Best ever Barnack?

I prefer the Leica III over the Leica ll mainly because the focus of the lll is much better: the focus finder of the III has a magnification of the image of 1.5x while the ll has to make do with a focus magnification of 1x. However, a lot of Leicas ll were renewed right after the war and got then the same focus magnification as the lll. That makes these Leicas ll a lot more attractive.
 
Erik van Straten said:
However, a lot of Leicas ll were renewed right after the war and got then the same focus magnification as the lll. That makes these Leicas ll a lot more attractive.
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Is there a way to understand that Leica II was modified with magnified rangefinder? I'd like to get black II with such mod.
 
dab said:
Is there a way to understand that Leica II was modified with magnified rangefinder? I'd like to get black II with such mod.
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If it is a modification fitted after the point of manufacture, I imagine the only way to tell is to look through the rangefinder on the camera as there are likely very sparse records of what bodies were modified in this manner at Leica.

G
 
...and early II cameras had a tinted rangefinder which made things easier. This can be done easily on later cameras with a little bit of coloured film. Alternatively there are the Leitz filters, I forget the exact name but OKARO? ORAKO? These now sell for silly money.
 
Godfrey said:
If it is a modification fitted after the point of manufacture, I imagine the only way to tell is to look through the rangefinder on the camera as there are likely very sparse records of what bodies were modified in this manner at Leica.

G
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I was very lucky to get one - I assumed it was modified after the camera was manufactured in 1932 (S/N 829XX) I have no idea when the modification occurred.
Good luck with you hunt Godfrey
Leica II D.jpg
 
Dralowid said:
...and early II cameras had a tinted rangefinder which made things easier. This can be done easily on later cameras with a little bit of coloured film. Alternatively there are the Leitz filters, I forget the exact name but OKARO? ORAKO? These now sell for silly money.
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There's two different models of that little contrast filter.

The OKARO is the one for anything from the IIIc onwards - 11mm internal diameter. The ORAKO is the one for the earlier models with a 10mm internal diameter.

As for cost... one dealer in London currently has an OKARO available for £59 - but on eBay they're between £72 and £150! Absolutely daft.
 
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Best ever Barnack?​

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Why, Oskar! Of course!! 🙂

02-oskar-barnack-1280.jpg
 
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