Luddite Frank
Well-known
My wife and I are just returned home from a two-week trip to North Zealand, Denmark, to visit friends.
Along the way, a couple of cameras "stowed away" in my bags for the trip home. 🙄
One of our Danish friends, Bjarne, had often told me of a "wonderful camera store in Copehagen, that also sells elderly cameras (sic)..." and he wanted to be sure I got there !
That shop ( name not remembered at the moment ) is on the corner of Skindergade and a little side-street (Skoubogade?), with the famous Konditori, "Les Glaces," across the side-street.
They had a few M-mounts and one LTM in the window, but I went-inside hoping they had more goodies...
Boy did they ever ! At least half-a dozen wall-cases filled with various makes of vintage camera - Leica, Nikon, Zeiss-Ikon, Canon, etc.
The LTM case had quite a few goodies in it: two Leica "A" (hockey-stick), one from 1926, the other from 1929 - couldn't tell about the lenses - they were up high (and from the price tags, I couldn't see bothering the clerk to unlock the cabinet for me to handle them), the usual spate of Leica II, III, and the various -b, and -c variants, a bunch of lenses, including a "fat" Elmar 90, several Viso housings, and a genuine ( it sure looked like it ) WWII German military Leica III-c, with several marked lenses.
Everything there seemed to be priced at "market prices" - in the ballpark that we see from Westlicht, and I felt were beyond my budget. The only Leicas I saw that really filled a void in my collection were the early "hockey-stick" variety, so I left empty-handed, but very glad I had visited there.
For any enthusiast of pre-1960 German cameras ( or quality present-day photo gear), this shop is well worth stopping - allow at least an hour if you are going to simply look; more if you plan to handle cameras !
Fortunately for me, there was another "complete" shop near our hotel in Nyhavn: Foto-C on Holbergsgade. They also had several old cameras in the storefront window: a couple of Rolleiflexes, several Leica M's, and a couple of screw-mounts. The prices were also more achieveable.
The two that caught my eye were: a -c that was tagged as a "II-c", but had self-timer, slow-speeds, and a flash-sync dial; and a III-c "stepper", in black paint (no military markings - looked like a legit LTM). The II / III-c BDST was wearing a Summitar, and the Stepper was wearing a black-rim Summar .
I spotted these on a Saturday, and had to wait until Monday to go see them in person.
When I went in to see them, I asked if they had any other gear, but was told the only used gear was what was displayed in the window.
I asked to see both cameras, starting with the black stepper. It looked decent, the only chrome bits being the strap-lugs, eyepiece, RF lever, and shutter release guard. it was semi-matte paint, not like Leitz's pre-War shiny black lacquer. Of course the Summar had a badly-scratched front element. 😡
I then examined the "II-c". The clerk knew a little about the older Leicas, but was not an expert on all the little details. I looked over this camera, serial 4439xx, in excellent functional and cosmetic condition, with Summitar # 6267xx (coated, and very clean), f 2 to f 16, "Feet". The bottom latch key is the later style, with the little "tail", and the film spool has a pop-up spring under the knurled-knob. The wind-knob has been upgraded with the film-speed reminder. The top-plate has "Germany" added in small letters under Wetzlar. The sync scale under the shutter-speeds dial is a separate plate, secured with two little screws, and the speeds dial is the large version.
I asked if the lenses had to go with the camera they were mounted-on, and was told "yes - these are here on consignment from a private collector; we cannot mix & match."
I remarked that it was a shame that the lenses could not be swapped, as I was interested in the black III-c "stepper" and the Summitar.
The clerk wryly stated that " I could just buy both cameras..." I laughed, as I tried to do the currency conversion in my head (Denmark > USD, about 5 kr = 1 dollar at this time). I asked the man if they took Visa, and he nodded "yes".
I inquired if there was any flexibility in price, and he said he could not offer a discount on the cameras. I saw a bin full of used cases, and rummaged through that, not finding any LTM cases, but a nice late Olympus Pen case that holds a Barnack nicely, and a three-compartment Jonest padded nylon case, and he threw those in, plus some generic plastic lens caps for free.
A five-pack of Kodak Portra 160 NC, and I was out the door !
I used the II/III-c for the rest of the trip, and am hoping the shutter curtains are okay - I shot all five rolls of 36 exp film !
I wanted a Summitar for my collection, and also have wanted a III-c and a "stepper" if possible.... the black-paint I think is an owner / repair-shop job, but it is nicely done, and the camera otherwise appears to be legitimate Wetzlar Leica, so aside from the customary scratched Summar, I' m pretty pleased with my finds.
When my digi-cam charges back up, I'll post some pictures of them.
The first shop, on Skindergade, should definitely be on one's sight-seeing list if in the Stroegade areas of northern Copenhagen, near the Rundtarn (Round Tower).
Cheers !
Luddite Frank
PS: the other vintage camera from the trip was a nice little black-top Kodak Retinette II, type 160 with an f:3,5 Anastigmat (uncoated) in Compur, from a vintage electronics shop - Tekno Service - in Helsingborg, Sweden. 😀
Along the way, a couple of cameras "stowed away" in my bags for the trip home. 🙄
One of our Danish friends, Bjarne, had often told me of a "wonderful camera store in Copehagen, that also sells elderly cameras (sic)..." and he wanted to be sure I got there !
That shop ( name not remembered at the moment ) is on the corner of Skindergade and a little side-street (Skoubogade?), with the famous Konditori, "Les Glaces," across the side-street.
They had a few M-mounts and one LTM in the window, but I went-inside hoping they had more goodies...
Boy did they ever ! At least half-a dozen wall-cases filled with various makes of vintage camera - Leica, Nikon, Zeiss-Ikon, Canon, etc.
The LTM case had quite a few goodies in it: two Leica "A" (hockey-stick), one from 1926, the other from 1929 - couldn't tell about the lenses - they were up high (and from the price tags, I couldn't see bothering the clerk to unlock the cabinet for me to handle them), the usual spate of Leica II, III, and the various -b, and -c variants, a bunch of lenses, including a "fat" Elmar 90, several Viso housings, and a genuine ( it sure looked like it ) WWII German military Leica III-c, with several marked lenses.
Everything there seemed to be priced at "market prices" - in the ballpark that we see from Westlicht, and I felt were beyond my budget. The only Leicas I saw that really filled a void in my collection were the early "hockey-stick" variety, so I left empty-handed, but very glad I had visited there.
For any enthusiast of pre-1960 German cameras ( or quality present-day photo gear), this shop is well worth stopping - allow at least an hour if you are going to simply look; more if you plan to handle cameras !
Fortunately for me, there was another "complete" shop near our hotel in Nyhavn: Foto-C on Holbergsgade. They also had several old cameras in the storefront window: a couple of Rolleiflexes, several Leica M's, and a couple of screw-mounts. The prices were also more achieveable.
The two that caught my eye were: a -c that was tagged as a "II-c", but had self-timer, slow-speeds, and a flash-sync dial; and a III-c "stepper", in black paint (no military markings - looked like a legit LTM). The II / III-c BDST was wearing a Summitar, and the Stepper was wearing a black-rim Summar .
I spotted these on a Saturday, and had to wait until Monday to go see them in person.
When I went in to see them, I asked if they had any other gear, but was told the only used gear was what was displayed in the window.
I asked to see both cameras, starting with the black stepper. It looked decent, the only chrome bits being the strap-lugs, eyepiece, RF lever, and shutter release guard. it was semi-matte paint, not like Leitz's pre-War shiny black lacquer. Of course the Summar had a badly-scratched front element. 😡
I then examined the "II-c". The clerk knew a little about the older Leicas, but was not an expert on all the little details. I looked over this camera, serial 4439xx, in excellent functional and cosmetic condition, with Summitar # 6267xx (coated, and very clean), f 2 to f 16, "Feet". The bottom latch key is the later style, with the little "tail", and the film spool has a pop-up spring under the knurled-knob. The wind-knob has been upgraded with the film-speed reminder. The top-plate has "Germany" added in small letters under Wetzlar. The sync scale under the shutter-speeds dial is a separate plate, secured with two little screws, and the speeds dial is the large version.
I asked if the lenses had to go with the camera they were mounted-on, and was told "yes - these are here on consignment from a private collector; we cannot mix & match."
I remarked that it was a shame that the lenses could not be swapped, as I was interested in the black III-c "stepper" and the Summitar.
The clerk wryly stated that " I could just buy both cameras..." I laughed, as I tried to do the currency conversion in my head (Denmark > USD, about 5 kr = 1 dollar at this time). I asked the man if they took Visa, and he nodded "yes".
I inquired if there was any flexibility in price, and he said he could not offer a discount on the cameras. I saw a bin full of used cases, and rummaged through that, not finding any LTM cases, but a nice late Olympus Pen case that holds a Barnack nicely, and a three-compartment Jonest padded nylon case, and he threw those in, plus some generic plastic lens caps for free.
A five-pack of Kodak Portra 160 NC, and I was out the door !
I used the II/III-c for the rest of the trip, and am hoping the shutter curtains are okay - I shot all five rolls of 36 exp film !
I wanted a Summitar for my collection, and also have wanted a III-c and a "stepper" if possible.... the black-paint I think is an owner / repair-shop job, but it is nicely done, and the camera otherwise appears to be legitimate Wetzlar Leica, so aside from the customary scratched Summar, I' m pretty pleased with my finds.
When my digi-cam charges back up, I'll post some pictures of them.
The first shop, on Skindergade, should definitely be on one's sight-seeing list if in the Stroegade areas of northern Copenhagen, near the Rundtarn (Round Tower).
Cheers !
Luddite Frank
PS: the other vintage camera from the trip was a nice little black-top Kodak Retinette II, type 160 with an f:3,5 Anastigmat (uncoated) in Compur, from a vintage electronics shop - Tekno Service - in Helsingborg, Sweden. 😀
