Flash for leica IIIf

[huyvuvn]

Hi all, please help me.

I have leica IIIf and..... THIS (I don't know what the word to call ? flash-sync? flash holder?) ..... How can I use the flash ? What the type of bulb that I can use..... or maybe that have a DIY way to make bulb..... etc..... :bang: :bang: :bang:

Thanks all and happy new year !!! Cheerssssss !!!!! 😀 😀 😀

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I have IIf and using regular film flash with PC terminal. They are not expensive at all. Almost same price as set of bulbs.

 

[Landshark]

If it's a bayonet base either an M2 or M3 bulb. They're both available* in clear or blue. *Available can be optimistic since they haven 't been made for years.
The unit should have a battery in the case that will most likely be dead and without an easily sourced replacement.

Both bulbs will be much more powerful than an electronic flash and the blue bulb is meant for color films, the clear for B&W.

 

[charjohncarter]

Cool, I tried to convert my Brownie Hawkeye Flash flash unit to a electronic flash. It worked but by that time I lost interest in the camera.

 

[Luddite Frank]

"Blitzlichthalter" ! 😀


What you have there is the "official" Leitz CEYOO flashlight holder.

These came-out in the 1940's, and lingered into the M era.


There were a couple variations, some with a 22.5 volt battery-capacitor pack, others that used three or four "AA" penlite batteries( don't remember which).


There was also the CTOOM flashlight bracket which attached to the base-plate of the camera, and had a mounting foot for the flash that swiveled radially (in the same plane as the film).

The flash gun itself came with an adapter to use the Bayonet-base bulbs, such as the # 5, # 25, and SM, and if this was removed, revealed a larger socket that would accept Edison medium screw-base "Press" flashbulbs. Additionally, third-party manufacturers made adapter sockets that were essentially a bayonet-base that snapped-into the socket, and allowed the photographer to use the M-2 and M-3 bulbs.

If you wanted to pursue bulb substitution to the very end, I think there was another adapter to take bayonet-base or M-2/M-3 base to the AG-1 "peanut" bulbs.

The CEYOO flash holders all used the Leitz proprietary two-prong plug to connect to the flashgun, and then either another two-prong plug to connect to the VACU clip-on synchronizer, or the standard 3mm Co-axial PC plug for the backside of the -f and -g Barnacks, or the proprietary Letiz co-axial plug for the M-3.

If the adjustable flash sync on your Barnack is working correctly, and you want to shoot flash pictures, an electronic unit is the cheapest way to go, in the long-run... flash bulbs are getting expensive.

Vintage electronic flashes can be found - the Heiland/Honeywell Strobanar "potato-masher" flashes are common and fairly reliable.

If you simply must shoot bulbs ( and I understand the urge to do so... 😉 ), the bayonet-base M, SM, 5 and 25 bulbs are "classic", and the M-2 / M-3 bulbs are probably cheapest and will work well. If you're shooting color films, use blue-coated bulbs.

Good luck with your project !

(PS: there was also a smaller flash-attachment specifically designed for the -f Barnacks: the white-plastic CHICO.)

 

[Dwig]

...
The flash gun itself came with an adapter to use the Bayonet-base bulbs, such as the # 5, # 25, and SM, and if this was removed, revealed a larger socket that would accept Edison medium screw-base "Press" flashbulbs. Additionally, third-party manufacturers made adapter sockets that were essentially a bayonet-base that snapped-into the socket, and allowed the photographer to use the M-2 and M-3 bulbs....

From the picture it looks like the bayonet adapter is present but there doesn't seem to be an additional "miniature" adapter.

If you can find them, you can use either the #5/Press-25 or #6/Press-26 bulbs in the unit as is. With the additional "miniature" adapter you could use the M2 or M3 bulbs.

You should be aware of the sync issues. All four of these bulbs have the same 15ms "medium", or M-sync, delay. The #5, Press-25, and M-2 bulbs have a relatively short flash duration and with focal plane shutters will produce uniform exposures only at relatively low (~1/30-1/60th or longer) shutter speeds. The #6 & Press-26 are true FP-sync (Focal Plane) and have a long, even burn and will work at any shutter speed up to 1/1000. the M-3 bulbs are not a true FP-sync bulb, but do burn long enough for use with small format focal plane shutters like the Leica's at all speeds. With all of the bulbs, the guide number (GN) will vary with the shutter speed used.

 

[charjohncarter]

If you get it working and you can find bulbs, you will find that unit will produce a wonderfully non-harsh light that seems to surround the subject rather than blasting it like an electronic flash.

But the synch issue is a problem:

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

If it's any help, this firm can supply the 22.5v batteries and this page shows all the various names used for them:

http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_a221.htm?a221,ANSI/NEDA,221

You can often find the capless bulb adapters on ebay and the bulbs themselves. Here's one on ebay now:-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-P...y_VintagePhotoAccessories&hash=item27dca16003

And just in case you don't know the bulbs get hot when fired and so shouldn't be touched for a while; luckily the adapters can eject them without you touching them. But that means a hot dead bulb flying out, so be warned. And they stink when the plastic safety coating burns or heats up.

There's a very nice (1950's) crackle finish Leitz made flash gun holder that seems to fit most models; called a CTOOM and it fits the hockey stick Leica right through to the M's. I've just tried it on my 1926 Leica, a model II and model IIIc and the M2. It means you can use the accessory shoe on older models for the non-50mm VF and so on. (And the tripod bush is then central.) The lead shown in the opening post is a CSOON for the M3 and that makes me wonder if the IIIf has a M style flash socket. Sorry, I'm not familiar with the IIIf, hence the question. I expect screw thread models to use the VACU and the cammed shutter speed dial.

Have fun, David

 

[huyvuvn]

Thanks all ! Your information is very useful, interesting, and detailed.

 

[huyvuvn]

Hi all, how can I use the "modern" electronic flash with Leica IIIf ?

(with Youngnou etc...)

Thanks 🙂

 

[Timmyjoe]

I used to use a Vivitar 283 with my iiif. I had a sync cable just like the one shown above:

Worked well.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Hi all, how can I use the "modern" electronic flash with Leica IIIf ?

(with Youngnou etc...)

Thanks 🙂

You'll attach a PC cord to the flash and to the camera then shoot at 1/30 second (or 1/25 if your camera has those speeds.) Shooting at any faster shutter speed will yield an underexposd portion of the frame as the second curtain of the shutter closes.

Phil Forrest

 

[George Bonanno]

Don't forget the flash sync dial... that setting might come in handy... maybe.

Black dial... 2

Red dial... 20

Hey, how's the street food in Siagon these days ? Vung Tau has been going down hill.

 

[NeeZee]

You'll attach a PC cord to the flash and to the camera then shoot at 1/30 second (or 1/25 if your camera has those speeds.) Shooting at any faster shutter speed will yield an underexposd portion of the frame as the second curtain of the shutter closes.

Phil Forrest

My IIIf red dial syncs at 1/50 with the sync dial set to 20. For lower speeds I have to set it to 0. It's easy to test without film, though: Remove the lens put a white piece of paper where you normally load the film and then fire the flash through the lens mount. If you can see a complete white frame, you're ok.

 

[Scrambler]

Bulb timing is all different to electronic flash timing. Firstly, you can synch at any speed using FP bulbs. You can synch at faster speeds even with regular bulbs due to longer burn times than electronic flash but there might be a "gap" between the high speed sync and the low speed synch where you might get only partial exposures. Secondly there is a delay to peak output which varies between bulb types, which is why the variable delay on the IIf/IIIf.

 

[citroensg]

Hi i had test fired a #5 bulb on Leitz Flash Gun with my Polariod 195, shuttle speed 1/30 F22 distance about 7ft & Fuji FP100C.
You can view it on you tube follow the link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davelcc/12221798603/in/set-72157639879743816

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davelcc/12233526673/in/set-72157639879743816

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=656lJNba3G4

 

[summar]

Bulbs are expensive, but the IIIf is my favorite camera for indoor flash. The magnified rangefinder image makes focusing easy in dim light. I shoot bounce flash with a diffuser on a Vivitar 283, and the slow synch speed captures the ambient light nicely -- which I like. I set the synch wheel at 2, following the official Leica chart for Elektronen Blitz, always works well.

 

[huyvuvn]

Don't forget the flash sync dial... that setting might come in handy... maybe.

Black dial... 2

Red dial... 20

Hey, how's the street food in Siagon these days ? Vung Tau has been going down hill.

about food in Vietnam, you should watch this 😛

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTIkSvz333k

You'll attach a PC cord to the flash and to the camera then shoot at 1/30 second (or 1/25 if your camera has those speeds.) Shooting at any faster shutter speed will yield an underexposd portion of the frame as the second curtain of the shutter closes.

Phil Forrest

Thanks ! I will try , but in my place , finding the old PC cord so hard.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

I'm a little baffled by this; does the IIIf have a 3mm coaxial flash socket?

If so the simple answer is to buy an old Vivitar (say) which will have a hot shoe and 3mm plug. Many other have as well and there's dozens about at cheapo prices.

I don't think it's far from the truth to say that a lot of 30 yr. and older electronic flashes are still in use and performing well. It's just a matter of checking that the batteries needed are available easily.

Regards, David

 

[Scrambler]

I have a 1950's Braun electronic flash that works great - and it doesn't need batteries ... it plugs into AC power. Limiting but reliable and retro-cool.

Fairly sure the IIIf has Prontor-Compur (pc) connector, if that's what you mean by "3mm coaxial flash socket."