Is this a real Leica?

[drizzle]

Hi, found this at a flea market and wonder if it is a Zorki or real Lecia IID. Would appreciate some help in identification and the age.

Camera is in good working condition and shutter cloth has no hole.

Thanks.

 

[rxmd]

It's a Zorki. You can tell by the shutter release button, which has a thread for a cable release; by the shape of the top cover underneath the speed selector; by the shape of the front viewfinder window; and probably by the nice gold-ish colour.

Edit: Judging from the set of shutter speeds and the frame around the lens mount, it's probably a Zorki 1E. You can check this on Wayne Cornell's Zorki overview. If you read German, there's also the very good overview site by Guido Stuber.

I'd keep it nevertheless, it looks like a nice camera and fake Leicas have their own bizarre charm IMHO.

 

[drizzle]

Thanks rxmd for the useful info. I guess as much when I was offered a very low price for it as a real one won't be cheap.

 

[NL2377]

Definately a clone... with that said, I have 3 clones, and they all work great...! my real leica II was definately a little bit more expensive.

 

[dee]

I love the '' Zorki / Fed pretenders '' , they complement my two black Leica II 's - try putting a film through it - you may find that it great fun to use !
The brass is usually stripped without any laquer , so it will tarnish like crazy , mine are balck and chrome , but have gone to Russia for tlc !

 

[Joe Mondello]

So did real WWII-era Leicas have swastikas engraved on them like this Zorki does?

 

[colyn]

So did real WWII-era Leicas have swastikas engraved on them like this Zorki does?

Only a few. They were used by the Navy and Marines and most were IIIc's.

 

[NL2377]

So did real WWII-era Leicas have swastikas engraved on them like this Zorki does?

You will find that most any remaining have them scratched out, and they go for quite a bit more money, too...

As Dee said, they will tarnish like crazy if they havent been laquered... mine havent, and they are on thier way out, but I like it that way...

 

[Jocko]

Only a few. They were used by the Navy and Marines and most were IIIc's.

Absolutely - I am no expert, but from what I gather the markings were quite discreet - a small, schematic national insignia (eagle over swastika above the letter M [Marine]), not the camp Nazi-porn of most fakes - at least to that extent this camera is unusually realistic!

Most of the defaced cameras have simply had the words "Luftwaffen Eigentum" ("Airforce Property") rubbed off: they were never given the gaudy markings fakers invent - and to my knowledge [most?] were painted field grey.

Cheers, Ian

 

[reagan]

Looks like a keeper. Take it for a test run, for sure. It appears to be already getting darker, which, IMHO, is a good thing. Tarnished with bright worn spots should be quite interesting and somewhat unique. (I'm not much on the *gold* look.) A good flea market find... congrats!

edit:... and welcome to RFF, drizzle!!

 

[drizzle]

Looks like a keeper. Take it for a test run, for sure. It appears to be already getting darker, which, IMHO, is a good thing. Tarnished with bright worn spots should be quite interesting and somewhat unique. (I'm not much on the *gold* look.) A good flea market find... congrats!

edit:... and welcome to RFF, drizzle!!

Thanks CVBLZ4 for the warm welcome and to everyone for your valuable feedback about this Leica clone. When I first saw this "Leica", I kind of fell in love with it and knew for sure it is not the real thing becos you normally don't see it a a flea market. I have a Nikon S 2 that is in tip top condition and thought that something like this "Leica" would be a good collector item too despite it being a clone.

Did a search on the net and have not seen any clone that is identical in design (swastika insignia etc).

Will give it a spin when I have the time.

Cheers.

 

[bob cole]

Is this a real Leica?

So did real WWII-era Leicas have swastikas engraved on them like this Zorki does?

Here are some real early German military Leicas from the German Air Force, German Army and the German Navy, in that order...They are from Jim Lager's Illustrated History of the Leica, Vol. I...

Luftwaffen, of course, is the air force; Eigentum means air force property...The words are painted in white on the back vulcanite...

Herr is Army...Herr Eigentum means property of the army... Lager says the words were "incised" in the vulcanite or the word Heer engraved on the top.... Later ones, he says, were engraved W.H. [Wehrmacht Heer] , armed forces, army, on top...


The Kriegsmarine or German Navy had several varieties, he notes...including IIIc's with the Reichsadler [eagle] with the swastika engraved on top and a capital letter M [marine] followed by a three-digit number....



Lager also shows several defaced military Leicas with the Luftwaffen-Eigentum words ground away, precisely milled away, covered over with a small plate that is screwed on , replaced with someone's name, with the eagle defaced and with the Luftwaffen-Eigentum words cut out and replaced with a patch.

As you can see, military Leicas are a major field unto itself and, again, as related by Lager, extend beyond just German armed forces Leicas into Swedish, British, Italian, U.S., Canadian and even post-war German military Leicas...


Lager also notes that it is often difficult to determine if a particular model is authentic...