My III/IIIf for a IIIf bd

[colyn]

I sold my Leica III/IIIf conversion today and bought a IIIf bd. The new camera will need new curtains which I have already made.

Couldn't pass it up since the price was under $100 with a 3.5 Elmar and the rf spot looks as new. Bright and contrasty..

 

[ZorkiKat]

Great deal! IIIf bd are easiest to repair among the IIIf types. The latest junker IIIf I got cost the equivalent of US $30. But it was in a really bad shape.

 

[colyn]

Great deal! IIIf bd are easiest to repair among the IIIf types. The latest junker IIIf I got cost the equivalent of US $30. But it was in a really bad shape.

This one has no dents or dings. In fact the only marks are a few very small scuff marks on the base plate. RF is perfect and the shutter is working in spite of the flaking closing curtain. I'll be replacing both curtains regardless.

The Elmar is damage free..

 

[payasam]

Some people have all the luck -- and all the skills, too, for when the luck is really good.

 

[LeicaTom]

Yes, lucky price! 😀

The Leica IIIFBD era cameras ALL seem to have shutter curtain material that was inferior to the pre 1945 stuff, hardly any of them survived the test of time, up till now
(I have a rare 1951 IIFBD that needs new curtains and a beamsplitter, it too was a $100 almost like new in the case deal, with it's original factory Elmar 50) ~

And maybe like 75% of all the surviving 1950/52 era cameras have failing VF's so you are lucky to have one with a sharp crisp one.

Overall great camera, ohh and last time I talked to him Youxin Ye in Boston area had Leitz factory shutter curtains (N.O.S.) one's and was installing them, etc.
(he put new curtains in that one 45' IIIC K Grey I had traded for my M8).

Enjoy your new "old" Leica

Tom

 

[bigeye]

A lot of folks say the RDST is the 'ultimate Barnack.' I believe the BD is the ideal. It's cleaner, aesthetically purer, easier to maintain and who takes a picture of themselves? (It would only be used to make a ... SNAPSHOT! <crowd gasps>)

The ST just clutters things up and represents the beginning of Leica's precipitous moral decline manifested in the 'g' and the (unmentionable) M3.

- Charlie

(I own an ST and if any one has a nice user M3, I'm interested...)

 

[batterytypehah!]

Well I for one would love a self timer on my IIIf BD as a cable release stand-in. I still can't believe there isn't even a cable release socket.

Ah well, she has the tripod mount in the wrong spot anyway, says the Contax IIa and grins 🙂

 

[newspaperguy]

colyn, ZK, you've got to explain to me where I'm going wrong.

I never, never find those kind of deals. (sob, sob) 🙁

 

[Dralowid]

Quoting LeicaTom (I have a rare 1951 IIFBD that needs new curtains and a beamsplitter, it too was a $100 almost like new in the case deal, with it's original factory Elmar 50) ~

Tom, I have what sounds like a very similar camera. I like it because it represented the 'bargain basement' Leica when new. Limited speeds, no 1/1000, simplified accessory shoe etc. Sounds like yours, almost unused but blinds and r/f in good condition.

Don't tell people about the IIBD. It is indeed uncommon and we wouldn't want the prices creeping up would we?!

Michael

 

[payasam]

The screw Leicas use a cable release that screws on to (around) the release after the surrounding ring has been removed. Adapters are available to use the now standard kind of cable release.

 

[batterytypehah!]

The screw Leicas use a cable release that screws on to (around) the release after the surrounding ring has been removed. Adapters are available to use the now standard kind of cable release.

Thanks, I know. It seems to me that cable release sockets were standardized long before 1951, though -- but only outside of Wetzlar 😉

 

[colyn]

colyn, ZK, you've got to explain to me where I'm going wrong.

I never, never find those kind of deals. (sob, sob) 🙁

I hunt flea markets, yard sales, and any other sales I can find. However....lately the cameras I have gotten came to me by way of people calling me.. The IIIf was offered to me by someone who got my number from a local camera shop..

 

[colyn]

The Leica IIIFBD era cameras ALL seem to have shutter curtain material that was inferior to the pre 1945 stuff, hardly any of them survived the test of time,

Most that I have encountered had a bad closing curtain but the opening curtain seems to fare much better.

This one has the bad closing curtain but the opening curtain looks almost like new but does not appear to have been changed.

Both curtains are getting replaced anyway..

And maybe like 75% of all the surviving 1950/52 era cameras have failing VF's so you are lucky to have one with a sharp crisp one.

I found a source for new mirrors cut to size and have a couple on hand in case they are ever needed.

Overall great camera, ohh and last time I talked to him Youxin Ye in Boston area had Leitz factory shutter curtains (N.O.S.) one's and was installing them, etc.

I don't know if I'd trust them since my understanding is they were last made in the 1960's..[/QUOTE]

 

[ZorkiKat]

Well I for one would love a self timer on my IIIf BD as a cable release stand-in. I still can't believe there isn't even a cable release socket.

Ah well, she has the tripod mount in the wrong spot anyway, says the Contax IIa and grins 🙂

Postwar Leica don't need to have their shutter buttons removed to use cable releases. Leitz made a release which had a cupped end which screwed on the button. The collar on the IIIc and later cameras was wide enough to accomodate this cupped end. Nikon also used this sort of release for their rangefinders and up to the 1970s with the F slr. An ordinary cable release can be used by getting a 'nipple' adapter:

 

[colyn]

Postwar Leica don't need to have their shutter buttons removed to use cable releases. Leitz made a release which had a cupped end which screwed on the button. The collar on the IIIc and later cameras was wide enough to accomodate this cupped end. Nikon also used this sort of release for their rangefinders and up to the 1970s with the F slr. An ordinary cable release can be used by getting a 'nipple' adapter:

Also if you search eBay you can usually find an original Leitz cable release fairly cheap. I picked up 2 on eBay for total $17..

 

[ZorkiKat]

colyn, ZK, you've got to explain to me where I'm going wrong.

I never, never find those kind of deals. (sob, sob) 🙁

Rick, this is the $30 bad Leica IIIf I got- a red dial s/t type.

The shutter was gone -not just cracked or pin-holed.

Two days of work and some US$0.20 worth of vinyl leatherette, this is how
it looks now:

Couldn't get the selftimer to work right though. This must be the reason why some Leica repairists charge more for the self-timer models.

@ Colyn,

The Aki-Asahi silk/rubber/silk shutter cloth works great with Leica IIIf BD. It may feel thicker and heavier, but Leica seems to like it.

@ Tom,

Almost all the IIIf I found here have rotting shutter blinds. Whatever Leitz used at the time must have been poor. The cloth first thickens, the coating then gets hard and brittle, then falls apart. Some IIIf I have seen don't appear to have the "lightweight shutter" which the IIIf rd/rdst claimed to have over the rest.

The mirrors in Barnacks can be quite easy to replace. I am using ones made from half-mirrors with a sort of polymeer overcoat. Those in IIIf also appear to tarnish the easiest.

 

[colyn]

@ Colyn,

The Aki-Asahi silk/rubber/silk shutter cloth works great with Leica IIIf BD. It may feel thicker and heavier, but Leica seems to like it.

This is where I get my curtain material. For $18 I get enough material to do several curtains.

The mirrors in Barnacks can be quite easy to replace. I am using ones made from half-mirrors with a sort of polymeer overcoat. Those in IIIf also appear to tarnish the easiest.

I've bought mirrors from fine-leica on eBay. They are already cut to size and easy to use.

 

[batterytypehah!]

Thanks for sharing all this info. You guys are answering some of my Leica newbie questions before I can even post them. I'll probably need a new mirror, for example.