c.poulton
Well-known
I have seen an ad for a quite reasonably priced Leica IIIa together with a 5cm f3.5 Elmar.
What are people's experiences with actually using the screwmounts? Are pre-war lenses still usable? I was thinking of using it for B+W and possibly colour.
What are you experiences with the IIIa? Good or Bad?
What are people's experiences with actually using the screwmounts? Are pre-war lenses still usable? I was thinking of using it for B+W and possibly colour.
What are you experiences with the IIIa? Good or Bad?
S
Skinny McGee
Guest
I love my little 111A. i have a summar on mine but I have a Zorki 1 with an I22 that I have a great time with... only thing I can tell you is make sure the range finder is bright.. If it isn't you can buy a Ikoora that will help with contrast..other wise they are like little magic cameras.. they are tiny..
ZorkiKat
ЗоркийК&
If they work well and the lens is clean, prewar Leicas should be excellent user cameras. The III and IIIa are smaller than the postwar Leicas. That's one thing I like about them. I used to shoot with my III a lot, until the Zorki and FED came.
The uncoated Elmars also work fine with colour. One of the first things I did when my I got my III+Elmar 3,5/50 came was to load it and shoot with Fujichrome Velvia. The colour photos came out quite well. No problems with BW.
The lack of coating isn't really a problem with simple, moderate apertured lenses like the Elmar. It's a triplet with few surfaces to cast reflections on. You could even shoot straight into the light with it and get away with it. A lens hood is a must if the shooting situation presents a risk of having stray light shining on the lens.
The uncoated Elmars also work fine with colour. One of the first things I did when my I got my III+Elmar 3,5/50 came was to load it and shoot with Fujichrome Velvia. The colour photos came out quite well. No problems with BW.
The lack of coating isn't really a problem with simple, moderate apertured lenses like the Elmar. It's a triplet with few surfaces to cast reflections on. You could even shoot straight into the light with it and get away with it. A lens hood is a must if the shooting situation presents a risk of having stray light shining on the lens.
K
Kin Lau
Guest
It's a classic.. I love the lines and knobs on this thing.
I use a 50/3.5, 35/3.5 90/4 Elmars & a 50/2 Summar on mine. There's a tendency to flare on all of them, but on b&w and careful shading, they're all fine.
edit: oh yes, no floating framelines, only VF for 50mm, separate vf & rf, not parallax corrected. But it's still fun to shot.
I use a 50/3.5, 35/3.5 90/4 Elmars & a 50/2 Summar on mine. There's a tendency to flare on all of them, but on b&w and careful shading, they're all fine.
edit: oh yes, no floating framelines, only VF for 50mm, separate vf & rf, not parallax corrected. But it's still fun to shot.
Last edited by a moderator:
ZorkiKat
ЗоркийК&
c.poulton
Well-known
Thanks for your advice guys - I think I am sold on the 111A.
Now I just have to convince the wife that I need another camera.......
Now I just have to convince the wife that I need another camera.......
OldNick
Well-known
I've used my Leica IIIa plus Elmar 5cm f/3.5 since 1952, and neither has needed service in that time. Ask your wife to recall anything else with that reliability. See my avatar.
Jim N.
Jim N.
c.poulton
Well-known
Thanks Jim, I'll try that one on her!
It speaks volumes on the build quality of the Leica - my old GT has been going since '72 and is finally in need of some tender loving CLA.
It speaks volumes on the build quality of the Leica - my old GT has been going since '72 and is finally in need of some tender loving CLA.