Just scored a IIIG!

[bob338]

i just picked up a IIIG with a 50mm summicron on the auction site for $400!

i'm pretty sure it's gonna need a thorough cla, any recommendations?

i'll post more info whenever it arrives...

thanks.

bob

 

[payasam]

$400 is really low for what you got. For the IIIG, there's Youxin Ye, wye7@yahoo.com. He does not do lenses, though. You could try DAG, www.dagcamera.com, if the Summicron needs attention.

 

[Spyderman]

Wow! 400! Great price. AFAIK they tend to go for about 1000 in good condition...

Get it CLA'd (if needed) and enjoy it.

 

[Roger Hicks]

That is a giveaway price. I'd suggest that you wait until it arrives before trying to work out what it needs, then ask (here) again.

Cheers,

Roger

 

[Keith]

Wow! 400! Great price. AFAIK they tend to go for about 1000 in good condition...

Get it CLA'd (if needed) and enjoy it.

Even extreme user IIIg's go for this much without a lens ... mine cost me close to a grand a couple of years ago and no lens!😱

 

[Solinar]

At that price, bright marks and scratches are forgiven. I'll second the recommendation on Youxin Ye for the servicing the IIIg - but as Roger said, wait till it gets here.

Congratulations - and - enjoy.

 

[jack palmer]

I was watching two on that auction site and one went for $1,700.0 0 +with lens and the other went for $1.300.00 + without. Both Mint.I didn't see any for $400.00!
Where was that hidden? Next time I see a mint 3g for a grand and Buy it Now, I'm going to grab it.

 

[johnastovall]

Send the body and lens to Sherry Krauter, Golden Touch. Sherry does lovely work on both bodies and lens. Just had my IIIG and lens CLAed there.

 

[bob338]

At that price, bright marks and scratches are forgiven. I'll second the recommendation on Youxin Ye for the servicing the IIIg - but as Roger said, wait till it gets here.

Congratulations - and - enjoy.

yeah, i've been looking for a user IIIG for some time now. they always go for more than i'm willing to pay...then this one popped on *bay with a buy it now of $400. i guess i just got lucky being the first person to hit the buy it button.

i was hoping to get some other recommendations besides youxin and DAG. i had a terrible experience with youxin last year and don goldberg takes a long time.

i'll post what it needs when it actually arrives...

bob

 

[jack palmer]

Nothing like being in the right place at the right time.😀

 

[Graybeard]

The Leica expert that you might consider is John Maddox at L&J Leica Repair.

John is second to none in the quality of his work on Barnack Leicas and he has sources of new parts. He installed a new shutter brake on a IIIg for me recently - a part he obtained from a manufacturee in Germany. His turnaround time is variable but nowhere near where DAG is at this point- contact John at leica1925@aol.com.

yeah, i've been looking for a user IIIG for some time now. they always go for more than i'm willing to pay...then this one popped on *bay with a buy it now of $400. i guess i just got lucky being the first person to hit the buy it button.

i was hoping to get some other recommendations besides youxin and DAG. i had a terrible experience with youxin last year and don goldberg takes a long time.

i'll post what it needs when it actually arrives...

bob

 

[George S.]

I don't see any completed $400 IIIG auctions on the auction site. Could you show us the auction number? You sure you didn't get sniped at last second?
Or buy a Leica clone? Or forget a "1" in front of th "4"?!

Leica price guide lists the going price at around $1400 for a body, no lens.

 

[dll927]

By now it must be thirty years ago another teacher at school said he had a IIIg. I promptly told him never to let go of it, as it would only increase in value. I'm sure he has gone to his eternal reward by now, but I wonder what happened to that IIIg. (He had no children.)

I remember reading in PP, almost that many years ago, that Leica would no longer service thread-mount cameras. Odd, considering that the company at one time would upgrade a Leica to a newer configuration. But even by that time the M series had taken over the lion's share of attention, so screw-mount ones were history. Oh yeah???

 

[bob338]

the item number is 310024327363.

i actually got an email from another member saying i needed to thank him for convincing the seller to sell it to him for $400. i just happened upon the auction before he got back to his computer to buy it himself.

right place, right time...

 

[Matthew Allen]

Wow - that's about what I paid for my IIIa and Summitar. I hope you enjoy it!

Matthew

 

[George S.]

Ok, the auction pops up now. I don't know if the seller knows what he's talking about, but he states that he can't see a shutter in the camera! Hope you have something that can be put back to usable condition.

 

[Matthew Allen]

Ok, the auction pops up now. I don't know if the seller knows what he's talking about, but he states that he can't see a shutter in the camera! Hope you have something that can be put back to usable condition.

It's likely that the seller has never seen a focal plane cloth shutter and he thinks he's looking at the back of the camera when he looks at it. Even with the cost of a new shutter in the equation this could still be a very good deal.

Matthew

 

[bob338]

It's likely that the seller has never seen a focal plane cloth shutter and he thinks he's looking at the back of the camera when he looks at it. Even with the cost of a new shutter in the equation this could still be a very good deal.

Matthew

this is what i'm counting on. not many people know much about screw leicas. i assumed the seller was looking for a mirror or a metal shutter, not a cloth focal plane shutter.
i have my fingers crossed, but still assume it will need some work.
either way, it's a good deal for a camera i've been wanting for a long time.

 

[George S.]

It's likely that the seller has never seen a focal plane cloth shutter and he thinks he's looking at the back of the camera when he looks at it. Even with the cost of a new shutter in the equation this could still be a very good deal.

Matthew

Why is that more likely than any other explanation? It sounds like the seller went out of his way to say "as is" and "non-functioning". He may know a bit more than he wants us to think he knows so a buyer would think he's getting a great deal off someone who doesn't realize the value of what he has.

I hope its in great shape, but if it turns out to need $300 to $400 worth of work where's the screaming hot deal? Yes, you'll have a working IIIG then, but a cobbled-together one. I do hope this isn't the case, but anything's possible, nothing is more likely than anything else until Bob gets it in his hands.

 

[bob338]

okay, got the camera and it's a piece of junk! curtains are wrinkled, viewfinder so dirty you can't see through it, vulcanite fell of when i opened the box, and the shutter only works when it wants to.

i talked to sherry krauter this morning and got an extimate of $425 for complete rebuild including curtains.

sometimes you win...sometimes you break even.