Help with shutter speeds iiia

[midniteson]

Hi,
I wonder if omeone could explain how the front shutter speed dial works on a Leica IIIa? What setting do I leave it on when 'not in use' ? Sorry if this sounds a bit basic, newbie Leica owner 🙂
Thanks

 

[wolves3012]

Hi,
I wonder if omeone could explain how the front shutter speed dial works on a Leica IIIa? What setting do I leave it on when 'not in use' ? Sorry if this sounds a bit basic, newbie Leica owner 🙂
Thanks

I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will give you a proper answer...the highest speed. Unless you set the main dial to B or 1/30-1 (might be 1/20-1 on a IIIa, I'm not familiar) it won't have any effect anyway. On B the time you've set is what you'll get AFTER you release the button, not usually what you intended. All this assumes it's the same for a IIIa as for a IIIc.

 

[Roger Hicks]

The front dial setting doesn't matter as long as the top dial is above 20-1, as the slow speed train isn't engaged. I just never worry about the speed set on the slow speed train unless I'm using it.

When the top dial is on 20-1, set the front dial to the speed you want (1-1/20).

Cheers,

R.

 

[batterytypehah!]

When you're using the faster speeds, it doesn't matter what the slow dial is set to. It only takes over when the main dial is on the "split" setting.

For practical reasons, it makes sense to leave the slow dial on the setting you use the most.

 

[midniteson]

Thanks chaps,
Much appreciated 🙂

 

[batterytypehah!]

wolves3012 has a point about B. There's no use in slowing down the closing curtain at the end of your B exposure, so leave the slow dial at 1/20 (which is the actual speed of the curtain, it never does move faster than that) when you're using B.

 

[Luddite Frank]

Leave it at the highest setting, eg: 1/20 th.

The later Barnacks with a lock on the slow=speeds dial have it lock at the highest slow-speed: 1/30.

As others have noted, the slow-speed train is not active until the top dial is set at "20 / 1 " or Z... but it's probably a good habit to leave the front dial set at "20" when not using slow speeds.

Regards,

LF

 

[martin_t]

Leave it at the highest setting, eg: 1/20 th.
LF

True. There are plenty of quirky malfunctions that can occur with cameras that haven't been CLA'd. With the dial at the highest setting, this ensures the slow speed pawl is parked at the maximum distance from the main shutter shaft and its rotating parts.