canon lll has arrived!

[back alley]

and she is lovely.
so smooth and pretty. leo did not do her justice in his description of her.
i am again amazed at how petite these cameras are.

the viewfinder is a bit dim/hazy, as was described. i think i can live with that. this will mostly be a back up, use with a 50mm in the outdoor light kinda camera.
i'll have to see if flare is a problem.
it was recently cla'd so i am assuming another cleaning wont help much.

and my 50/1.8 is a bit stiff at the close focussing range. the 35/2.8 is nice & smooth. any ideas as to what might be causing that?

i must wait for the 50/1.9 to return and see how that one does on it as that will be the mated pair. (till i change my mind).

anyway, i'm pleased and if you ever have cause to do business with leo (lkgroup) he has my slap on the back as a good guy.

joe

 

[rover]

You are the Canon Man.

 

[back alley]

picture, if you will, a large round man, bald head, grinning like a complete idiot...

 

[rover]

I only need to look in a mirror. 😀

 

[Mark W]

I got one TOO!

I got one TOO!

I really enjoy my model III I have a rapid Winder mounted on it complete with the handle makes it like using a motor drivew without the noise.

I agree they don't have the best viewfinders but compared to the crap in a contemeray Leica their wonder full.. My 1952 IIIf RD took twice as long to focus a photo then the 1951 Model III does.

A most enjoyable camera.

 

[John Shriver]

Having just replaced the shutter curtains in my Canon IIF, I can note that they are very nicely built inside. (Takes a complete stripdown of the shutter mechanism to replace the curtains!) Quite a few detail changes over the Leica IIIa, which clearly made it more manufacturable, more of a mass production camera. The closing curtain brake isn't as sophisticated as the one in the Leica IIIc, it's really just a catch, but it does the job just fine. Very solid design.

The only thing I don't like is the design of the adjustment points for the shutter curtain tensions. They bind up. I made a special screwdriver for the nut, maybe it should have been a hollow-shafted one?

I also appreciate that all the mirrored surfaces inside the veiwfinder/rangefinder are internal. The beamsplitter is a cemented pair of prisms. The moving mirror is a prism. So you can clean to your heart's content without worrying about washing away any silvering. But perhaps it's a bit less well sealed against dirt than the Leica RF, but it's so much nicer to use that I don't care.

I will note that the RF in a Leica IIIa, if you have replaced the beam-splitter mirror with a fresh one, is really quite bright. But I do not like the double window. I've never used a IIIc, but I don't really think that the closer windows would make a big difference. I have always liked the Canon RF/VF architecture since I first fiddled with a friend's S-II. The multiple magnifications in the II, III, and IV series are just icing on the cake.

 

[back alley]

mark & john, how would you describe the view through the finder?

mine is hazy (i think that's the best way to describe it).
the iv sb finder is much more clear.

if you have looked through both of these would you say they are similar or is the iv sb just better.
also, if the lll had been cleaned recently what else would cause this haziness? could it be the silvering on the mirrors?

so many questions i know, but i do appreciate the answers greatly.
this is new territory for me.

joe

 

[back alley]

just noticed that the bottom plate for the lll has the smaller tripod hole w/o the use of an adapter, and that camera is older than the iv sb which needs the adapter, hhhmmm...

anyway- my m grip fits the lll nicely. not quite the perfect fit as with the p but it's not sloppy either. and for film changing, the whole plate/grip unit just pops off easily.

need more grips now...

joe

 

[ray_g]

mark & john, how would you describe the view through the finder?

mine is hazy (i think that's the best way to describe it).
the iv sb finder is much more clear.

if you have looked through both of these would you say they are similar or is the iv sb just better.
also, if the lll had been cleaned recently what else would cause this haziness? could it be the silvering on the mirrors?

so many questions i know, but i do appreciate the answers greatly.
this is new territory for me.

joe

Joe, a new CV 50mm brightline finder would be really nice, now that you are into these older bottom loaders. It will give you the 1:1 magnification you are used to with the P.

Got mine in the mail today. Nice.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7152&highlight=viewfinder

 

[BJ Bignell]

also, if the lll had been cleaned recently what else would cause this haziness? could it be the silvering on the mirrors?

You want me to take a look at these sometime, see if I can clean them up a bit more, or at least try to discover the cause of any haze? I'm not promising anything, but I'm always up for a project... 'specially with someone else's stuff! 😀

 

[back alley]

but that finder won't help me focus any quicker with a hazy vf will it?
nah!

but, IF my 28 ever shows, it has a finder with it and a 28 with a 400 speed film and lots of dof and careful use of hyperfocal distance just might alleviate the need for focussing altogether.
pretty clever fellow i am...😉

joe

 

[ray_g]

but that finder won't help me focus any quicker with a hazy vf will it?
nah!

but, IF my 28 ever shows, it has a finder with it and a 28 with a 400 speed film and lots of dof and careful use of hyperfocal distance just might alleviate the need for focussing altogether.
pretty clever fellow i am...😉

joe

Hmmm...just got back from doing some reading in the Canon Museum. I had (wrongly) assumed your III had separate RF and VF windows, and that your problem was only with a hazy VF.

Impressive that Canon had combined RF/VF very early on.

 

[ScottS]

just noticed that the bottom plate for the lll has the smaller tripod hole w/o the use of an adapter, and that camera is older than the iv sb which needs the adapter, hhhmmm...

joe

Yeah, the two tripod hole sizes were used side-by-side even with Leica. My M2 has the larger hole, but I've got a screw-mount body with the smaller hole.

Scott

 

[Mark W]

Tripod holes depended on the origional market the camera was made for both Canon and Leica from what I have been told.

The finder on my III which has been cleaned is still a little hazer then I would like. I would put it up to aging of the silver. The patch is still quite good and I don't have any problem focusing except under real low light conditions and then I would with anything but a ligt source. Been thinking about acrring a little red lazer with me to paint the subject and make focusing easier!

good thin I don't do street LOL

 

[back alley]

thanks mark. it sounds like mine is kinda normal then.
maybe next year, i think i'll start looking for a iv sb2.
sounds like the best of the best.
joe

 

[VictorM.]

Joe: I mailed the adapter and the infinity lock (L---a, but it might fit) a couple of days ago. The different tripod thread sizes are normal; at one time one was considered North American standard (1/4") and the other was European (3/8"). The bottom loaders are mesmerizing. I owned one in the early 70's and recently traded my P for a IIF without regret. The 50/3.5 Serenar no longer has to fight the Summitar for a place on a screw mount body. They each have their own.

 

[back alley]

thanks victor, very generous of you.

i had known that about the thread sizes but completely forgotten it, damn age thing!

i was just writing elsewhere, that the bottom feeders have a certain charm about them.
do you think others think we are somewhat odd, off or possibly quaint because of this😉?

i can see myself using the iv sb more than i anticipated, more than the lll simply because of the finder haze in the lll.

although they will each get a turn wearing the 50/1.9 and being my daily carry cam.

ah, choices...

joe

 

[back alley]

so i put the 28/3.5 on the lll complete with external finder and ventured out today.
after checking the light, i set controls and also set infinity focus at f16 and pretty much everything was in focus. talk about point & shoot.

the 28 is tiny and the lll is small also. i attached a photoequip grip and away i went.

the lll has had the shutter curtains replaced and also has had a recent cla.
it is so quiet to fire that shutter and very smooth to operate in general.
i am really impressed with it.

i am tempted to advance my schedule and send the iv sb out for a cla now.
the camera was only 90 bucks to begin with and runs fine but with a cla i can only imagine how nice it will be.

as for photos, i took a few shots but no great art today.
maybe tomorrow😉

joe