Leica LTM is this black leica III a fake

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
lxmike

lxmike

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Hi,

l have seen a black leica listed but something does not seem quite right, how does the engraving look to people, could this be a fake, any help gratefully accepted
 

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This is absolutely a genuine Leica III, a quite early one, black and nickel. The flash socket is not genuine, of course.

Typical for the Leica III is the "long" time knob on the front and the brownish tone of the body covering.

It is an early one, 1933 or 1934.

The lettering is in Woods metal, see the Leica LTM thread.


See this thread too: https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=165625


Erik.
 
Erik van Straten said:
This is absolutely a genuine Leica III, a quite early one, black and nickel. The flash socket is not genuine, of course.

Typical for the Leica III is the "long" time knob on the front and the brownish tone of the body covering.

It is an early one, 1933 or 1934.

The lettering is in Woods metal, see the Leica LTM thread.


See this thread too: https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=165625


Erik.
Click to expand...

thanks Erik, l am tempted, only thing putting me off is the flash synch upgrade on the front
 
Looks a bit beat up. The "corrosion" or "flakiness" around the engraved areas on the top plate remind me of a botch paint job. I'm not saying that's what this is, only that those areas look awful. Clearly, the camera will want a good servicing right away. I bet it cleans up nice :)

The flash upgrade can be undone/removed of course. Only outward impact would be a hole in the vulcanite. A recovering would address that, but then it would not be original...

Personally, I'd only consider if the price was pretty low.....factoring the CLA and what not.
 
lxmike said:
well GAS took over, l made them an offer and they accepted it, got it for £130
Click to expand...


Not bad. :cool: Even after you service it, you'll have a BP early III for less than one already in good condition typically sells for.
 
Congratz

If it bothers you, I'm sure any service man can remove the flash port. Looks pretty cool :)

Best regards

Marcelo
 
rfaspen said:
Not bad. :cool: Even after you service it, you'll have a BP early III for less than one already in good condition typically sells for.
Click to expand...

many thanks, l thought at £10 it was worth the gamble, obviously l will get it serviced but might run a film through first to see what the results are like
 
Erik van Straten said:
This is absolutely a genuine Leica III, a quite early one, black and nickel. The flash socket is not genuine, of course.

Typical for the Leica III is the "long" time knob on the front and the brownish tone of the body covering.

It is an early one, 1933 or 1934.

The lettering is in Woods metal, see the Leica LTM thread.


See this thread too: https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=165625


Erik.
Click to expand...

Erik is there a link for the thread regarding leica lettering, l cannot seem to find it
 
I think that the idea that excellent fake Leicas abound is a little over rated.

Most fake LTM Leicas are re-labelled Zorki 1 or Fed 1 and can be easily spotted from yards away, most if not all would not have a slow speed dial and try to pass off as a Leica II or maybe a Leica I .

This day and age fakers would not try to pass off a Japanese Leica copy as a Leica, be it a Nicca/Tower or Leotax or Tanack or a super rare Melcon or Chiyotax or Honor, as these are sought after as they are and bring more money as is than minty actual Leica III or IIIa
 
xayraa33 said:
I think that the idea that excellent fake Leicas abound is a little over rated.

Most fake LTM Leicas are re-labelled Zorki 1 or Fed 1 and can be easily spotted from yards away, most if not all would not have a slow speed dial and try to pass off as a Leica II or maybe a Leica I .

This day and age fakers would not try to pass off a Japanese Leica copy as a Leica, be it a Nicca/Tower or Leotax or Tanack or a super rare Melcon or Chiyotax or Honor, as these are sought after as they are and bring more money as is than minty actual Leica III or IIIa
Click to expand...


thank you this information is good to know
 
obviously l will post some pics on arrival after the camera has had a light wipe down with an appropriate cloth
 
Looks like the top has been retouched or repainted. Hope it will respond to cleaning.

Regarding fakes, apart from exotic things like the 250 I have never seen a faked 'ordinary' III...have you?
 
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