Gave in today and picked up a IIIf

[RallyFan]

I've been trying to talk myself out of this for months. Looked at M3's, Voitlanders, Canon's, CL's. Researched this and other forums up and down. The III was like a magnet, kept sucking me back in. I'm sure some will call me crazy, but it just feels right.

It's a IIIf 'Red Dial'. Shooting a test roll in the morning to make sure everything is up to spec, though the eye/ear test seems to indicate the shutter is accurate. It was CLA'd by Leica in 2007 (came with the receipt), and cosmetically it does not show it's age one bit. Probably paid a bit of a premium buying it from a local store ($349 USD), but I'm quite happy with it overall and now I have a proper home for my LTM lenses.

Here she is:

Wish me luck!

 

[shanenoir]

Beautiful 🙂 Be sure to keep us posted on how the photos come out, and what you think of the camera!

 

[gb hill]

No I wont call you crazy...I'm envious!😉 Doesn't matter the cost as long as you are satisfied. enjoy!

 

[Richard G]

Great price to experience a legend. Enjoy the experience.

 

[Godfrey]

I've been trying to talk myself out of this for months. Looked at M3's, Voitlanders, Canon's, CL's. Researched this and other forums up and down. The III was like a magnet, kept sucking me back in. I'm sure some will call me crazy, but it just feels right.

It's a IIIf 'Red Dial'. Shooting a test roll in the morning to make sure everything is up to spec, though the eye/ear test seems to indicate the shutter is accurate. It was CLA'd by Leica in 2007 (came with the receipt), and cosmetically it does not show it's age one bit. Probably paid a bit of a premium buying it from a local store ($349 USD), but I'm quite happy with it overall and now I have a proper home for my LTM lenses.

Here she is:

Wish me luck!

Looks very nice, enjoy it. Must be a very late IIIf as my IIIf didn't have the self timer ... I thought that came out with the IIIg model. But your viewfinder looks like a IIIf finder. Interesting.

G

 

[Bingley]

Sweet! Congrats and post pics!

 

[Spicy]

Unf unf unf unf 😛.

Very nice.

 

[Vincent.G]

Very nice looking combo!
Now... is it loaded with film??

 

[HuubL]

Welcome here at RFF and congratulations with this beautiful IIIf RD ST. Those 349 US$ are definitely well spend. IIIf's in this condition and with a recent CLA from Leica are worth considerably more.
Happy shooting!

 

[raydm6]

Congratulations! I think $349 is a good deal considering it had a recent Leica CLA.

I spent a lot more for my mint IIIf RD w/Summitar but I feel it was worth it. I mean, the way I look at it, they don't have the craftsmen and tooling to make such beautiful machines anymore and to spend a few hundred dollars to experience these little gems is money well spent.

Yours looks like it's in superb condition. Have fun with the "new" camera!

 

[dabick42]

@ RallyFan...

Potentially the best $349-worth of photographic pleasure you'll ever spend.

All you have to do now is spend the rest of your life trying in vain to wear it out... (!)

 

[NeeZee]

I've been using the IIIf RD ST as my main camera for about 5 years now. Just take your time and get used to it and don't believe what people say: separate VF/RF or film loading are no real problem - if anything, rewinding can be annoying (you'll definitely be able to load it faster than you can rewind it after your first 10-20 films). You just bought the best camera ever for a good price, enjoy it! 🙂

 

[ray*j*gun]

Congratulations! I think $349 is a good deal considering it had a recent Leica CLA.

I spent a lot more for my mint IIIf RD w/Summitar but I feel it was worth it. I mean, the way I look at it, they don't have the craftsmen and tooling to make such beautiful machines anymore and to spend a few hundred dollars to experience these little gems is money well spent.

Yours looks like it's in superb condition. Have fun with the "new" camera!

I totally agree.....esp since its an ST model. I would buy it right now for the same price!

 

[leicapixie]

The finder is miserable.Pure misery. The separation of RF and viewing window awful!Loading an exercise of pain and punishment especially in cold weather.. Rewinding.. don't go there.
The photos you will take/make with this camera will be magical. Special. The look of Ilse Bing, HCB and so many others.
Enjoy! You have invested in the future. May your light be amazing, your exposures true and the results breath-taking.
Good luck.
Oh! It's beautiful.

 

[Filzkoeter]

Sweeet camera 🙂
Don't listen to others, that seperate windows are no problem with some practice; you can be very fast with it (especially with the later model's next to eachother windows) + the x1.5 magnification is really nice 😎

Have fun with it! Let us see some results.

 

[BNLee]

Ohh man... I have to hold back the GAS...

Congratulations by the way! That IS a beauty... I... W...A...N...T!!!!!!!

Haha, anyway, enjoy and welcome to the forum too!🙂

 

[FrankS]

Congrats. Think about getting an external bright line viewfinder for it so you don't have to use the squinty built in one.

 

[zauhar]

It will set you back another $100 or so, but consider getting the external 50mm viewfinder. Perhaps the best bit of advice I received from fellow RFFers was to pick up one of those.

That said, the small builtin VF is more usable than you might think.

Beautiful camera, I think you got an excellent deal.

Randy

 

[dave lackey]

Congratulations...beautiful!😀

I just took mine out of the bag and plan on going for a short walkabout today. Since I can't take photographs anymore, I don't know why other than the fact it is so darn nice to handle.🙄

 

[Bruno Gracia]

Love it, just trade one of my gear for a MINT Leica IIIf RD and 50 Cron collapsibe. I don't need M gear anymore..