Leica Mooly Motor/Winder

[tylerconstance]

Hello there! I posed a question to the Google+ community, and it was recommended I come here.

I have a Leica Mooly Motor that I somewhat-recently salvaged from a box in a late enthusiast's basement. It's in decent-looking condition, but my only Leica is an M2, and I'm led to believe that these Mooly Motors predated the M's, so I haven't a means by which to test it (as far as I know). It's definitely missing the arm, though.

I'm looking to sell it, but I'm unsure if I should seek local private collectors, use eBay, or try places like the Leica shop in Soho (I live in New York state, and I'll be traveling to Brooklyn/Manhattan this weekend).

Do you guys have any suggestions? I appreciate it!

 

[Blind_spark]

I've always been fascinated by these, as well as the Leicavits of that era....

By a quick LeicaWiki search, you seem to have an unit that comes from the first year of production by the 1 or 2 FPS switch on the front. While the lack of the arm may hamper value, I imagine this would be a great place (locally or otherwise) to find someone wanting to collect this.

 

[MikeL]

Tyler, Vince Lupo might be worth contacting if he doesn't find this thread soon.

mooly winder

 

[Vince Lupo]

And like magic - here he is!

I'd probably eBay it, if you want to get the most $$$ for it. It does lose a bit of value without the arm, but that doesn't mean it can't be used somewhat as-is (you'd have to take the photo in the usual manner, but then you could advance the film with the lever on the front of the motor). I will admit, though, that finding an arm on its own is a bit of a 'needle in a haystack' proposition, so the most likely person to buy it would be someone who already has a MOOLY with an arm and wants either a better motor or a backup. Not that they're necessarily being used today for heavy-duty shooting -- heck, I don't know how much they were used when they were new! Ever tried changing film with one of them attached to your IIIa? Not exactly a speedy device for film-changing when there's a news event happening in front of you (unless you only plan on shooting 36 frames total!).

This one looks like an early 2 speed, so that does make it a bit more desirable. These motors were for meant for screw mount Leicas, pre-IIIc (so the short-bodied Leica II, III, IIIa, IIIb etc), and only those that were above serial number 159,000, as they had a notch in the takeup spool shaft that allowed the MOOLY to engage the camera's winding mechanism.

The one thing that I have noticed over the past couple of years is that the prices of them are coming down, so they aren't the 'holy grail' of Leica collectibles that they used to be (I've had two of these kind, and one of the rarer black MOOLY-C motors for the 'stepped' IIIc). Still, I think you'd be better off eBaying it, as you're likely to attract higher bids from overseas. Or you could try selling it here in the classifieds. I wouldn't bother with Leica in NYC, as they'd likely offer you about 1/2 its value for it (if they were interested in it at all). I'm sure much of their current clientele are more interested in Leica's digital offerings.

 

[tylerconstance]

Thanks for all of your feedback! Especially Vince, you've been an excellent help! I have noticed, in general, that eBay is usually where one can go to fetch the best price for something of this nature. The only issue, really, is that I haven't any Leicas from this time period, so I can't guarantee that it's fully working. Posting that in full-disclosure, as is only fair to do, might lower interest among bidders. Is there any way I can check its function without attaching it to a body?

I haven't dealt with Leica in NYC (I've only stopped in to hang out and browse a few photo books before meeting a friend), but I have heard that they aren't as receptive to analog gear, which is really a shame.

Thanks to everyone for answering a newbie to the Leica forums. I really appreciate it!

 

[Vince Lupo]

As to whether it works -- wind it up until the counter reads '12', and press down on the lever. Does it unwind? Does it go click click click as it goes through its revolutions? Does it do it at two different speeds (1-2)? Does it count down to '0'?

 

[tylerconstance]

Actually, yes! Well, kind of. I can wind it to twelve and hit the lever to make it count down to zero at two different speeds, but winding is a challenge. I need to wind everything in one attempt, AND hang onto the winding mechanism at all times, else it just releases all its tension, quickly spins the winder back to the start and leaves itself at zero.

Is that a hardware issue, or an operator issue?

 

[Vince Lupo]

Hmm, don't know whether the fact that it's not on a body makes a difference or not. I seem to recall that with the MOOLY's that I had, if I did happen to wind it without it being connected to a body, the 'wind' would stay put wherever I left it. Almost sounds like the clutch isn't engaging properly. But don't quote me on that - I could be wrong. Too bad you don't have access to a IIIa body upon which to try it.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Talking about mooly winders


IIIb + mooly

No connection to the seller

 

[Camera fan]

Hi guys! First post here. I've received an old Mooly motor from a relative, fascinating stuff! Now it's out for service. Someone here knows the original price it was sold in 1938-39?

mike

 

[Vince Lupo]

$72.00, according to my 'Complete Illustrated Price List of Leica Cameras and Accessories', Catalogue #67,110.

 

[BillBingham2]

I had one and sold it a while back. It's worth more if there is an arm that plugs into the back of the winder and depresses the shutter. It's about 2 to 3 inches long, same finish as the winder. 1/4 inch wide, a circle on the bottom where it attaches with two small prongs.

B2 (;->

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Yeah, detailed images of the arms can be found online.

Wish a MOOLY-C would fall into my lap though. No arm required...and half my collection consists of IIIc cameras.

 

[Camera fan]

Thank you guys! Vince, precious informations, do you know even the price of a camera, as comparison?🙂