a Wikipedia article. He really has deserved it.
Could yo do it?
Kind regards from an Leica Amateur,
Prof. Dr. Günther Rötter
Dear Don, dear all, it is only now that find out about this group and admirers of Erwin. I knew there must be many, as his blogs are so outstanding – written often in English – that he must have had a large group of followers. I have been in exchange with him, mainly on my M8.2 for which he always had so many compliments, considering it to stand above some of the following models. This made me very proud and I found it intriguing that someone would celebrate this (almost) first digital model and be so full of scrutiny and attention to detail when it came to the digital bodybuilding that shapes the world of photography these days. It was so rewarding to read his blogs. I am very glad that he had close friends like you and to learn that his wife Els has been at his side during all these years. Even for me, only knowing his blogs, it feels like a star falls down from heaven. I am very sad to see him go.
I might be late in finding out that Erwin Puts has passed away, I wrote this today on Steve Hoffman Forums
… but if like me you have a book of his then perhaps you knew he effectively withdrew from the Leica world due to perhaps not agreeing where Leica were going in 2020 and in the future …but now clearly it was that perhaps but mainly illness driven and is truly sad for such a brilliant mind and engaging person ..i for one will miss him and his self published books of which i have a good few.
i’m listening to Ryo Fukui on Mellow Dream and in particular My Funny Valentine a tune that i find heartbreakingly sad at times and uplifting at others by different players … Ryo’s here feels appropriately meloncholy.
Erwin …a man i never met in person but his books i devoured and over the years our emails had become a little chatty even if only confirming a book pre-order (he sold them direct and self published) ..he was always very polite and became even a little witty in his replies to me ..his world, the world of the old ethos of “amateur reviewer” and i mean that in the best way in that he would not be swayed in putting forth his opinions due to commercial gain and never hurried, in fact he railed against those reviewers who no longer spent months to fully understand a product, in his case primarily cameras & Lenses, and did reviews in hours or a few days at most.
I’m not sure we will see again a man acknowledged to hold an encyclopedic knowledge of a brand (Leica cameras) who was so generous with his time and so able to convey often complex engineering and scientific concepts in such an easily digestible way.
Today has turned into a sad one, upon my learning this news, i’m sorry all if i’ve taken the thread a bit off track …but if we were sat chatting all together in a jazz playing coffee house, a bar or at a jazz club this is a loss i would be sharing with you all.
RIP Erwin my thoughts are with Els and all the family
I bought a number of Leica M lenses, knowing which version I wanted after studying his reports.
Yes, I saw him as bigger than life
. revisiting passages multiple times, seeing how different designs synthesized, always consuming.One of my most important reference books. RIP Irwin
Erwin Puts was a technical and artistic person all in one… his passing is a loss to the whole photographic community. His love for Leica will not be forgotten.
Sad news, indeed. Thank you for letting us know.
A significant loss to the Leica community – my condolences to his family and friends.
Well said Don, nice tribute. He will be very much missed.
As others have said, great company and always very willing to share his knowledge and views. I found out he was terminally ill some months back and must confess that until his passing I didn’t realise his age and thought he was much younger, which also says something about his character!
RIP Erwin – and thoughts are with Els.
Dear Don,
I never had the luck to meet Erwin Puts personally, but your obituary is a great tribute to this very knowledgeable man. I bought a PDF version of his Leica Compendium not long ago, and it is a very good resource for Leica facts. I never agreed to all he wrote but I always knew that his love of Leica was real — including the occasional deep disappointment of sombody who is emotionally involved. To all of you who mourn the loss of a personal friend, I send my heartfelt condolences.
Jörg-Peter
Don, you have written a lovely tribute to our mutual friend, Erwin Puts. Your pictures also capture his love of photography and his friends. In fact, when I recall memories of him, he was always surrounded by members with questions on their lips, or admirers just eager to absorb his words of wisdom. Erwin is such a great loss to the photographic world. RIP dear friend.
David I so agree with you and our shared opinions about such a lovely, kind, and generously spirited man.
EP’s contributions to Leica lore over so many years are a legacy to be enjoyed by Leica enthusiasts worldwide. There is never a week goes by when I do not consult his Leica Lens Compendium (1st Edition, published 2001). And his 2018 Limited Edition ‘Leica Pocket Guide’ is a particularly useful reference for the schematic diagrams of later Leica lenses. R.I.P. Erwin Puts.
Very nice piece on Erwin, Don. I never had the privilege of meeting the man and, in truth, there would be others whose writings on Leica matters that I would consult more often, but Erwin’s knowledge of and enthusiasm for his subject will always be remembered. He certainly seems to have impressed anyone who met him and that is a true mark of any man.
William
His ‘Compendium’ is always on my Mac, my iPad and my phone (..in .pdf or some other electronic form ..so it’s weightless, intangible, but instantly accessible for reference, and easily searched!..) and it’s like having an encyclopaedically-knowledgeable pal always by one’s side.
I don’t have anything tangible of his, but only his dissections and explanations. And, of course, if you want to know any detail about when some lens or body was made (for instance my M3 number 706676) ..just search for the serial number in his’ ‘Compendium’ ..it’s all there!