hwsthl
Newbie
I've just recent acquired my first Leica, a black dial IIIf (sn. 535350 - 1950/51), and it needed a bit of work as the slower shutter speeds were sticky/behaved oddly.
I've done repair on a variety of different cameras before (Olympus, Minolta, and some digital stuff) but this is my first time working on a Leica or a rangefinder, and some of the process seemed a bit less than intuitive, and information was hard to find or hard to interpret.
So I thought I would make a quick video on the disassembly and CLA (sort of) of my camera. I'm certainly no expert on these cameras, but hopefully this video can help some people who just need to do a cleaning or lubrication of components, and prevent damage to one of these beautiful marvels of engineering.
Check out the video here
I don't have that many videos up right now, but I will continue making more videos like this so you should subscribe if you are interested!
If I made any glaring errors in this process, please point them out and I'd happy to revise my video, and if anyone has advice on doing a more in-depth CLA of the camera, that would also be greatly appreciated, as so far my knowledge only covers C and L (cleaning and lubrication) not really any of A (adjustment).
I've done repair on a variety of different cameras before (Olympus, Minolta, and some digital stuff) but this is my first time working on a Leica or a rangefinder, and some of the process seemed a bit less than intuitive, and information was hard to find or hard to interpret.
So I thought I would make a quick video on the disassembly and CLA (sort of) of my camera. I'm certainly no expert on these cameras, but hopefully this video can help some people who just need to do a cleaning or lubrication of components, and prevent damage to one of these beautiful marvels of engineering.
Check out the video here
I don't have that many videos up right now, but I will continue making more videos like this so you should subscribe if you are interested!
If I made any glaring errors in this process, please point them out and I'd happy to revise my video, and if anyone has advice on doing a more in-depth CLA of the camera, that would also be greatly appreciated, as so far my knowledge only covers C and L (cleaning and lubrication) not really any of A (adjustment).
davidnewtonguitars
Family Snaps
Accurate and pleasant video!
Larry Cloetta
Veteran
Thanks for posting, and thanks for the effort involved in making the nicer than average disassembly video. Other repairers here may have some suggestions for additions to future “adjustment” videos.
HHPhoto
Well-known
Hi Hans,
nice job, well done!
Looking forward to more videos from you in the future!
Cheers, Jan
nice job, well done!
Looking forward to more videos from you in the future!
Cheers, Jan
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
Complete, original repair manual is available online. Did you find it hard to interpret?
hwsthl
Newbie
Not really hard to interpret, just it doesn't offer a clear linear description of how to disassemble the camera and things to watch out for. It has a lot of extra information and is more meant for an experienced camera repair person, whereas my video is directed towards more of a hobbyist.
xasthur
Established
I wonder how different this is from my IIIa. My vertical alignment is slightly off but, since it's not real bad I've just been dealing with it.
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
The dis-assembly of the IIIa is very different from the Leica IIIf or IIIc.
The vertical alignment of the RF is the same and relatively simple on either the IIIa or IIIf, just unscrew the round RF window trim ring ( the one closest to the shutter speed dials) with a simple brass grip spanner or wrench or a piece of bike inner-tube rubber.
Then rotate the RF window glass ( which acts like a prism) till perfect vertical alignment is achieved, then screw back on the round trim ring.
You may have to re-check the horizontal RF alignment and adjust ( which is simpler to do than the vertical alignment) through the front plug screw near the front VF window.