A wartime Leica - So hard to get?

[Erik van Straten]

Erik: could you say a little more about why you consider the construction of the older series of Leicas to be much more solid? It is often written that the die cast body makes the IIIC more robust.

When you want to open a pre-IIIc body, you'll have to undo a forest of solid steel screws. It takes much more time to open a pre-IIIc body, but that means that the camera is a very solid whole. The IIIc is constructed with less screws and bigger parts. That makes the camera flimsy compared to the early cameras. Add to that the faster running shutter and you'll understand why a IIIc is much more fault-sensitive. They often leak light too.

Erik.

 

[jcb4718]

Thank you for the insight, Erik. So it seems that features were added (slow speeds and 1/1000 sec maximum speed) and the construction was simplified, all to to the detriment of absolute reliability and robustness, early screw mount vs. later screw mount cameras? It sounds like a typical manufacturing cycle! Features aside, did the early screw mounts have drawbacks that were addressed in later models?

 

[MISH]

I have a 36 III and a 39 Standard and have never had a problem with modern film cassettes. I am sure I am not the only one here that would enjoy seeing the picture of the OPs grandfathers camera store. Good luck with your search, since you live in Canada I would contact Setadel Studios, they are a sponsor here and always have a lot of great Leica for sale


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[Erik van Straten]

Thank you for the insight, Erik. So it seems that features were added (slow speeds and 1/1000 sec maximum speed) and the construction was simplified, all to to the detriment of absolute reliability and robustness, early screw mount vs. later screw mount cameras? It sounds like a typical manufacturing cycle! Features aside, did the early screw mounts have drawbacks that were addressed in later models?

There are also pre-IIIc models that have slow speeds, the Leica III, IIIa and IIIb. The mechanical construction of the slow speeds is very simple in those models and is less fault-sensitive than the complicated construction in the IIIc.
The Leica III is my favorite Barnack and it is available in black paint too!

I see no drawbacks in them compared to the IIIc or IIIf. The IIIg is another story.

Leica III black/nickel, Elmar 50mm f/3.5 nickel, 400-2TMY, Perceptol.

Erik.

 

[jcb4718]

Many thanks again, Erik. The thing I don't like about the IIIb is that the dioptre and rewind levers act via little holes in the top plate. This seemed a dubious design to me although I have no idea if it causes problems in practice. One last question (probably): why do you say 'The IIIg is another story'?