Leica LTM It just arrived yesterday.....The 1946 "Half Race" Leica IIIC for Repairs/Restoration

[LeicaTom]

Well LOOKY LOOKY! the LATEST "Half Race" just arrived here today.........

Another ebay auction win is this 1945 "Half Race" in the #393xxx series (about August 1945) this is the camera
I nicknamed the "PEARL HARBOR" Leica, because it came from an Ex- Military estate sale find outside of Honolulu, Hawaii
(I believe it was a Berlin Airlift Era "bringback" from an Air Force man -because 19th Troop Carrier Squadron was stationed at Hickham Field, Honolulu and helped fly the Airlift 1948/49 - and the 19th TCS were also the subject of the 1950 Hollywood movie "The Big Lift" starring Montgomery Clift and Paul Douglas *a fantastic movie btw!*)

*the serial numbers have been censored to protect the innocent.....*

It`s a decent looking camera, that`s a soild 8+ has 99.8% Vulcanite and will need a FULL CLA and NEW CURTAINS
also will get a new slow speed knob and possibly a new bottom plate, camera will be 100% restored show or shoot ready

The Summar on it was a 1937 issue and was sold off the camera before it even got here.....people you were TOO SLOW that night I offered it and you missed an UNREAL LENS!!!!!

The BEST Summar I`ve ever seen in all the years I`ve done Leica - crystal clear and passed the flashlight test 100% - it has just a few specks of dust inside and a "stiff" aperture ring that`s it......overall a kickass deal at $105!!!!!
*Chris you are going to LOVE this lens!*

My NEXT Summar Sale is going to be considerably more expensive..........

I think that the Summar`s are "in" with LTM Photographers now after so many years the Leitz Summar was labeled as a bad performer, but this has been proven wrong many times with the beautiful Leica "Glow" that this lens produces, lenses in this condition show the TRUE aspect of the glass, I can`t wait till Chris gets some work shot with it......

This camera`s going to be fully restored and I MIGHT? Sell it!
While I have to finance my IIIC K project and also save money up for the book planned in the near future


Tom

 

[landsknechte]

I think that the Summar`s are "in" with LTM Photographers now after so many years the Leitz Summar was labeled as a bad performer, but this has been proven wrong many times with the beautiful Leica "Glow" that this lens produces, lenses in this condition show the TRUE aspect of the glass, I can`t wait till Chris gets some work shot with it......

You're quite right. That is a heck of a lens!

I'm going to be burning quite a bit of film this weekend, so hopefully I'll soon have some good stuff to share.

Thanks,
--Chris

 

[LeicaTom]

You're quite right. That is a heck of a lens!

I'm going to be burning quite a bit of film this weekend, so hopefully I'll soon have some good stuff to share.

Thanks,
--Chris

Kool Kool!

I just read this, I had sent you an email, I noticed you got the Summar today......yeah that damm things`s almost like brand new

Can`t wait to see what it does for photos, when you do some you should start a thread....

Happy Shooting!

Tom

 

[LeicaTom]

Leica Girl - Remee and 1946 Half Race Leica IIIC

Leica Girl - Remee and 1946 Half Race Leica IIIC

Here`s a sample of the 1940`s styled PinUp Photoshoot I did with my dear friend and model
Miss Remee Martin and my 1946 "Half Race" Leica IIIC #3972xx with original issued f3.5 50mm Elmar
back in late August, before the camera went out for CLA

This photoshoot idea was based from a rare US Army booklet printed in 1945 by the
Seventh Army Group HQ US Army showing a pretty girl demonstrating the proper holding
techniques of the Leica IIIC

Enjoy!

Tom

 

[landsknechte]

Alas, it looks like I'll have to wait until Halloween to get my negatives back from the outlab.

*sigh*

This is like asking a kid on Christmas morning to wait until New Years before opening any of the goodies under the tree.

 

[LeicaTom]

Alas, it looks like I'll have to wait until Halloween to get my negatives back from the outlab.

*sigh*

This is like asking a kid on Christmas morning to wait until New Years before opening any of the goodies under the tree.

Dammm that stinks......

I just got back my negs from my "uncoated" Wartime Summitar color film TEST with #392xxx and my black n white work with a NEW f1.5 50mm Canon on #3972xx shot today about 12 hours ago they are scanned and I`ll be posting the results in two new threads on the site here soon......

I can`t wait to see what the Summar does, I know it`s going to be really good!

Tom

 

[Charles Woodhouse]

Hi Tom, I reckon the metal plate that the forum member can see in an early wartime IIIc is the cover for the slow speed escapement. This is similar in early IIIc cameras to the slow speed escapement cover in III's, IIIa's and IIIb's, except it has a setting lever on top at the front to activate the 10, 15 and 20 speeds. At some stage in production between no.386xxx and 391xxx the baffles were modified to a similar pattern to the postwar IIIc and onwards to the IIIg, and a slow speed escapement resetting lever was incorporated, operating off a gear at the base of the second curtain spindle.
There are so many variations of these "step" IIIc's!

 

[Charles Woodhouse]

I just started to refurbish my IIIc (a 409xxx) so I guess its from 1946. I want to change the covering: I had to remove a flash sinc which was of course not original and by the way was not wired at all so wasn't functional: so there is now a gap in the body. Anyway I have stripped the thing but can't get off the two round lenses in at the front; the rings came off smootly but the lenses are quite stuck. How to remove these lenses (and what is around them - kind of black ring - ) without scratching the body? .

thanks

PS, I am still in doubt whether to paint it black, gray or have it rechromed .

Hi Ron, as you look at the front of the camera, the lens on the right should have two tiny indents in the black surround, and the edge of a carefully filed steel rule should fit into these indents but not touch the top cover. Very carefully turn this tool anti-clockwise and the lens should start to unscrew. Once it has started to move finger pressure and twisting should remove it. It is a plain glass and its only purpose is to protect the 45degree beam splitter underneath.
The lens on the left is actually a very shallow prism and rotating it adjusts the vertical alignment of the split image. It can often be prised out of its housing by careful fingernail pressure around the black surround. In more extreme situations
extremely careful prising with a very fine screwdriver may be necessary, but be very careful not to damage the ultra fine threads where the rangefinder bezels
screw into the top plate. Having removed the press fit shallow prism you will probably have to remove the ring that this prism's mount presses into. There are two slots in the front surface of this ring, and a suitable tool should remove it.
I always put a black dot at the top of the shallow prism as an aid to replacing it in approximately its correct orientation. It will have to be finallyadjusted for correct vertical adjustment before you tackle horizontal adjustment.

 

[landsknechte]

Dammm that stinks......

I just got back my negs from my "uncoated" Wartime Summitar color film TEST with #392xxx and my black n white work with a NEW f1.5 50mm Canon on #3972xx shot today about 12 hours ago they are scanned and I`ll be posting the results in two new threads on the site here soon......

I can`t wait to see what the Summar does, I know it`s going to be really good!

Tom

BTW, what's your take on whether that Summar is coated or uncoated?

 

[LeicaTom]

BTW, what's your take on whether that Summar is coated or uncoated?

OHHHH that one I sold you is UNCOATED 100%

Tom

 

[LeicaTom]

"Half Race" outfit at WestLicht Photographica Auction

"Half Race" outfit at WestLicht Photographica Auction

Here`s a Leica IIIC "Half Race" with some goodies.....also pretty rare from the 396xxx series (November/December 1945)


http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/35-Leica-IIIc-outfit_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ28272QQihZ017QQitemZ270184873069QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Kit looks pretty nice, though the wide angle and longer lenses seem too old for the gear`s age (though "wartime" series Elmar 35`s are very rare if any were hardly made, so the 1930`s issue wide angle might? be original to the kit?) the longer lenses were issued after 570xxx+ after May 1945

The finder`s also a bit too old for the kit and the manual is too new, just pointing out the correct/incorrect pieces for all of those interested

Not a bad kit thought and I`d personally value it at being worth a soild $1,200

Let`s see if it goes over that.......?


..........and here`s another AMAZING "Half Race" on ebay now, (August/Sept 1945) which I personally bid on to $500, but I`m SURE this one`s going to go HIGHER than that
it`s a 98% mint US Army issue camera

I personaly think this was a
"Black Market"
camera that was NEVER USED and traded to a German civilian from a GI since new and then brought to the US from a Tourist Flea Market buy....
(that`s been sitting in cold storage since the early 1970`s!!!!!)

http://cgi.ebay.com/LEICA-IIIc-PRE-WAR-MODEL-SER-395997-IN-BEAUTIFUL-COND_W0QQitemZ290178666436QQihZ019QQcategoryZ30030QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I think this one will go well over $600 and still be a bargain, it`s quite possibly the most perfect condition camera I`ve seen of that era 1945/46 in the "Half Race" series stepped rewind platform IIIC`s

Tom

 

[landsknechte]

Even the case is in amazingly good condition.

 

[LeicaTom]

Even the case is in amazingly good condition.

Yeah I wish I had $800 to throw at that right now........it`s worth every penny and almost
"too pretty"
to take pictures with


Tom

 

[PAN F]

Reedited: I`m still looking for other clean camera`s in the #391xxx, 394xxx, 395xxx and 396xxx serial number ranges then I`ll have versions of all the postwar 1945/46 Leica IIIC`s made to fill in all the gaps and finish some research that`s I`m doing together for the planned Leica book

Tom

Since Leica Tom has disappeared from RFF and his book and information doesn't look like it will ever be published does anyone on the forum have any information about these late IIIc "steppers"?.

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

This thread was about ball bearing III-C's and the place of the post-war steppers in the entire group.
My question is about III-C and ball bearings.
Were ball bearings, both full or half-race, a feature of only a special sub-set of III-c's? Are ball bearings found in III-c thru IIIg, or only those specially built with them?

 

[scigeek]

David,

I think only the post-war 111c's had them as standard.