I'm After A Barnack

Vincent.G

Vincent.G

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I would love to give Barnacks a try.
They have this Irresistable Old World charm. I like chrome cameras!

I shoot with a M4 and 35-50-90 cron currently.

Would a budget of US$500 enough to give me the Barnack experience? Would you have any suggestions or advice? 🙂
 
$450 to 500 is able to fetch a IIIF/C plus a elmar/Summitar 50 on ebay. But most of these camera and lens need a CLA (approximate 100-200USD).
 
I had a iiia that I loved, and I would like to try one again. I bought mine for about $200, and sold it (why?) for about the same. That and a Summitar or Elmar or whatever you would like and then experience the mood.

Even with a 50, I enjoyed using a shoe-mounted finder on mine.
 
i bought a leica iii (made in '35) with a 50 elmar for $300. it does need a CLA (shutter sticks sometimes) though but that shouldnt cost more than $200 like roundg mentioned.

have you thought about getting a FED or Zorki? or even an old Canon RF?
 
About ending paying less than 500$ for a good camera+lens, it's you and your luck...
I would try to find a cheap one that needs service, and send it to Youxin, and plan for a CLA, shutter and beamsplitter replacement.
Or buy from someone that actually had the work done (all of it, including replacements)
I discovered that most cameras who just "seem not to need service", in fact do.
Not sure if a lens can fit that budget too (the canon 1.8 is a good value)
 
roundg said:
$450 to 500 is able to fetch a IIIF/C plus a elmar/Summitar 50 on ebay. But most of these camera and lens need a CLA (approximate 100-200USD).
Click to expand...

Thanks Robin! I will take a look over there although I prefer to deal with people here in RFF! 😀

jmcd said:
I had a iiia that I loved, and I would like to try one again. I bought mine for about $200, and sold it (why?) for about the same. That and a Summitar or Elmar or whatever you would like and then experience the mood.

Even with a 50, I enjoyed using a shoe-mounted finder on mine.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input and hope you find back your Love soon!🙂

steveniphoto said:
i bought a leica iii (made in '35) with a 50 elmar for $300. it does need a CLA (shutter sticks sometimes) though but that shouldnt cost more than $200 like roundg mentioned.

have you thought about getting a FED or Zorki? or even an old Canon RF?
Click to expand...

I am not familiar with FED and Zorki and old Canon RF. Maybe I will take a courageous step in that direction after I know more about them (although I have limited knowledge of barnacks as of now).

sanmich said:
About ending paying less than 500$ for a good camera+lens, it's you and your luck...
I would try to find a cheap one that needs service, and send it to Youxin, and plan for a CLA, shutter and beamsplitter replacement.
Or buy from someone that actually had the work done (all of it, including replacements)
I discovered that most cameras who just "seem not to need service", in fact do.
Not sure if a lens can fit that budget too (the canon 1.8 is a good value)
Click to expand...

I am planning to invest not more than US$500 so if every Barnack + 35 / 50 lens + CLA go above that, I might possibly drop the idea.:bang:
 
I have a Canon IIF with a 50/3.5 elmar for it.

I was fondling it the other night after 12 months of neglect... since I had my M2's. I never took the time to appreciate it properly.

The rangefinder feels so precise and 'solid' in operation. I also like the little lever for magnification, so easy to precisely focus once you get use to positioning your eye behind the peephole.

It's a beautiful little camera....so much so that I have no desire to replace it with a barnack.

I thought these knob wind canons would be tedious in operation but find I can easily shoot and wind the film advance knob using the same hand.

Adding a 50mm viewfinder would make it a deadly little streetshooter.

Edit...found a photo of it together with a Nikkor HC50/2 and Canon 28/2.8 that I've since sold. 🙁

I think Brian S. replaced the ring with one from a Zorki?

6234337424_1aa096ac34_z.jpg
 
the russian branded FED and Zorki cameras are Leica Barnack clones. Functionality is completely the same but Leicas are built much better imo. After shooting with both I can say I personally don't see too much of a difference. check KEH and Fedka.

you will still probably need a CLA down the line though. like others have said, go to Youxin for that.
 
sanmich said:
you could contact Youxin to see if he has a camera for sale.
Click to expand...

He typically has most of the ii and iii types for sale at reasonable prices and if not he can "piece" one together. I got a sharkskin iiic for $300 a few months ago, and a decent lens can easily be found for $200 (Youxin might even have one)
 
Vincent,
Another way you could scratch that itch would be to have a good Barnack body and add it an industar 55mm 2.8.
These lenses seem better (more consistent) than the rest of the fsu's, and they are dirt cheap (they still have a rough feeling like the rest of them) until you find the money for a Canon of some kind...
 
I have a few Barnacks, a IID, IIF, IIIf, IIA, IIIC, etc. All of them are more or less alike, and all are fun to shoot with. But I also like the FSU cameras. The Zorki and FED 1 cameras are a cheap way to try out the Barnack experience. They are not as smooth or refined, but in decent condition they are capable of surprisingly good performance. I have been shooting with an FED S with it's 50/2 lens, and I am enjoying it very much.
 
Vincent,

KEH has a black paint Leica III (Model F) that is all brassed out, even the nickel knobs are brassed out. The price is around $475.00 if I remember correctly. Nothing like real old black paint Leicas, especially brassed out versions.

Add a CLA/overhaul...

Add a Nickel lens...or two, or three...

Anyways LTM can drive you crazy. The lenses have mucho character.

Cal

Addition: Price at KEH is $499.00.
 
Last edited:
Add my agreement to Frontman's comment. I've owned numerous Barnack Leicas over the years... and have sold them all.

I have held onto my little Zorki 1d, a clone of the early Leica II. Mine has functioned perfectly for years. I have added a CV finder to use with the 35mm J-12 lens that I love.

You can see it here:http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=128813&ppuser=20714

You can find similar cameras - serviced and ready to go at Oleg'sfor about $100, and that's with a 50mm lens... Look for a Fed !, or a Zorki 1. His site is: www.okvintagecamera.com/

Oleg is one of the "good guys" in the Ukraine. I've dealt with him for over 10 years.
 
Last edited:
If I had $500 that had to go for a LTM body I think a Canon P would be my choice. Then I'd look for a 50 Summar or 50 Elmar or better yet a Canon 50 f1.8
 
Canon P is more like an M body (size-wise and viewfinder-wise) with a screw lens mount...not really a Barnack experience.

If you shop right you can get something for less than $500, and get your money back if it's not what you were expecting. It's almost certain a CLA will be required if you go the ebay route. Also be prepared for brittle vulcanite. What may appear to be perfect in photos may disintegrate during shipping. 🙂
 
Another option w/in your price range would be Canon IVSB2 - it competed directly agt the Leica IIIf in the mid-1950s and is a beautiful Barnack clone. I like mine as much as the beautiful IIIc I purchased here a few years ago. Youxin Ye also works on the old Camon bottomloaders like the IVSB2.
 
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