Leica LTM heritage vs. style

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
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whiteley

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a long-winded question i'd like your opinions on...
my grandfather passed away awhile back and since then i've had his IIIC, which he bought new long ago. it was the family camera when my dad and his sisters were growing up. as far as leicas go it's nothing special, plain jane chrome in user condition, but has obvious sentimental value. i've put several rolls through it over the years and it works pretty well for the most part- a few off speeds, but pretty good all in all. like many other RFF folks i have several cameras in the mix and as such i don't pick this one up often. lately i've been seeing some black paint screw mounts of similar vintage that have really been beautiful, so here's my conundrum/question- were you in my position, would you even consider altering the camera, what with the family history and all that? my feelings are as follows- if i got a CLA and did the repaint thing i think i'd be stoked to pick up the camera much more, thereby putting it to better use, which is good for several reasons. however, i also feel like i should just leave the thing be as it has been for the last 60+ years and let it be as it was when it belonged to my grandfather- the whole reason i have it to begin with. so, what are your thoughts? anybody been in a similar position? anybody gone the repaint route for whatever reasons and wished they hadn't? thanks for any input...
 
I would keep it as it is, and never ever sell it, just send it for a full CLA, your Grandfather would be happy ;-)

If you still want to sell it, you'll get around 300 USD or a bit more, but the sentimental value for that camera is certainly priceless though !!!
 
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definitely never selling it! i have a 620 folding kodak from my great-grandfather, the IIIC from my grandfather, and my dad's FM2. one day i'll pass them, along with probably my M6, to my kids. just contemplating whether to honor it's life as an as-is heirloom or as a working leica that wants to be shot as much as possible!
 
i second the motion of not altering it with a repaint, but just doing a proper CLA and using it regularly.
 
Don't paint it black. It may look cool, but I think the coolest is to use the same camera as it was used then.
Personaly, I would only go through dechroming and BP if the look of a camera is ugly.
 
I've had a tatty IIIc cla'd and repainted. It's turned out very well and is an excellent useable camera, some have said superb.

I regret it.

I don't know what I was out to achieve but whatever I have had done, it is somehow not the real deal....whatever that might be.

I use it occasionally but to be honest I get more satsfaction out of using an old rough black III than I do from this.

There was a thread running once that opined that camera painting was a rather strange thing to do. You don't really realise this until you have done it...

Michael

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I'd be inclined to leave it as it is. I used to think along similar lines to your post - that if I did such and such a thing to a camera I'd be inclined to use it more - only to find that having spent considerable sums doing these things I didn't use the camera any more than before!
 
thanks for your input. i'd been feeling like i was going to leave it be in the end and respect it's past life. i just need to make the effort to use it more as is. too many cameras...
 
Good decision, though I agree with others that a good cleaning, lubing, and adjustment to specs would serve it well, and give you confidence that it's in top shape with modern lubricants. My 1958 M2, owned since 1967, became quieter and smoother after a CLA.
 
I'd get it a CLA and leave it that, but then I'm not really inclined to refinish any of my cameras, sentimental value or junker. Always seems like the effort/expense is cutting into something else I'd rather be doing/buying much more.
 
It's a working camera that carries with it your grandfather's memories. I'd say CLA it, paint it, use it and care for it as you will, and pass it on to your children and grandchildren to do the same.

To quote the great author Terry Pratchett 🙂)),
This, milord, is my family's axe. We have owned it for almost nine hundred years, see. Of course, sometimes it needed a new blade. And sometimes it has required a new handle, new designs on the metalwork, a little refreshing of the ornamentation . . . but is this not the nine hundred-year-old axe of my family? And because it has changed gently over time, it is still a pretty good axe, y'know. Pretty good
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The new style becomes part of the heritage.
 
How much 'sentiment' you should have for an OBJECT is purely an personal/individual matter. You say you acquired it when your grandfather passed. You didn't say that he gifted it to you on his deathbed or anything as dramatic and poignant. Do we know how HE felt about it? Did he specifically want you to have it?

My feeling is this: If i gifted my grandson with one of my cameras, i would 1) be happiest if he enjoyed using it in WHATEVER way or form he chose to use it. 2) If he had no interest in it, i'd perhaps want him to give it to someone we know who would enjoy it. If that's not applicable, then i'd want him to do whatever he wanted with it. Sell it, trade it, whatever.

If it makes you happier to use and enjoy the THING with black paint, i don't see how that transforms the gift. Using something as it had been used in years past - we're talking about a color/finish - seems insignificant to me. It's not a museum piece. It's not a family heirloom passed down through multiple generations. If it does become so - if you pass it to your children - they might find it a bit more interesting to know that it had different incarnations. Chrome, then black paint. Maybe that child would then decide to restore it. Whatever. Neither decision (painting versus restoring) is permanent.
 
I wouldn't change it for the cosmetics. It's a camera, not a piece of jewelry. Will you really use it more because it looks cooler? Try making it a project ... force yourself to use only that one camera, one lens. It can be a strain, but it's a good way to push yourself creatively. Flitting around between different gear setups can be a distraction from the photography.
 
brachal said:
I wouldn't change it for the cosmetics. It's a camera, not a piece of jewelry.
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Why does it have to be "jewelry" for someone to care what color or what type of finish it has?

Did you tell your auto dealer to just give you whatever color he had on-hand? Do you wear only the same color pants/shoes/shirt every day? Some people may consider a camera only a "tool," and sure - who cares if a hammer is 'chrome' or black. But, then who spends time in a forum discussing hammers? Cameras have a bit more 'essence.'

Personally, as someone 'obsessed' with photography, i'm also obsessed with most things aesthetic. I can't think of a single thing that i might buy or use where what it looks and feels like is not a consideration.
 
I too would not re-paint the camera, just because it is a part of the family history. If it was a found camera, and the crome was shot, then yes go right ahead and paint it up. I have been struggling with the same dilema, as my 3c is horribly scratched on the top plate and on the lens cap, the privious owner had done so for what ever reason. I have still yet to repaint it, and probably never will.
 
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