Leica LTM I have a goal: IIc or IIf by Jan. 1

[paulfish4570]

Thanks, Steve. That is very helpful.
I'd sure like to find a camera show within driving distance ...

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The Canon bottom loaders do not have a diopter adjustment, they have a variable magnification for the finder. The finder has an optic that flips into different positions, allow use of a 35mm lens, 50mm lens, and "tele" which is about a ~135mm lens.

The bottom loading Canon bodies use a lever that is in the same position as the Leica Diopter adjust, but has a different function.

Personally- If the Lynx and Konica work for you, the Canon P or Canon 7 would be perfect. The Canon VI-L (lever advance) and VI-T (trigger advance) are also the same basic size, the VI-T being taller and heavier.

 

[paulfish4570]

Thanks, Brian, for not letting me walk down assumption road on the diopter.

No odd lever advance for me. I like the plain ol' thumb wind lever, and the knurled wind knob.

I reckon this thread ought to have a different title now ... 🙂

 

[raid]

Paul,
I started a new thread on Canon P cameras ... for you.

Canon P: Chrome-Black-Olive

 

[paulfish4570]

Thanks, Raid. I found it ...

 

[raid]

Once you hold a P, you are addicted to it.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Once you hold a P, you are addicted to it.

Dear Raid,

Sorry, can't agree. I had several Canons in my 20s and 30s. I have none now. Not everyone sees their appeal.

Cheers,

R.

 

[john neal]

Raid,

I love the idea of the P, unfortunately (for me) it doesn't live up to the promise. I find it heavy and unbalanced compared to any of my Barnacks. Great VF, but in an unlikeable body (sorry!)

 

[raid]

Hi Roger, Hi John,

Disagreeing on "likes" is not really an issue.
I don't have to dislike what you dislike and you don't have to like what I happen to like.
I see their appeal.
There are many different cameras around for people to like or dislike.

 

[David Murphy]

Paul your instincts are very good. Get a IIf, it is one of the finest cameras ever made and a good collectible too.

 

[john neal]

Hi Roger, Hi John,

Disagreeing on "likes" is not really an issue.
I don't have to dislike what you dislike and you don't have to like what I happen to like.
I see their appeal.
There are many different cameras around for people to like or dislike.

Hi raid,

That's very true - I actually like the P, just can't seem to get on with it when I use it. It should be a cheap M2, but just somehow doesn't suit me. Shame really, cuz I do like it a lot 🙂

 

[paulfish4570]

I may yet get back on the screwmount Leica kick. The prices are about the same as the P and 7. And I have been getting some very sharp pics with my FED (when it is not capping).
Hand tremors have lessened considerably as long as I don't drink too much caffeine, and as long as I don't do strenuous manual labor or get really anxious/excited right before I shoot (an adrenaline rush HUGELY magnifies tremors).
My job as a custodian (all of that mopping and wiping and sweeping, you know) has brought back a lot of hand/wrist strength, which also has helped dampen tremors.
I want a RELIABLE ltm body to fit my I-61 and I-50; I have a really good copy of each ...

FED/I-50:

FED/I-61:

 

[paulfish4570]

Here is another question for wolves, et al: can a FED (I especially like the 2b) be made as relibable as a CLA'd P or ltm Leica?

 

[rxmd]

If unsure, don't get either. You'll spend money and regret it. Make up your mind first, or don't buy anything.

In the meantime, give your capping FED-2 a CLA, for example using this CLA guide, these tips, this guide on viewfinder service (actually taken from this RFF thread, and these tips on shutter curtain tension. It's really well documented by now, and there's lots of people here to ask questions. You'll get a shooter that, in practice, is the equal of a screwmount Leica, and as a bonus you'll get the added satisfaction of having done it yourself.

I don't know if it will be every bit as reliable as a Leica, and people are usually quite opinionated. It will be a reliable camera, though.

 

[paulfish4570]

I may try that, rxmd, if I can just get my head around the instruction. I am extremely left-brained ...

 

[paulfish4570]

I got the top off. I was amazed at the parts. I got it back together. The ordeal took 3 hours. The camera works as it has. No more investigations like that for me. My fingers no longer have the micro skills necessary to go any farther.
So, any fixing will have to go to someone with skills ...

 

[rxmd]

I got the top off. I was amazed at the parts. I got it back together.

This is actually far more than most people can claim on their first attempt 😉

 

[paulfish4570]

The mechanics made sense to me as I watched them move during winding, firing, focusing, dioptering.
I had to take the top off twice when I found the diopter lever was not yet in the correct spot. Had to have both screw-in windows in place inorder to see if I had the diopter worker properly. Third time was the charm. The only evidence of dried grease was in the top of the wind-on shaft, where there shouldn't have been any, and a tiny bit of dried grease that fell from the underside of one of the gears.
Everything else was CLEAN.
I did put itsy-bitsy tads of ultra-good gun grease on shafts in the firing mechanism that I could reach that move up and down.
Mistake? Who knows? Shutter is moving as it should per speed ...

 

[raid]

Congratulations, Paul. I have never been "there" as you have.

 

[paulfish4570]

It is a scary thing, Raid, when I have about the same fingertip control of tiny screws as I have chopstick control over individual grains of rice. some of those screws are TINY ...