IIf: Hazy viewfinder & dim RF patch

Oleg

Oleg

captainslack said:
Well, I figured out why this body was only $99.

Got my first roll of film back today. There's about a half dozen pinholes in the shutter which appear in every single frame. Guess this one is going on the shelf until I can save up the money to get a proper CLA & curtain replacement done. *sigh* And I was really starting to enjoy shooting it, too. :(

I know Oleg in Russia does this kind of work. Has anyone send their Leica to him?
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I sent a Leica IIIc to Oleg about a year ago that had the same problem, (dim rangefinder). Everything else on the camera was fine. Oleg said he could fix it using Zorki parts. His charge was $25 and the shipping was $15 going to him and 10$ coming back. The camera now has the brightest rangefinder of the three Leica LTMs I currently have.

Note that this was before he realized how much he is appreciated by those of us that have used his services. He has since raised his prices somewhat. Send him an e-mail describing your problems and see what he says.

Good luck, --- Paul C.
 
captainslack said:
Well, I figured out why this body was only $99.

Got my first roll of film back today. There's about a half dozen pinholes in the shutter which appear in every single frame. Guess this one is going on the shelf until I can save up the money to get a proper CLA & curtain replacement done. *sigh* And I was really starting to enjoy shooting it, too. :(

I know Oleg in Russia does this kind of work. Has anyone send their Leica to him?
Click to expand...


You may be able to make a temporary repair of the pinholes with black paint or a thin layer of a liquid rubber (from the hardware store). It would be worth a try as you aren't using the camera now and will eventually replace the curtains.

Oleg does do Leica repairs and he can probably replace the beamsplitter as well. Pack the camera well, I had one stolen in transit (out of a box containing three cameras) in a shipment to Oleg.

The Barnack Leicas are old enough now that, unless a previous owner had some work done on it, CLA's and repairs of this type are very common. The bright side is that once the work is done, you will have a camera that is good for another half century.
 
For sake of my budget and credit card balance, I'm probably going to have to get Oleg to replace the curtains and beamsplitter. Once I get my Zorki back from him and save up some money, that is. I'll get DAG to do a proper CLA at some point in the future. It can wait for now.
 
Those pinholes in the shutter curtains should have been mentioned by the seller. I'd at least get on the feedback section and give him "what for"!
 
dll927 said:
Those pinholes in the shutter curtains should have been mentioned by the seller. I'd at least get on the feedback section and give him "what for"!
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I got the impression that these pinholes weren't visible just looking at the curtains (and with the bottom loaders, you can't hold them up to the light) -- in this case the pinholes weren't discovered until after running film through it.

Unless a seller specifically states that he has run film through the camera -- many haven't -- and/or that the camera has been serviced recently, I'm not sure I would want to hold the seller to it. I once bought a Canon IIf with curtains that looked like they were in great shape, but when the film came back, the holes were exposed (or would that be OVER-exposed?).

Scott
 
The holes aren't visible with the naked eye. I did a visible scan of the curtain when I first got the camera and everything looked kosher. Didn't realize anything was wrong until I got the pics back. I seriously doubt the seller could have known any different.
 
backalley photo said:
scott,

there are no holes in the canon lll!! :)

joe
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Joe,

I figured as much.

It's easy when buying from someone who has actually used the camera. On ebay, though, I always assume that it might need a CLA or shutter curtains or something like that and bid accordingly. If it works as-is, it's a nice bonus.

With Leicas, strangely I've had the best luck with pre-war bodies. The 1932 black Leica II (for $200) was fine (good curtains, good speeds, good finder, etc.). I've never bought a post-war Leica body that didn't turn out to need work.

Scott
 
Hi, i'm in a similar boat as captnslack.

I've just purchased a IIIC and summitar from ebay and the slow speeds are sticking, vf is dim and aperture ring on lens is stiff. as for the condition of shutter curtain- will have to test it out this weekend.

I'm not sure if I should send it to Oleg for a CLA. I paid $260 for it and I'm afraid of it getting stolen or lost in mail. What's the best way to prevent this?
Also, any compatibility issues if he replaces parts from a zorki?
Can Oleg service the lens as well? Anyone have any experience with it?
 
Of those that know what they are doing, Oleg is probably the cheapest guy on the planet.

Here are Essex's new prices for Leica repairs. The IIIc will run $140 for CLA and $40 more for shutter curtain replacement. You end up spending $300~$400 total for an up-and-running IIIc. That's in the Ballpark with a Canon body and CLA and less than any Nikon RF that you can get in working condition.

http://essexcamera.com/camera_list.php?brand=LEICA
 
There's about a half dozen pinholes in the shutter which appear in every single frame. Guess this one is going on the shelf until I can save up the money to get a proper CLA & curtain replacement done. *sigh* And I was really starting to enjoy shooting it, too.
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I just got some recommendations for using black fabric paint on pinholed shutters. Makes recommended included Sosoft,Tulipsoft and Liquitex. The main attribute is that the paint should remain flexible after drying. Most Artist Supply outlets will hold at least one brand of fabric paint. Needless to say you do not apply the recommended heat treatment to make permenant and washproof!
I have just applied Liquitex to the shutter blinds of a badly pinholed Fed Zarya. I used a fine brush to apply the paint to one shutter blind at a time then left for 24 hours to dry. In the case of the second shutter blind you will need to leave the shutter cocked for 24 hours too. It is stating the obvious I know but do not fire the shutter with wet paint on the blinds!
To test I have shone a small torch through the blinds and no pinhole light leaks are now showing .. The shutter is firing normally at all speeds.
With a Barnack Leica you will not be able to do the torch test but maybe half a dozen shots as a test would suffice then use up the rest of the roll by transferring it into another camera and advancing past the used frames with the lens cap firmly in place.
Cheers Steve
 
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