Leica IIIG inheritance .... lucky me!

[Canadapt]

I've just inherited a Leica IIIg body with leather camera case and a large leather Leica camera bag, a summarit 50mm f1.5, elmar 50mm f2.8, elmar 90mm f4, summaron 35mm f2.8 (plus eye piece), hektor 135mm f4.5 (plus eye piece) all with UV or SL filters, all with original leather Leica lens cases and all with lens hoods, a Leica orange filter, a Leica polarizer filter, original Leica instruction manuals and a Leica mini-pod. I know how lucky I am but I am seeking help to determine how much all of this is worth on todays market? In all cases, these are in good to excellent condition with the exception of the hektor 135mm lens which is optically fine but has two small bits of the vulcanite wrap missing (about 1cm square).

I'm asking a lot but can you folks help me figure out what all of this is worth? I have looked online but there is huge variance in prices and all it leaves me is confused.

I have also asked this on the FlickR Leica discussion forum.

Thankyou in advance for help with this!

Cheers, MH

 

[BillBingham2]

EvilBay is my favorite place to look. You need to do some digging and thinking as there are many variables that impact final selling price (e.g. ending date, location, picture quality, availability).

You have a big collection with what I think are some interesting pieces. I'm not a Leica-head so I'm not up on the most recent trends. With the exception of your 135 I think everything is sought after at one time or another. Post some pictures of all the stuff and find out the Leica names (e.g. RASAL, AFFSU) and this will help you get more accurate prices and IMHO is critical when posting Leica stuff on EvilBay.

Sorry I could not be of more help, but pictures are a great start for the folks here to help.

B2 (;->

 

[BillBingham2]

You might look here:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZwestlicht.auction

B2 (;->

 

[Canadapt]

Thanks Bill, I should have noted that none of these are the apparently treasured black pieces - all are silver.

 

[John Shriver]

The huge variation in prices is condition. The highest price is if it is still sealed in the box from Wetzlar, and was never touched by human hands since manufacture. Once there are fingerprints, the price falls. If any spot on the chrome looks like it ever touched anything hard (a "bright mark"), that further decreases the value. Unlike furniture, "patina" isn't worth squat to the obsessive collectors.

Similarly, the slightest amount of internal haze inside the lens (shine a very bright light through it), or the slightest "cleaning mark" (scratch) on the external glass, and the value drops.

Order of magnitude, in quite nice condition, about $1000 for the body, $400 for the Summarit, about $300 each for Summaron and Elmar 50, and $150 each for the other lenses.

If the camera was authentically black, you would want to auction it at Westlicht. In chrome, valuable, but not insanely rare.

 

[ChrisN]

Check Dan's pages at http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/

 

[Solinar]

That is a nice kit. Definitely peruse Dan's web site. I'm surprised that there wasn't a 35mm bright-line finder to go with the Summaron. I've always wanted to add that lens to my III series gear. The IIIg is a nice camera to shoot with. It time to put a roll of film in it and put it through its paces.

 

[FrankS]

Andrew, there may be no viewfinder for the 35 Summaron because it is a googled version.

MH, coming to you as a family inheritance, I'd say the gear kit value is priceless, or $2000 to $2400 on the market. (depending on condition and which accessories like lenshoods are included.)

 

[xayraa33]

Andrew, there may be no viewfinder for the 35 Summaron because it is a googled version.

MH, coming to you as a family inheritance, I'd say the gear kit value is priceless, or $2000 to $2400 on the market. (depending on condition and which accessories like lenshoods are included.)

Frank, was not the goggled version of the 35mm Summaron only made in M mount?
and this is found in an LTM IIIg kit.

 

[payasam]

The Summaron comes with an "eye piece", which may well be a SBLOO.

 

[Canadapt]

Thanks to everyone .... I'm learning a lot about the Leica and the Leica family. Cheers.

 

[Luddite Frank]

FYI - the III-g is the most advanced of all screw-mount Leicas, and is still a very viable user camera.

It has value as both a shooter and as a collectible.

If your example has enough wear marks that it is no longer "perfect", and you have no desire to shoot with it, if you decide to par with it, please consider marketing it where someone who uses vintage cameras will have the opportunity to buy it and use it. These cameras are too good to sit in a curio cabinet or dark closet. ( Just a suggestion...)

You are quite fortunate to have inherited one, especially with the gear you mentioned... the only family cameras that have passed my way have been Kodak Brownies and Instamatics !

Good luck with yours !

Luddite Frank

 

[anoldsock]

...so how much for the IIIg?

I've been looking for a good user IIIg.

 

[Canadapt]

3 rolls with my IIIg

3 rolls with my IIIg

I've now put three rolls of film through the IIIg and enjoyed every minute of it. Everything seems to work fine and all of the lenses have been tried out. The Summaron 35mm f2.8 is my personal favourite by far. The Leica certainly won't replace my digital SLR but I'm planning to hang on to it for now for those times when the spirit moves me. After the pleasure of just feeling the quality of build of this stuff and the nostalgia of shooting with film wears off ... well .... we'll see. I may be selling at that point. Thanks to all who responded to my request and helped out a Leica newbie with my lucky inheritance. Cheers!

I've just inherited a Leica IIIg body with leather camera case and a large leather Leica camera bag, a summarit 50mm f1.5, elmar 50mm f2.8, elmar 90mm f4, summaron 35mm f2.8 (plus eye piece), hektor 135mm f4.5 (plus eye piece) all with UV or SL filters, all with original leather Leica lens cases and all with lens hoods, a Leica orange filter, a Leica polarizer filter, original Leica instruction manuals and a Leica mini-pod. I know how lucky I am but I am seeking help to determine how much all of this is worth on todays market? In all cases, these are in good to excellent condition with the exception of the hektor 135mm lens which is optically fine but has two small bits of the vulcanite wrap missing (about 1cm square).

I'm asking a lot but can you folks help me figure out what all of this is worth? I have looked online but there is huge variance in prices and all it leaves me is confused.

I have also asked this on the FlickR Leica discussion forum.

Thankyou in advance for help with this!

Cheers, MH

 

[cjm]

That's good to hear. Can you post some pictures?

 

[Canadapt]

It's time to part with the gear.

It's time to part with the gear.

Thanks to all those who helped me with tryinng to appraise this inheritance. I am getting some wonderful advice from a first class fellow named David Silver who has considerable expertise on the matter of value of Leica generally. Although I still appreciate and I am amazed at the quality of this equipment, I am just not using it and it seems unlikely that I ever will. It does not seem right to let it waste away in a closet until I pass on and then my son or daughter are left wondering what to do with it? It deserves to be a working kit. So on the market it goes - although just how yet I'm not sure. Wish me luck on getting fair market value. Cheers!