Anyone know about Niccas?

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dexdog

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Any thoughts on the Nicca type 33? There is a nice-looking Tower body listed on eBay at the moment, and I am tempted to bid on it. This camera looks similar to the Nicca 5L- any idea what the differences might be? I do not remember the 5L having a film reminder on the back. Not much available on the web using Google, unfortunately, other than one or two sites state that the Nicca 33 was rebadged as the Yashica YE.

I don't even know if the seller has ID'ed the camera correctly.

Whaddya think?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=110050805805&rd=1&rd=1

Thanks
 
Here's a page on the Tower 45/46 from the same web site... It's a really good resource for Leica copies.

Tower 45/46 (click)

Cheers!

Peter

ps Not sure what these go for usually (starting bid poss. a bit high without a lens?), but it certainly looks like a beauty! After getting the Tower type 3 from you it didn't take me long to get another... If I had the $$$ I'd definitely try to pick up one of the latter models. The Nicca's are just great cameras...
 
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Niccas are nice Leica clones. Pretty well made, not as well done as a Leica or Canon, but very nice. They also were sold as Tower cameras by Sears. I had a Tower Type 3 for a short while which is a pretty close clone of the IIIc. The cameras are nice, but the best part of that Tower was the 50/2 Nikkor screwed to the front of it. I kept the lens and resold the body.
 
that is a fairly high price without the 50/2 Nikkor.
these are nice cameras, perhaps not in the Leica league or even LTM Canons in terms of build quality.
watch out for wobbley wind levers on these models.
take up spools are not compatable with Leica , Canon or FSU models.
 
rover said:
Niccas are nice Leica clones... I had a Tower Type 3 for a short while which is a pretty close clone of the IIIc
Click to expand...

Not to nit pick with you Rover, but with the 500 top speed & the slow speed split at 1/20 are they are copies of the earlier III?

rover said:
The cameras are nice, but the best part of that Tower was the 50/2 Nikkor screwed to the front of it. I kept the lens and resold the body.
Click to expand...

I think the bodies are worthy of the glass... Admittedly, I haven't had the opportunity to play with too many leica & ltm canon rangefinders (never owned any), but my Nicca IIIS has as much quality 'feel' as I've ever experienced. I've even met a few leica 'snobs' - nice people really 🙂 - who were fooled when my CV meter was covering the engravings...

Peter
 
I too was impressed with the Tower I had. I guess my comment was more a compliment to the Nikkor than a comparison to the Leica or Canon. Personally, I do like the Canon best, but agree the Tower/Nicca was also nice.
 
The camera in your eBay link is a Nicca 5L/Tower 45 or 46, alright. I'd say the price is about $100 too high for a body alone, but the market will decide . . .

I had 3 & still have 2. They're very nice Leica copies &, like Gandy points out, combine some of the features of the Barnack Leicas (small size, only slightly larger than a IIIc) w/those of the M series (lever advance, flip-open back). Of course, they also have the same disadvantages (separate VF & RF windows, dual shutter speed dials). I think the build quality is fine, right up there w/a Barnack-style Canon & the Leotax, albeit less heavy than either. The lever advance on mine have been no wobblier than those on a Nikon S2/S3/SP (all of which are flimsier than those on a Leica M camera)--the later Yashica/Nicca YF is definitely a step down build-quality-wise (but has illuminated framelines).
 
furcafe said:
the later Yashica/Nicca YF is definitely a step down build-quality-wise (but has illuminated framelines).
Click to expand...

That's very intriguing given the amazing prices the YF goes for: I've never seen one "in the flesh" but I have to say that even in photographs it looks a lesser camera, although the idea of a "Screw M" is extremely tempting.

Cheers, Ian
 
I have an earlier model of Nicca with bottom loading (no flip up back), lever wind and 1/500 speed. It is a beauty - almost mint. The shutter noise is a resounding clack - more noise than my screwmount Leicas, but a solid sound - not cheap or tinny. And, the viewfinder/rangefinder isn't quiet as good as on my IIIc or IIIf, and the rangefinder doesn't have a diopter adjustment. But the wind mechanism is smooth as butter and the construction is really nice. John Maddox, a screwmount Leica repairman, lubricated the slow speed mechanism for me and said that my Tower/Nicca was a beautiful camera. The model with the flip-up back is quite uncommon and the camera on Ebay seems to be in great shape. Just my two cents worth.

Tom
 
I think the main reason that YFs go for so much is that they're pretty rare, as they were the last LTM RFs that Yashica/Nicca produced before moving onto SLRs, etc. The YE, which I've never seen in person but appears to be a stripped-down version of the YF (max shutter speed of 1/500th, etc.) is even rarer.

Re: build quality: Don't get me wrong, the interior mechanical parts of the YF (shutter, etc.) seem to be just as high quality as the earlier Nicca 5L, it's just that the exterior metal finish (some sort of diecast-type stuff) & fixtures (rewind knob, exposure counter) are definitely not as nice--the design is fine, but they evidently skimped on materials to keep costs down. The RF/VF isn't up to M Leica standards, but is pretty good & I like the framelines better than the Canon P or Nikon S3's reflected framelines; the design seems to be similar to that on the Nikon SP but without the changeable framelines (only 50mm & 90mm).

Jocko said:
That's very intriguing given the amazing prices the YF goes for: I've never seen one "in the flesh" but I have to say that even in photographs it looks a lesser camera, although the idea of a "Screw M" is extremely tempting.

Cheers, Ian
Click to expand...
 
the YF was an amazing rf camera for 1959.
they were selling for less than $ 100 a year later.
a camera with projected frame lines in the viewfinder, & at that at that time
was only found on the Leica M's and the Nikon SP.
I missed my chance of owning one , Yashinon lens and all, for less than a hundred dollars Canadian in 1989.
 
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