Ronald_H
Don't call me Ron
Hi all,
Found a black 1936 Leica III on the auction site. Seller is from the Netherlands so I can probably see before I buy.
Pictures look very nice, the cam seems genuine (I learned a thing or two since I first came here
)
'Problem' is that somewhere during the last 70 odd years a flash socket was added on the top plate, right through the 'Leitz Wetzlar' engraving. A bit ugly.
What would be a 'normal' price for a camera like this? Yes, I know the drill, check previous auctions etc., but I've never seen a camera like this before.
Edit: The camera comes with an Elmar lens.
Found a black 1936 Leica III on the auction site. Seller is from the Netherlands so I can probably see before I buy.
Pictures look very nice, the cam seems genuine (I learned a thing or two since I first came here
)'Problem' is that somewhere during the last 70 odd years a flash socket was added on the top plate, right through the 'Leitz Wetzlar' engraving. A bit ugly.
What would be a 'normal' price for a camera like this? Yes, I know the drill, check previous auctions etc., but I've never seen a camera like this before.
Edit: The camera comes with an Elmar lens.
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Mr_Flibble
In Tabulas Argenteas Refero
What a coincidence, Ronald. I have also Leica III with a PC flash-sync in the same spot. Mine has a chrome top plate though and I bought it from someone here on the RFF.
I guess it would cost a bit less then an unmarred III. But the black finish, if still good, should up the price a bit too.
If I recall correctly I paid $175 for the camera body.
I've been meaning to try the flash socket, but up to this point I've never done flash photography, certainly not with a Leica.
What would be a good flash to use with this camera? I prefer something hand-held.
I guess it would cost a bit less then an unmarred III. But the black finish, if still good, should up the price a bit too.
If I recall correctly I paid $175 for the camera body.
I've been meaning to try the flash socket, but up to this point I've never done flash photography, certainly not with a Leica.
What would be a good flash to use with this camera? I prefer something hand-held.
Ronald_H
Don't call me Ron
Frankly I would rather buy it without the PC flash sync. Flash and Leicas don't really go well together, I'd rather use a fast film and lens and use flash with a dSLR in the studio.
Can't really help you with a suitable flash. You will have to meter manually of course, unless the flash is sophisticated enought to do it. But other will chime in with suitable candidates soon enough
Can't really help you with a suitable flash. You will have to meter manually of course, unless the flash is sophisticated enought to do it. But other will chime in with suitable candidates soon enough
john neal
fallor ergo sum
Ronald,
Black body prices seem to be on the up (well before the credit crunch anyway). I have seen mint- bodies at around GBP250, plus another GBP70 to 100 for a useable Elmar. I would guess that the flash socket kills any collector interest in the body, regardless of general condition, so I would guess around GBP100 for the body if it is working correctly, a little less if it needs a CLA.
Having said that, I guess it always comes down to how badly do you want it?
Black body prices seem to be on the up (well before the credit crunch anyway). I have seen mint- bodies at around GBP250, plus another GBP70 to 100 for a useable Elmar. I would guess that the flash socket kills any collector interest in the body, regardless of general condition, so I would guess around GBP100 for the body if it is working correctly, a little less if it needs a CLA.
Having said that, I guess it always comes down to how badly do you want it?
Frank Petronio
Well-known
I've seen that auction and it is a very nice camera and the PC socket installation looks very professional, so it would probably be a good "user". I think the prices are a bit higher than the estimates above, in the mid-$300 USD range.
With a simple auto flash like the Vivitar 283, you can set the aperture and the flash for f/5.6-8-11, etc... and fire away. It has an "eye" that judges exposure. You simply get a short "Vivitar to male PC" cable. Of course the flash photos will still look like awful on camera flash photos ;-)
With a simple auto flash like the Vivitar 283, you can set the aperture and the flash for f/5.6-8-11, etc... and fire away. It has an "eye" that judges exposure. You simply get a short "Vivitar to male PC" cable. Of course the flash photos will still look like awful on camera flash photos ;-)
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Mr_Flibble
In Tabulas Argenteas Refero
Thanks Frank, I'll have a look.
Ronald_H
Don't call me Ron
Not that badly. But when the days are getting longer I find myself idly passing the time by looking for nice cameras. I'm not a collector, but I'd like to have a LTM Leica one day. Preferably a black, converted I, as old as possible, without getting into dangerously (and expensive) collectable ones. Oh, and it should work, because I intent to use it. But basically any usable pre-war Leica would do. I could buy an early Zorki or FED, but I have never seen one I wanted to own.
In the last two years or so I bought/was given a Nikon FM, 2 FE's, an EM, a Canonet GIII QL 17, a FED5 and a Leica M2. Only the Leica was anywhere near expensive. The rest I got for pocket money or less.
But there are cameras out there that have always intrigued me, and now are actually within reach budget wise. A Yashicamat 124 for example (OK, I wanted a Rolleiflex, but sometimes common sense cuts in). Or a Hassy 500 C/M. Or a Leica M3... you get the idea. But I'm a photographer first, a gearhead second.