Engraved Helga Plumacher Leica IIIa

[Keating]

Your English is fine. The Pentax is a great camera to start with. I sold a lot of those back in the 70s working my way through school. The teen-age girl that I gave the Pentax to had great success with her first roll of film.

Your instant camera is a "Instax", very nice. Polaroid invented instant photography back in the 1940s. They went bankrupt years ago, but have found a resurgence in popularity.

The Leica II is now over 90 years old. Leica III- slow speeds added, and a 1.5x magnifier in the Rangefinder.
Your Leica was made "around" 1947, is the same age as mine. They are as "retro" as you can get. Save it for after you get some practice with the Pentax and decide with a Passion that you are going to use the same camera as David Douglas Duncan. Now you have to google that name.

For now- it is much more important that you get some practice in film photography rather than use a camera that is now used by the most stubborn group of diehards known to mankind, the Barnack Leica Photographers.

View attachment 4827935

This is my Leica IIIa, posed with 5 Nikkor lenses from the 1940s. I need to reshoot with the IIIc.
But I got the Leica with a Summar lens for $15. So- no complaints.

Yep I agree with u, Pentax is easy to use, very good for beginner, becoz easy use, so I think my photos wont all black again! Hahaha…I plan this Saturday go to practice! 📸😃
I searched David Douglas Duncan, he was very cool photographer during the war! God blessed him had the very long life! Admired his contribute of photography and wars!
Yr set of Leica iiia is very very good condition,look very new, so beautiful ! How to keep it so well? Have any special methods?? 😃

 

[Keating]

Yep I agree with u, Pentax is easy to use, very good for beginner, becoz easy use, so I think my photos wont all black again! Hahaha…I plan this Saturday go to practice! 📸😃
I searched David Douglas Duncan, he was very cool photographer during the war! God blessed him had the very long life! Admired his contribute of photography and wars!
Yr set of Leica iiia is very very good condition,look very new, so beautiful ! How to keep it so well? Have any special methods?? 😃

I want my photos same as him, full of passionate and very good feeling! I think photos is a very good media, good photo can make people have the deep feeling and impressed! That’s why I like photography!! 🤓

 

[Keating]

In my eyes the Leica III in black/nickel is THE barnack to get. The great 1.5X rangefinder, the inconspicuousness and the indestructibility are the positive aspects of this camera. In addition, the more it is used, the more beautiful it becomes. The number of lenses that can be used on it is infinite, but the black Color Skopar 50mm f2.5 in particular fits this camera particularly well. Add a SBOOI mirror viewfinder and you have a top camera that will last your entire life.

gelatin silver print (color skopar 50mm f2.5) leica lll black

Utrecht, 2023

Erik.

View attachment 4827936

yep u are right, I think Leica iii is the amazing camera, the size is perfect not big and it’s not heavy!! when I was teenager, I very want to have one! Thanks god I have chance to own one now! I feel very happy!
Can use different brand of lens is perfect for me, more affordable!! 🤓
I need to buy the viewfinder to make my camera more perfect! 😬then I no need to buy other camera again!haha..
When I was teen every few years needed to buy the new digital camera, some of them battery die, some of them didn’t work, some of them pixl not high enough or very very slow! Very waste money! But Leica iii series camera no battery, all mechanic!!

 

[Sonnar Brian]

In my eyes the Leica III in black/nickel is THE barnack to get. The great 1.5X rangefinder, the inconspicuousness and the indestructibility are the positive aspects of this camera. In addition, the more it is used, the more beautiful it becomes. The number of lenses that can be used on it is infinite, but the black Color Skopar 50mm f2.5 in particular fits this camera particularly well. Add a SBOOI mirror viewfinder and you have a top camera that will last your entire life.

gelatin silver print (color skopar 50mm f2.5) leica lll black

Utrecht, 2023

Erik.

I also picked up one of those for $15 at the same antique shop, with an uncoated Elmar. Prices are up.

The camera preferred by two out of three die-hard users of Barnack Leicas.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Whole frame printed: the SBOOI finder is very precise! And the sharpness of the Color Skopar 50mm f2.5 is stunning!


gelatin silver print (color skopar 50mm f2.5) leica lll black/nickel

Amsterdam, 2020

Erik.

 

[wlewisiii]

Cosina made a version of the Skopar 50/2.5 for the Nikon S-mount and occasionally I get curious about it but honestly, I'd probably track down the S-mount version of the 50/1.5 Nokton instead since I dearly love it on my Leica M 240. But that's a lovely image, Erik.

 

[Keating]

I also picked up one of those for $15 at the same antique shop, with an uncoated Elmar. Prices are up.

The camera preferred by two out of three die-hard users of Barnack Leicas.

15 us dollars????are u serious??😱😱😱why so cheap???? In hk all the products writing leica… very expensive!! The old leather leica camera strip, need $750hkd!! Crazy city with crazy price!!
I want one Elmer, but need to find the cheap price and good condition!!

 

[Keating]

Whole frame printed: the SBOOI finder is very precise! And the sharpness of the Color Skopar 50mm f2.5 is stunning!


gelatin silver print (color skopar 50mm f2.5) leica lll black/nickel

Amsterdam, 2020

Erik.

View attachment 4827938

Sbooi finder is it easy to find? Except this brand have any brand also is good? I worry I can’t find in hk! 😀
Your photo is cool, I love the texture( I don’t know how to call it) all the digital cameras can’t do it! This is the reason film camera never replaced by digital!! 🤓

 

[Sonnar Brian]

15 us dollars????are u serious??😱😱😱why so cheap???? In hk all the products writing leica… very expensive!! The old leather leica camera strip, need $750hkd!! Crazy city with crazy price!!
I want one Elmer, but need to find the cheap price and good condition!!

Luck, cruising old shops, and the Camera Gods smiling on me. I also picked up a Nikon M with 1950 5cm F1.4 Nikkor for $30.
This was while ago. BUT- I still fall into stuff.

 

[Keating]

Luck, cruising old shops, and the Camera Gods smiling on me. I also picked up a Nikon M with 1950 5cm F1.4 Nikkor for $30.
This was while ago. BUT- I still fall into stuff.

What!!!! Nikon M with lens 30us dollars!! Unbelievable!!! U are super lucky!! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I want the camera gods smile on me too! Camera gods plz~ come to hk find me poor little girl!! 😭😭😭
In hk I tried to shop around the old shops, flea markets, but I never find any cameras stuff! Just bought some toys animals and vinyls!

 

[Duofold RF]

While the old Barnack is fun to use, the Canon copy is cheap and well made, I would say is better than Leica.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

If you were a member of my Daughter's Youth group all you would have to do is smile at the Camera Geek. Last meeting the girl that I gave the N8008s to came up with her friend. They smiled. I'm thinking Konica C35 and Polaroid 600 one-step for them. I'm always thrilled when the Younger Generation shows interest in film photography. Would I give them a Leica IIIa or Canon IV to get started- no. I started with a Minolta HiMatic 9, glad I did. Concentrate on just getting some usable pictures from a roll of film, concentrate on framing. Not so much fussing with tricky loading and squinty viewfinders, or focus in one window and moving your eye to the separate viewfinder. That's for when you have everything else down and want to do photography the way it was done (in your case) when your Grand-Parents were young.



My Dad with my Nephew. I was 14 when I took this with the Minolta HiMatic 9. Set to Auto-exposure, frame, focus, shoot. Over 50 years ago.
My Nephew is looking at a Jetliner, and my Dad talking about the planes he used to fly.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Cosina made a version of the Skopar 50/2.5 for the Nikon S-mount and occasionally I get curious about it but honestly, I'd probably track down the S-mount version of the 50/1.5 Nokton instead since I dearly love it on my Leica M 240. But that's a lovely image, Erik.

I have both!

But the Color Skopar 50mm f2.5 for Leica is the most desirable: true black paint on brass and LTM, so it can be used on any Leica.

Erik.

 

[Keating]

If you were a member of my Daughter's Youth group all you would have to do is smile at the Camera Geek. Last meeting the girl that I gave the N8008s to came up with her friend. They smiled. I'm thinking Konica C35 and Polaroid 600 one-step for them. I'm always thrilled when the Younger Generation shows interest in film photography. Would I give them a Leica IIIa or Canon IV to get started- no. I started with a Minolta HiMatic 9, glad I did. Concentrate on just getting some usable pictures from a roll of film, concentrate on framing. Not so much fussing with tricky loading and squinty viewfinders, or focus in one window and moving your eye to the separate viewfinder. That's for when you have everything else down and want to do photography the way it was done (in your case) when your Grand-Parents were young.
View attachment 4827945


My Dad with my Nephew. I was 14 when I took this with the Minolta HiMatic 9. Set to Auto-exposure, frame, focus, shoot. Over 50 years ago.
My Nephew is looking at a Jetliner, and my Dad talking about the planes he used to fly.

I like you to share your experiences and shares the cameras to the young! This is amazing, can make more young people love film photography!! It’s the contribute!! Camera easy to use is the good way to attract people to take photos, if too fussy, people will give up easily! When people have one good photo, they will more easy to fall in love with cameras and photography!! 😍📸
Your daddy photo is a lively picture, so sweet and full of love !! 👍🏻♥️😊It still very good quality, no turn to yellow or fade out, so cool!! Which kind of film u use??🤓 My childhood pictures all turned yellow and fade out! 🥲

 

[Keating]

While the old Barnack is fun to use, the Canon copy is cheap and well made, I would say is better than Leica.

I heard one antique collector(HK) said, Leica is not the best camera, just they produced a lot, so many people use Leica in the market! He told me some Soviet copy cameras quality may better than Leica and price cheaper!
But in my views, Leica is not a camera only, it’s the history, stories, legend and super breakthrough of camera! If the camera still very big and heavy, I think photography not easy to popular in that era! 😀😀 leica iii perfect size, can put in handbag or pocket! 😛

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The Soviet cameras can be real problems- I have some good ones, but also had a few that were good for one roll of film. They are for people that like to work on cameras, and then use them. The Leica is much more consistent for quality control. The Soviet cameras have some quirks- such as the Fed and Zorki requiring you advance the film before changing the shutter-speed, else risk jamming the camera.

I used Kodachrome and Ektachrome slide film- it cost less, and I could afford. Most of the colors are preserved 50 years later.

 

[Coldkennels]

Having owned loads of Barnacks and Contax II / III's I never found Barnacks even remotely close to convenient to use. Sure, users can get used to Barnacks and proficient with them, but saying they are convenient is like getting hit on the head and calling the headache a "feature."

Until you learn how to use them,
Barnacks are among the worst 35mm interchangeable rangefinder cameras
to load properly,
to loose shots because they were misloaded,
to advance film quickly,
and to rewind film quickly.

Hah. That made me laugh out loud.

I have had far more issues with loading and getting correct film transport on Contaxes (pre-war and post-war) and Kievs than I ever have any bottom loader.

The Barnack design is unusual by modern standards, but it's bulletproof (if you pay attention to what you're doing). The Contax design, in comparison... an utter nightmare.

Personally, I suspect most Contaxes look worn out because their users end up throwing them against a wall in frustration!

 

[Keating]

Oh Soviet camera maybe film jamming that’s no good, not good a quality!! I got one, don’t know what brand is, just know copy Leica! Hahaha
Seems Kodak film can keep many years!! Next time I will buy more of it! 😀😀

 

[Keating]

The Soviet cameras can be real problems- I have some good ones, but also had a few that were good for one roll of film. They are for people that like to work on cameras, and then use them. The Leica is much more consistent for quality control. The Soviet cameras have some quirks- such as the Fed and Zorki requiring you advance the film before changing the shutter-speed, else risk jamming the camera.

I used Kodachrome and Ektachrome slide film- it cost less, and I could afford. Most of the colors are preserved 50 years later.

I want to ask.. use Leica iii series camera, the film need to buy ISO 100/400?? Or no need to care the film what ISO is?

 

[raydm6]

You can shoot any DIN/ISO/ASA that will accommodate your camera/lens combination and lighting conditions & personal preferences. When these camera were first manufactured, the film speeds were a lot slower like 10/25/50/64/100 with some intermediate speeds.

Reference comparitve sesitivity ISO, DIN,

Film speed - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org