Leica LTM Leica III or IIIc

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses

Leica III or IIIc

  • Leica III

    Votes: 14 10.9%

  • Leica IIIC

    Votes: 115 89.1%
  • Total voters
    129
lxmike

lxmike

M2 fan.
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Looking in my local camera dealers today he had a III @ £120 and a IIIC @ £140, now I'm tempted but don't know which one to choose, they are both in roughly the same condition. What woulf you choose
 
I got both and they are both great cameras, if the rangefinder patch contrast is good on both, I would flip a coin.
 
I prefer the IIIc. It has the benefit of having been improved over time in various ways. Compared to the III, the IIIc has a 1/1000 second top shutter speed, a die-cast chassis rather than one assembled out of a bunch of small pieces screwed together, and a stronger front able to hold heavier lenses. There are also internal improvements. I think the IIIc is the better camera of the two. I take my own advice: I have three of them!
 
The IIIC no doubt! As Rob said, apart from the faster shutter it was their first model with a one single piece metal chassis, and it's considered more reliable and durable as years of use pass by...

Cheers,

Juan
 
Of those two, the IIIc though my advice would be to wait for a IIIf. In the end, though, any of them will provide an enjoyable photographic experience.
 
The IIIF black dial is a IIIC, just with flash connection, but share shutter and 99% or 100% of the camera... The IIIF red dial and the IIIG are the last Barnack shutter (viewfinder and other things) designs... But what matters is that all of them work well and can be adjusted in present and future days to work like new...

Cheers,

Juan
 
The one with the newest curtains. And shutter speeds that seem about right. And a nice visible patch. ;)

Those types of factors seem likely to be the biggest differentiators.
 
The IIIc is better, and a BLACK IIIc is better still ...

Erik.

4588929139_dcedf1ee38_b.jpg
 
How about
a III factory converted /black paint to a IIIf
#2781 serial #
worth getting ????

Is the top and bottom Plate BRASS ?

:D
 
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Erik van Straten said:
You mean a black IIIc with added flash synch? Worth getting, if the black paint is original. Be prepared to pay a lot of money.

Erik.
Click to expand...

Oh Hi Erik
No its not original ...Painted Black and Converted at Factory III to IIIf ......1/1000

would it be Brass underneath ....the knobs & Plates ?
 
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helenhill said:
Oh Hi Erik
No its not original ...Painted Black and Converted at Factory III to IIIf ......1/10000

would it be Brass underneath ....the knobs & Plates ?
Click to expand...

Hi Helen,

I think you mean a III (or I if the serial number is 2781) that has an added IIIf-type synch. These cameras are called, when they have 1/1000 top speed and slow speeds, IIIasyn.
Yes, when they are black, they are very pretty, conversed in the fifties and they surely have brass top and bottom plates. But they are no IIIc's or IIIf's.
I'll post an example.

Erik.

3781010180_b9d26fd9fa_b.jpg
 
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THANK YOU Erik !!!
She's a BEAUTY / IIIC

i ADORE the Top view of the IIIasyn
 
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lxmike said:
Looking in my local camera dealers today he had a III @ £120 and a IIIC @ £140, now I'm tempted but don't know which one to choose, they are both in roughly the same condition. What woulf you choose
Click to expand...

Just buy both and you won't have to worry about choosing....
 
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