leica iiia

[andens2]

My (new) camera has arrived, but I'm wondering about certain things, is the "turret" for taken photo's on the top normal and why would someone try to put a synch connection on this on the top. In the photo's attached you can see these items plainly. It came with a Fed lens but that's being changed as soon as my Summicron 50 collapsible arrives. Should I be concerned with these "modifications"?

 

[peterm1]

The shutter release button collar (if that is what you are referring to) looks like a replacement from a fed. The original 111a ones I have seen are all smaller, cylindrical in shape and knurled on the outside. I suspect the original may have been lost. They can unscrew easily.

A lot of cameras had a flash synch "jack" added after the camera was sold often after WW2 when use of flash bulbs became more common. Its a shame that this one was added to the top plate but thats not uncommon for after-market additions.

Leica even offered this service in the 1950s but they always addedit neatly to the back of the camera in the normal position that you find these things on other cameras before hot shoes were developed. I guess it was easier to add it to the top without fritzing around with the internals too much. (It works off a kind of mechanical "switch" which closes the circuit at the appropriate moment triggering the flash to fire.

I would not worry about it. You cant do much about the flash sync but if you are fastidious you might try to find the right button surround on eBay or elsewhere.

The little Elmar (fed lens) should work fine but is uncoated. In fact if in good condition they are actually quite nice lenses and the original Elmar of this type was standard on these cameras in the day. Summicrons were developed later than this camera (1953 compared tothe last 111a's being made in 1948) and may to some eyes look a little too large on these bodies (which are quite petite - smaller in fact than the 111c cameras and those that came after.) But that should not deter you from using it as it will work fine. I have used a Summitar on my 111a body and it works well but as I say looks a little large to me.

 

[andens2]

Peter,


Thanks very much for your response. I will try to get the right button for the camera, but am not that too concerned at the moment (it arrived today). With regard to the Summicron lenses they say that these lens (in particular, the collapsible one) are of not particularly strong/high contrast. If that is the case, then do you ( or anyone else) know which would be the best filter to use to improve the contrast.

Many thanks,

Andrew

 

[Mr_Flibble]

I have a Leica III with a flash-sync socket in the same position. it doesn't appear to work in my case though (could be I'm using the wrong cable). Apart from that the camera works fine.

The release collar should not have any influence either.


You might notice a little back focus at close up and wide apertures with the FED lens on this body though.


Be sure to share your pictures and experiences 🙂

 

[xayraa33]

Replacement shutter release collar with the button extension were sold as optional accessories in the 30s 40s and fifties by independent makers.
These promised to give you less camera shake at the low shutter speeds and even prevented your index finger from striking the shutter dial during film exposure.

I often find them on the Leica III, IIIa and IIIb more so than the later series as the earlier non cast frame Leicas had a longer and stiffer shutter release feel and this might have helped to achieve blur free photos.


Every non flash synced camera seemed to have been retro fitted with flash sync in the early 1950s to be on parr with the latest modern camera.

 

[andens2]

Thank you guys, does anyone have any considerations regarding the Summicron filter question? Help, here would be much appreciated as I know nothing of the Leica (and others) filters.

Regards,

Andrew

 

[xayraa33]

Thank you guys, does anyone have any considerations regarding the Summicron filter question? Help, here would be much appreciated as I know nothing of the Leica (and others) filters.

Regards,

Andrew

E39 filters by reputable makers like B&W , Hoya or Leitz themselves will fit your 50mm Summicron.

 

[FrankS]

With B+W film, yellow and yellow-green are common contrast enhancing filters. Orange and red give more blatant results.

 

[peterm1]

Peter,


Thanks very much for your response. I will try to get the right button for the camera, but am not that too concerned at the moment (it arrived today). With regard to the Summicron lenses they say that these lens (in particular, the collapsible one) are of not particularly strong/high contrast. If that is the case, then do you ( or anyone else) know which would be the best filter to use to improve the contrast.

Many thanks,

Andrew

I would not worry too much about a Summicron's contrast. Its all relative and they have better contrast by comparison with earlier lens designs (comes in part from using new types of glass in their design). By comparison with modern day lenses that breed of Summicrons are actually a little low in contrast as you say. But nothing to worry about.

As someone else says here, improving contrast when shooting black and white can be achieved by using a yellow, orange, red or green filter (depending on what effect you desire.)

Using an orange filter in a landscape photo will, for example, make skies look darker by suppressing blue light. This makes clouds stand out and look more natural. (Yellow has slightly less effect - red slightly more.) Complimentary effects are found for other photos. A green filter is used in portraits to make skin tones look more natural etc.

You will not need anything for color photos. Actually this is usually good when shooting color as I find modern colour film a bit too "in your face" and bright. A slight lowering of contrast works well with these highly saturated films.

BTW I should mention that the above technique for black and white photos does not change the fundamentals. As I understand it (I'm not a tech head) what they are talking about when they say the early Summi's are "low contrast" is something called micro contrast - how the lens is able to represent dark and light parts of the image at a very small level of detail. This affects apparent sharpness I believe - modern high contrast lenses can seem sharper as at a very fine level of detail because the blacks look blacker and any adjacent whites look whiter if I can put it that way. Using filters will never overcome this (they affect what I suppose could be called macro contrast which never the less does improve image quality in some types of photos.)

Moreover many people prefer the look of the older Summicrons as it gives what is regarded as a "classic look" to black and white images -i.e. the lower micro contrast makes the images look like those taken in the 1950s (unsurprisingly).

There is a discssion on the topic here

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=006YLu

And here

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/lens-contrast.shtml

 

[Keith Fleming]

If shooting black & white film and making your own prints as I do, you can easily adjust for a lower contrast negative in the darkroom. If using graded paper, just print on a higher contrast grade paper. If using variable contrast papers, just use a higher contrast filter. (Doing this here in the Pacific Northwest is a fact of life given how fast clouds or high haze can move in or out.)

Keith

 

[David Hughes]

Why not just unscrew the odd shutter guard, if it worries you? Enough people have lost them for you to be in good company. You can get replacement ones from most Leica repairers, often in stainless steel.

Regards, David

 

[rogerzilla]

I briefly had a collapsible Summicron but didn't like it much; it was very prone to flare and the bokeh is full-on double-image stuff. One of the CV 50mm lenses would be a better bet if you're not a purist, or a late coated Elmar if f/3.5 is good enough; an Elmar is plenty sharp enough.

I now have a Summicron dual range on an M body and that is largely immune to flare and has good, or at least non-distracting, bokeh. Won't fit an LTM though.

I would strongly recommend the CV 21mm f/4 lens if you want to add another focal length. I recently bought one (yes, it is a screwmount lens with an adaptor so will fit an LTM camera) and I can find nothing whatsoever to criticise. It's far more useful than I ever thought because (unlike SLR 21mm lenses) it doesn't add any distortion. It simply lets you take shots where you don't have much room.

 

[MV72]

Here's my 1937 IIIa with shutter collar and flash sync.