Leica III, black with black knobs

[davidbivins]

I fell in love with a black III on the 'bay and won it. It's dented and worn and gorgeous. The odd thing is I haven't seen another like it: it has black winding, rewind, and slow speed knobs. I assume it's either a one-off or post-manufacturing modification. The serial number is 127967 which is a batch that preceded a batch of black III bodies. All the black ones I've seen have had chrome (?) or nickel knobs.
The great news is that all speeds, including slow, sound right-on. It's very clean inside (it was rather filthy outside) and the curtains look super. I just got it today, so I'll take it out tomorrow to test it.
It came with a black Jupiter 3 lens. The aperture ring is such that the markings are on the bottom of the lens. Is this normal? All the images I've seen online of Jupiter 3 LTM lenses have the aperture markings on top, as one would expect for easy use. I'll ask about this latter weirdness on another, more appropriate forum.

 

[Ash]

got a photo?

The chrome knobs is the one thing putting me off getting my top/base plates painted black on my IIIc

 

[davidbivins]

Not yet - can't find the digital camera. No surprise - I never use it.
I'll try a Polaroid in the meantime.

 

[Kim Coxon]

Ash,
Check out Peter's repaint page on the CRR website. Some of the more "custom" jobs retaim the chrome knobs but he can do them in black as well if you wish. Apart from a couple of "specials", both the plain black IIIs on his site are "all" black apart from the shutter release and rewind lever. http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/page3.html

Kim

got a photo?

The chrome knobs is the one thing putting me off getting my top/base plates painted black on my IIIc

 

[davidbivins]

Here it is (digital, not Polaroid):

 

[Ash]

Kim, I gotta say CRR's full black treatment makes a LTM camera look a little bit like a toy. Maybe because the finish gives a more plastic look. They look cool, but at the same time maybe the light in which the photo was taken has caused it to look, well, like a fake.

I really do love how it looks in black, but then I see the original chrome finishes and I wouldn't sacrifice it....


Maybe if I had two III's... 😀 😀

 

[davidbivins]

Other odd things about this camera. It came with a Tower leather case and a Carl Zeiss USA skylight filter on the Jupiter 3. It's definitely a polyglot!

 

[Kim Coxon]

The J3s normally mount with the aperture markings at the top. However, as has been well documented elsewhere in the forum, many J3s have focus problems on true LTM standard cameras. This can be cured by altering the thickness of the shims which can result in the front group siting further back in the mount with a corresponding shift in the aperture position. It is easily corrected by puting a new index mark on the lens and reseting the aperture ring. 😉

Kim

It came with a black Jupiter 3 lens. The aperture ring is such that the markings are on the bottom of the lens. Is this normal? All the images I've seen online of Jupiter 3 LTM lenses have the aperture markings on top, as one would expect for easy use. I'll ask about this latter weirdness on another, more appropriate forum.

 

[davidbivins]

Kim - thanks for the info. Unfortunately I'm only adept at rather simple camera repairs and limit that to Yashica Electros for the most part. Do you have a link or further information? I'll think it over with my feeble brain in the meantime and maybe I'll figure it out on my own.

 

[John Shriver]

Is that chrome showing through the paint wear? If so it's a repaint.

Still takes pictures, what the heck.

 

[reagan]

Hey, david ~ I dunno. That poor thing looks pretty God-awful. I know you're just going to get sick of it. I'll bite the bullet and send you my shipping address so you'll have some place to dump it off. 🙄


Okay, c'mon, I had to try. :angel:



The first thing I would do, dave, is go out and test drive that rascal! Good photos cover a multitude of quirks. Bad photos tell you your next step. IMO, it's a great looking camera. From the photos, the knobs look a little newer/fresher than the rest... just a little. I'm guessing someone at sometime customized 'em, but hey, they look fine to me. It's unique, and not in a bad way at all. Congrats. [As you can tell] if that had come to my mailbox today, I'd be tickled silly. ... ehhh, silly-er. 😎

It's dented and worn and gorgeous.

You're a man after my own heart. I have a black one that has stuff growing in the accessory shoe and the shutter speed dial has file marks on it... and I shoot it more than any other camera I own; my constant companion.

 

[reagan]

Is that chrome showing through the paint wear?

Looks sassy-brassy to me.

 

[davidbivins]

The photos are bad - it's brass showing through.

CVBLZ4 - what's your address - you're right, it's a loser.

Just kidding. I just took it out in the dark (PITA focusing these jobbies at night), took some inside the apartment, and it will go on my morning walk with the dog. Then, it's Diafine time!

 

[reagan]

There ya go. Fire at will. Scrounge around a find an old collapsable Industar for it and it'll go right in your jacket pocket when you're just out knockin' around. You'll find out, everytime you go out the door, you just can't leave it behind.

 

[davidbivins]

Well, I can't ever leave home without a camera slung around my chest. Lately it's been a M4, but these older bodies are great for shooting wide using scale focusing. So small and sweet...

 

[davidbivins]

Here are a couple of shots with the "new" III and Jupiter 3. I love the camera, and I'm really impressed with the lens.

 

[reagan]

Hey, no problems there. I see what that combo needs........ MORE FILM!