3oob
Member
3oob
Member
IIIc 1950
3oob
Member
IIIg 1957
skahde
V for Victory!
Recently I had to send of my M4 for a CLA which was estimated at 12 weeks. To scratch the itching of not having an analogue rangefinder I looked into the local ads and found a IIIf with a bunch of welcome accessories. Here it is, more or less as advertise, except for the finder and the case. The previous owner inherited it from his uncle who was its proud owner until he passed away not very long ago. Clean, working, no dings or dents. I hope I deserve that much luck, otherwise I don't know how karma will equal this out. Here it is...
Malcolm M
Well-known
More on the Leica 1 I bought a couple of weeks ago.
A couple more views from different angles….
The good news. There appear to be no pinholes or other light leaks in the shutter….
The shutter run is even, even at 1/500….
All the pictures are lopsided, even when the camera was levelled up with a spirit level. Presumably this is down to the well-known fact that the original Leica reloadable cassettes are slightly longer than Kodak’s standard. O-ring needed.
The film only rewinds when the shutter release is pressed down. A new one to me. Is this a design feature of the original Leicas?
And the flies in the ointment. F18 should not be significantly the sharpest aperture. I measured the distance carefully, but I suppose it’s not impossible I set the focus incorrectly (whoever deigned the controls on these cameras obviously didn’t have the eyesight of a median RFF member). I wonder if the lens has been removed at some point and not reshimmed correctly. More testing needed.
And on three or four consecutive frames, something went wrong with the wind-on, producing some interesting effects...
A couple more views from different angles….
The good news. There appear to be no pinholes or other light leaks in the shutter….
The shutter run is even, even at 1/500….
All the pictures are lopsided, even when the camera was levelled up with a spirit level. Presumably this is down to the well-known fact that the original Leica reloadable cassettes are slightly longer than Kodak’s standard. O-ring needed.
The film only rewinds when the shutter release is pressed down. A new one to me. Is this a design feature of the original Leicas?
And the flies in the ointment. F18 should not be significantly the sharpest aperture. I measured the distance carefully, but I suppose it’s not impossible I set the focus incorrectly (whoever deigned the controls on these cameras obviously didn’t have the eyesight of a median RFF member). I wonder if the lens has been removed at some point and not reshimmed correctly. More testing needed.
And on three or four consecutive frames, something went wrong with the wind-on, producing some interesting effects...
karlin
Well-known
leica ii 1932
hexanon uc 35
LLL remake of WEISU
Luigi half case
hexanon uc 35
LLL remake of WEISU
Luigi half case
Last edited:
Erik van Straten
Mentor
When the "rewind lever" is put on "R", the shutter runs down, but this should be with the shutter curtains closed.
When rewinding the film, the "rewind lever" must be on "R".
I see that with your camera, when the shutter runs down on 1/500, the left side of the picture is "over" exposed. This means that the shutter tension is incorrect. The tension of the curtains is set by the two setscrews on the bottom of the shutter crate. A correct tension is very important, but to achieve that is for beginners not easy.
Nice camera, I love the Leicas with the mushroom release!
Erik.
Last edited:
Erik van Straten
Mentor
gelatin silver print (elmar 50mm f3.5 1930) leica 1a
Amsterdam, 2018
Erik.
Amsterdam, 2018
Erik.
Tuna
Fotoğrafçı
IIIc
Dralowid
Michael
Congratulations, that's a good looking camera but you may find that lens hood, which was originally designed for darkroom use, too heavy and cumbersome.
qqphotos
Established
Erik van Straten
Mentor
I have the 40mm too, but I wonder if Leica users can use that lens properly. Yes, I have the Voigtländer 40mm viewfinder too, but what an ugly thing that is! Does not fit at all with the fine aesthetics of the screw mount leicas and the beautiful black 40mm lens.
It would be nice if Voigtländer made the following LTM black lacquered lenses for the users of the screw leicas: 35mm f2.8 and 50mm f2.5 and that she also made metal black lacquered mirror viewfinders for these.
Erik.
Tuna
Fotoğrafçı
Hi - not sure what you mean by “designed for darkroom” as the hood is specifically designed for the type of lens it is attached to (5/3.5 Elmar). Fits perfectly in the notch designed to move through apertures when screwed into place and front element turned. Maybe there are old enlarger lenses designed similarly but the hood on the lens as we see it does a great job of reducing flare on the uncoated lens and doesn’t throw off the balance as it is light enough to allow me to capture many fantastic, award-winning, unbelievable images such that you have never seen before…
Last edited:
Deardorff38
Mentor
I bought another one (in fine condition)
in Paris last summer for what seemed like a song....at the Leica Shop no less. That's been a lucky spot for me several times.please excuse the M camera under the finder....
Erik van Straten
Mentor
gelatin silver print (heliar 40mm f2.8) leica lll
Utrecht, 2022
Erik.
Utrecht, 2022
Erik.
Dralowid
Michael
In them there far off days Leitz encouraged the use of the Elmar as an enlarging lens as well as a taking lens. Not unusual for the period. That hood makes adjusting the aperture in near dark conditions so much easier. They also made something that fits inside a normal FISON hood and allows you to adjust aperture by twisting the hood, which is a little mad bearing in mind that you would have to release the hood's clamp to adjust the aperture. It was called VOOLA and I am now going off to bed congratulating myself for remembering its name...
Deardorff38
Mentor
How's the change from M going for you? I loved my '34 lll but could never dump the M.
cary
Well-known
Leica IIIA, 5cm Summar, 3.5cm Elmar and 9cm Elmar.
Erik van Straten
Mentor
gelatin silver print (hektor 50mm f2.5) leica ll
Babruysk, Belarus, 2001
Erik.
Babruysk, Belarus, 2001
Erik.
Malcolm M
Well-known
I found the answer to my own question. From Leica Manual, 15th Edition, 1973...
"Minor improvements were introduced in February 1929: the shutter-release button, which up to then had a spherical top, was replaced by a flat-topped release with a threaded base…. The new release button was depressed automatically when the rewind lever was set on “R.”"
The implication is, that before this the shutter release had to be held down during rewinding. And I'd never previously noticed that turning the rewind to R depresses the shutter release, But it's true!