anyone use IIIC daily?

atelier7 · 10-17-2005

Is there anyone here who use the bottom loading cameras as their daily shooter?
what's been the + and - so far?

Kin Lau · 10-17-2005

Not quite daily, but I do use my IIIa + Summar fairly often.

Bottom loading, separate RF & VF are a pain, but it's very compact, feels lovely and just encourages me to shoot.

Joerg · 10-17-2005

Well I intend to shoot daily. It is my every day schlepp around.
And it is fun too.
And it get a lot of attention...;-)

Joerg

Solinar · 10-17-2005

I alternate between a FED 2 and Leica IIIf. The pluses are they slender, compact little shooters that are unintimidating to the general public. Minuses are as mentioned for the IIIa are trimming film leaders, the strange magnified RF and having to use a separate bright line finder for framing.

Also on the plus side, they make me think about ambient lighting and I never have to chase the center LED of a viewfinder meter.

Gordon Coale · 10-17-2005

My IIIc is now always in my coat pocket. Lately my J12 has been living on the IIIc and my J8 is in my other coat pocket. I love shooting with it. I also carry a small pair of scissors in an inside coat pocket. Trimming the leader sure makes the film load easier!

Dan Chang · 10-17-2005

Gordon, Leica glass is not that expensive, Summarit is dirty cheap.

Dan Chang · 10-17-2005

Black lacquer IIIc

richiedcruz · 10-17-2005

I alternate my IIIC with a Kodak IIIS and a Voigtlander Bessa L and agree with the positives listed above. Unlike most, I find that I got used to loading it. I also use a sport finder which I absolutely love, and do not really bother with the built in viewfinder. I usually zone focus, so the seperate rangefinder window is not much of an issue for me.

The only negatives are that the slow speeds are off and I am going to have to send it off for a CLA

That, and the fact that my fear of shutter curtain burn means that I never use it around dawn or dusk.

Richie

wlewisiii · 10-17-2005

I have a sneaking suspicion that once I get it running correctly, my new to me Canon IVSB with a Jupiter 8 is going to see a lot of use. That just fell right into my hands like only a Contax has done before.

William

Gordon Coale · 10-17-2005

Dan -- Great looking IIIc! My IIIc had a Summitar on it with some haze. I did a quick and dirty comparison with my J8 here. Those Jupiters are pretty nice. Sharp and contrasty. I paid $35 for my mint J8 and $47 for my *very* clean J12. I'm not sure more money is going to make a big improvement. They are nice. That and I don't have more money. (If I did I would buy an Arsat Zodiak 30mm for my Salut-S but don't let anyone know -- it's not a rangefinder.)

Honus · 10-17-2005

My IIIc is with me 90% of the time, usually with the CV 35/2.5 on board. The + is that it is compact, handles like a jewel and provides excellent results. The - is that it gives me serious GAS.

A recent example with HP5+ and XTOL -

FPjohn · 10-18-2005

Hello:

My every other day camera is a 111b with a 25mm Skopar. Great point and shoot as they were ment to be. I wish I had the second, brightline, finder as the edges of the frame are always an adventure.

yours
Frank

aad · 10-18-2005

Hi-

I'm using a iiif nearly every day now- I load film sans scissors using the TTL technique I found on Mediajoy and Cameraquest, so that hasn't been a bother.

+: It's compact, feels good and has me looking for opportunities to shoot.

-: I've had it a short time and I'm buying stuff already.

xcapekey · 10-18-2005

i carry my iiia with me all the time...i'm pretty quick to focus with it and i'm over the sep. rangefinder/viewfinder hump...i use a FSU turret finder that i find is accurate..adds a little bulk, but i can live with it...

great conversation starter, btw

Richard Black · 10-18-2005

I use an my IIIc but probably not enough. I have a Vivitar 35ES for a carry around, and I use a Bessa R with a 28mm lens. The Leica usually wears an exceptional Jupiter 12. I love the look it gives with Kodak's B&W C41 stuff, and Tri X of course.

Gordon Coale · 10-18-2005

Richard -- I just want to thank you for your post some months ago where you introduced your IIIc that you just got back from Oleg which reminded me that Oleg does old Leicas and I had IIIc that needed new shutter curtains but couldn't afford to have it done but Oleg did it for $60 with a nice CLA and it returned working so fine!

captainslack · 10-18-2005

My IIf will more than likely get a lot of use, but it's currently in Oleg's capable hands. Can't wait for it to come back!!! The Industar-22 I got for it looks rather lonely without by itself.

FrankS · 10-18-2005

Taking inspiration from you guys, I loaded up my IIIc with 400asa B+W Agfa film just now and will be taking it around with me for the next while. I screwed on a J12 and slipped on a 35mm ext finder. My col. 50mm f3.5 FED lens pretty much dissappears inside the rear cap of the J12.