Leica LTM FSU lens on Leica lllc

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
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KameraKev

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Hi All;
I am considering purchasing a Leica lllc body, unfortunately it does not come with a lens. I have several FSU lens's that I can use until I can purchase a Leica lens to use on this body. My question for others here who have experience with this sort of thing is, is it possible to mount a I61l/d on this body, or would there be issues?

Thanks,
Kevin
 
KameraKev said:
Hi All;
I am considering purchasing a Leica lllc body, unfortunately it does not come with a lens. I have several FSU lens's that I can use until I can purchase a Leica lens to use on this body. My question for others here who have experience with this sort of thing is, is it possible to mount a I61l/d on this body, or would there be issues?

Thanks,
Kevin
Click to expand...

I have used several FSU lens on my screw bodies without any problems. They will mount and focus properly as long as the rangefinder is accurate.
 
KameraKev said:
Thanks on that,
In your opinion, would the lens perform better on a Leica body than on a FSU body?
Kevin
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The body is nothing but a box to hold the film. Unless it has been damaged and it is working (shutter) properly there should be no difference what body you use.

My Jupiter LTM lens perform just as good on my Leicas as they do on my Fed 2 and my Kiev 4a with Kiev mount Jupiters..
 
That makes sense, I use a Fed 2/Zorki 4/Kiev4m and I love them all, the Leica lllc I am looking at is going very cheap, I just want to get the feel of a Leica, never having handled one myself, and see if it is as precise as everyone says they are. Anyway, thanks for the come backs.
Kevin
 
wait until you have the money to buy a very good/excellent condition IIIc or similar. No point getting one that isn't perfect, as it will ruin the 'Leica experience'. I've used FSU lenses on a Leica Standard and a Leica IIIc, no problem.

Personally though, stick with the FSU bodies until you can find a really nice leica body at a fair price. Chances are a 'going cheap' body will have an issue somewhere, like a dim rangefinder.
 
Ash said:
Chances are a 'going cheap' body will have an issue somewhere, like a dim rangefinder.
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Or non-working slow speeds...
 
You are probably right, I will start hording by spare change until that day arrives when I can get a good body that makes the Leica experience perfect.
By the way, does Oleg do repairs on Leica equipment?
 
the I- 61 l/d is a very sharp lens , one of the sharpest FSU lens you can buy and can be used on a IIIc with little to no problems, the knurled focus ring is partly visable thru the tiny vf of the IIIc , which I find annoying.
a better match would be the I-22, which is also a good lens, with more of a vintage look, and as good as an Elmar if you find a good one.
 
KameraKev said:
You are probably right, I will start hording by spare change until that day arrives when I can get a good body that makes the Leica experience perfect.
By the way, does Oleg do repairs on Leica equipment?
Click to expand...

Yes, Oleg does repair Leicas too.

Along the way, I've found out the hard way that buying a beater and having it repaired can run up some good money, which can be put into a recently CLA'd camera instead. But the upside is that when you get your beater back you'll know it's been serviced and hopefully good for many, many years to come.

My own IIIf works well but I am probably going to have to send it off for CLA, but having to wait for several weeks for it to return... I need a backup camera, I guess. ;)
 
in respect to the comment on the I-61 being visible in the IIIc viewfinder, pretty much every lens I've mounted on mine obscures a corner
 
Ash said:
in respect to the comment on the I-61 being visible in the IIIc viewfinder, pretty much every lens I've mounted on mine obscures a corner
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not like the I - 61 l/d .
the J-8 and J-3 are visiable in the vf yes, but not annoyingly so like the I -61.
 
Until I found a collapsible 2.8 Elmar that was cheap enough, a collapsible Industar more than sufficed.

On a Leica screw mount, I prefer a collapsible lens for no other reason than to keep the entire package as compact as possible.
 
Solinar said:
Until I found a collapsible 2.8 Elmar that was cheap enough, a collapsible Industar more than sufficed.

On a Leica screw mount, I prefer a collapsible lens for no other reason than to keep the entire package as compact as possible.
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I am a big fan of the collapsable I-22 or I-10.
I use them on my Tower Type 3 and the Canon bottomloader.
 
Regarding repair/CLA of a Barnack Leica, I have nothing but repect for Oleg, was one of the first US customers to send work to him, and recommended him highly for work on FSU cameras. However, I note from his website:(http://www.okvintagecamera.com/repair.html), that Oleg now charges $70 to CLA a Barnack Leica. At one time his charge was about $20-25. He is pricing for what his competent work is worth in the West and is no longer a bargain.

I just had a Leica IIC CLA'd, and the rangefinder beamsplitter replaced, by Youxin Ye. Youxin charged $70 for the work. I live in the US and the shipping charge to Youxin was $4.25 each way. Shipping to Oleg is $20+ each way with some possibility of your camera disappearing along the way (one of mine did).

I often use FSU lenses, usually a J-8 or an I-22 on my Barnack Leicas and find the results as sharp, if not sharper than Leitz LTM lenses I also have and use.

My suggestion is that you get the camera, put a working lens on it (FSU or otherwise) and get out and shoot some film. In the end, that is what it is all about.
 
Kevin ~
I use Industar.22 & 50, Jupiter.8 & 12 and an Orion.15 on 2 Leica.IIIs with no problems. Initially, the Jupiter.8 and Orion.15 had to have some serious cleaning of the mounting threads in both the lens and camera to fit smoothly, but all worked out fine. I don't have an I.61 [yet]. I agree with Graybeard, put a lens on it, load it and go shoot! Enjoy!
 
I use a Jupiter 12 on my Leica IIIf RD and it works fine. You can see the combo in my avatar. I have no experience with FSU cameras, so can't comment on them.

Jim N.
 
I shot a couple of rolls with the following combo: Leica M6 and J8 via adapter. No complains (though it doesn't evem come close to my 50 'Cron).
 
I use, without problems and with quite decent results, an I-61 L/D on my IIIc. Bought the lens from Oleg. Also bought from him a Zorki 1, for which he has just adapted a turret finder made for an Argus model. As I have accessory finders on both bodies, lenses intruding into the V/F are seldom a bother.
 
Ash said:
in respect to the comment on the I-61 being visible in the IIIc viewfinder, pretty much every lens I've mounted on mine obscures a corner
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Me too, Ash. I can even see, just barely, the top of an I.22 through the VF. I'm afraid that's just the nature of the small body of my Leica.IIIs. It's a trade-off that I gladly choose to live with. The Leica.III / Zorki.1 size fits my hands very well and should the small VF ever bug me, I have several aux. finders that would eliminate any "lens blockage." :cool:
 
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