mutikonka
Member
After several years of using a IIIa I have splurged on a IIIg that I won on the bay after making what I thought was a fairly low bid of just over $800. It just arrived in the post this week and it was love at first sight when I took it out of the box. I know these cameras are said to be overpriced, but the IIIg I got is a real gem and feels very different from the well-worn IIIa that has become my favourite user camera in recent years.
It's been a long time coming. My first Leica was an M3 about a decade ago, which I loved as a classic item but never used that much because I found it to be just a little too large to keep in my pocket. I was also a bit nervous about leaving it lying around, and found I was using an Olympus XA most of the time on my travels. I sold the M3 but obviously had contracted Leica fever because soon after I acquired a very worn IIIa. This soon became a favourite user camera, slipping easily in my pocket (with the collapsible Elmar) and feeling good to use because of its quiet shutter and the rounded edges. The only things I dislked about the IIIa were its squinty viewfinder, and the lack of parallax compensation that resulted in my rushed close ups chopping off people's heads or ears.
Now with the IIIg I think I have found the happy medium. The viewfinder, is of course much better. What has really pleasantly surprised me is the build quality and the heftier feel of the IIIg. It seems like a smaller version of the M3, everything working with a solid smoothness that makes my IIIa seem a rather primitive instrument by comparison. Perhaps it's just because I have got a good example of the IIIg with the chrome and vulcanite in excelent condition and the glass all crystal clear.
I am also looking forward to using the flash sync feature.
Well, I just wanted to share my thoughts on the new arrival - it will certainly not be sitting idle in a glass case, but hopefully producing some nice images with my Elmar 50/2.8.
It's been a long time coming. My first Leica was an M3 about a decade ago, which I loved as a classic item but never used that much because I found it to be just a little too large to keep in my pocket. I was also a bit nervous about leaving it lying around, and found I was using an Olympus XA most of the time on my travels. I sold the M3 but obviously had contracted Leica fever because soon after I acquired a very worn IIIa. This soon became a favourite user camera, slipping easily in my pocket (with the collapsible Elmar) and feeling good to use because of its quiet shutter and the rounded edges. The only things I dislked about the IIIa were its squinty viewfinder, and the lack of parallax compensation that resulted in my rushed close ups chopping off people's heads or ears.
Now with the IIIg I think I have found the happy medium. The viewfinder, is of course much better. What has really pleasantly surprised me is the build quality and the heftier feel of the IIIg. It seems like a smaller version of the M3, everything working with a solid smoothness that makes my IIIa seem a rather primitive instrument by comparison. Perhaps it's just because I have got a good example of the IIIg with the chrome and vulcanite in excelent condition and the glass all crystal clear.
I am also looking forward to using the flash sync feature.
Well, I just wanted to share my thoughts on the new arrival - it will certainly not be sitting idle in a glass case, but hopefully producing some nice images with my Elmar 50/2.8.
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