Leica Ig - Birthday Present

[sdevine89]

Hi all,

New member here. I'm a professional photographer but my experience with more antique cameras is limited. Up to yesterday my film collection comprised a Canon F1 and Hasselblad 553ELx.

I was gifted a Lecia Ig body for my birthday yesterday. I've done a good bit of research since then, but would love some help with my next steps. I know and appreciate how involved shooting it will be but that doesn't put me off at all.

I've been looking at a Leica Elmar 2.8 50mm for it. But where I'm lost is what rangefinder would be best. I have seen some models on line with both a horizontal range finder and a Leica viewfinder, this set up really appeals. Hard to see what brands the rangefinders are though. It seems more commons to have the vertical rangefinder, which is less appealing to me, but I'm will to go with if it's the only real option.

Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated, and I promise to keep the board updated on the journey.

 

[KoNickon]

Look for Voigtlander rangefinders -- nice quality and not expensive.

 

[Dralowid]

If staying Leica...

Viewfinder SBOOI for 50mm is very good and 1:1

Horizontal rangefinder is FOKOS but don't think it will clear SBOOI

Vertical rangefinder clears SBOOI, there are lots but think what you might want is FODIS, FOFER etc. These can be had quite reasonably, and in chrome to match your 1g

 

[sdevine89]

Brilliant thanks so much guys. Camera itself looks in great nick so hopefully will get some nice stuff out of it.

 

[xayraa33]

Fairly rare model of the last g series of the LTM Leica, I would personally use it with just a wide angle lens and a viewfinder and purely scale focus it...a sort of Al Kaplan setup.

 

[rfaspen]

Fairly rare model of the last g series of the LTM Leica, I would personally use it with just a wide angle lens and a viewfinder and purely scale focus it...a sort of Al Kaplan setup.

I second this approach.
This is what I do with my MDa

 

[raid]

Will you actually use this camera regularly or will you admire its looks as a collectible item? If you will use the camera for general photography, I would get a wide angle lens for it and a matching finder. I often used my old Canon 19/3.5 or Minolta 21/4 on a Standard Leica with a 20mm Russar finder (Russian). The depth of field is so enormous that I don't need to have RF focusing. I would use an SLR for macro photography, say. Use a 5cm lens for portraits.

Congrats.

 

[Dralowid]

Yes I was thinking this while typing info about rangefinders, 35mm Summaron, SBLOO and go for it.

There are, of course, many alternatives!

 

[sdevine89]

Many thanks all.

Yes, I do plan to shoot with the camera in my rotation of film cameras, mostly likely B&W stock.

I think there is great suggestion in using scale focus and just using a viewfinder, I might start that way so, can always add a rangefinder in time if desired.

Now to source a good quality second hand lens, any hidden gold mines online that I should be aware of?

 

[KoNickon]

Oh boy, now you've opened up a whole new line of discussion -- there will be tons of suggestions here.

Of course the threshold question is, what focal length? The wider the angle the more focusing tolerance, of course. I was thinking a Voigtlander 25/4 Snapshot Skopar with the click stops for different distances would be a great choice. But what FL do you want?

 

[Ko.Fe.]

One of the benefits of RF cameras is in the UWA lenses with less distortions.
I would get Color Skopar 21/4 with matching viewfinder and wait for C-19 to be over and dive into the crowds.

 

[sdevine89]

I like the look of both those lenses. If I'm going to go wide (I now want to having checked those out) and I think it makes great sense to do so just with a viewfinder. I supposed n terms of wide FL I'd like something in the lower 20s.

I've checked out the two lenses mentioned above, my problem now is going to be finding a nice one. Happy to spent a good bit on something that is in good condition.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Color Skopar ain't rare lens at all.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...nkw=voigtlander+color-skopar+21mm+f4&_sacat=0

They show up here at RFF as well, for less.

 

[rfaspen]

True. The LTM version of the CV 21/4 does show up rather often. I got one here at RFF some years ago....and still see them come up on a regular basis.

Excellent bang for the buck this lens!

There is some variation in QC, but from what I can tell, the "dogs" are not that common and if you get one here from a good RFFer (ask a few questions -- decentered elements would be the primary defect to avoid) you're likely to get a good one. Really good on film. I also use it on digital, but not so good and images require some massage to make them better.

 

[MISH]

...I was thinking a Voigtlander 25/4 Snapshot Skopar with the click stops for different distances would be a great choice. But what FL do you want?

i will second this suggestion, the click stops at the different focusing distances is a wonderful thing if you are trying to shoot quickly. (I use one frequently on my standard) Lots of the wide angle Voigtlander ltm came with a viewfinder so they can be a pretty good deal