My will is weak....

[captainslack]

... and my wife is probably gonna kill me, but I couldn't pass this up:

http://cgi.ebay.com/LEICA-II-F-BODY_W0QQitemZ7539097449QQcategoryZ30030QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

So, I'm now a Leica owner!!! Yay, me!!! 😀

 

[atelier7]

That was quick buying! I saw it, clicked around, and it was gone! Congrats!

 

[captainslack]

Thanks! Now, lets hope my wife doesn't make me sleep on the couch tonight.

 

[ScottS]

If anyone else wants in the action, the same seller has a Canon body for $99. Labeled as a Canon III, but it looks more like a IIF: Here it is

Scott

 

[ScottS]

Hmm. He's also got a couple more canon bottom-feeders for $99 and a VT for $150 if you look at his other items.

Scott

 

[rover]

Interesting, he doesn't give very much info about the stuff he sells.

 

[back alley]

i think he has the pics mixed up.

 

[ScottS]

Not much info, no. Looks like some of those were previously listed at $199 and didn't sell. $99 is almost cheap enough to be a good deal even if curtain replacement is necessary. A few years back I paid a lot more than $99 for a Leica IIf that needed a curtain replacement It was my first LTM body purchase (and first ever ebay body purchase) and at that point I didn't even know what questions to ask.

 

[pshinkaw]

Cap'n:

For what it's worth to your wife, If you hadn't BIN'd that Leica, it probably would have sold for much more. I've seen IIf parts bodies sell for more than $100.

-Paul

 

[atelier7]

well, i suppose as the other thread about ebay warns ... buyer beware. ask all the questions one needs to ask. then again, at $99 for a leica... one could easily pay that price for a FSU camera and there's still no guarantee it'll work!

 

[atelier7]

i was tempted myself to get it as a standby for parts! but wasn't sure if it would exchange with the IIIC i've got on the way.... Hehe, you saved me from more GAS!

i've really got to stay away from ebay.

btw, side note.... tonight, i attended a "seminar" by adam ginsberg (super titanium seller blah blah blah) about selling and making a profit on ebay. ok, i got suckered into it... thinking i'd learn how to buy and sell better... anyhow, at the end of the 3 hr seminar, all i got was... you've gotto come to our 3 day super duper seminar to learn the real secrets! sheesh.... $45 down the drain... none of the excellent advice i've learnt here for free!

 

[captainslack]

Cap'n:

For what it's worth to your wife, If you hadn't BIN'd that Leica, it probably would have sold for much more. I've seen IIf parts bodies sell for more than $100.

-Paul

I know, which is why I bought the damn thing! Explaining that to her is another story. Wives and their damn practicality! 😉

Can anyone give me some opinions on the IIf? Other than the fact it's the Leica that the FED & Zorki were based on, I don't know much about them.

 

[Kin Lau]

I know, which is why I bought the damn thing! Explaining that to her is another story. Wives and their damn practicality! 😉

Can anyone give me some opinions on the IIf? Other than the fact it's the Leica that the FED & Zorki were based on, I don't know much about them.

It looks more like a IIIf than a IIf. Even a user condition Leica anything (my IIIa is a user) is better than most FSU cameras, and it's also _cheaper_ than a CLA'd FSU shooter.

You can tell your wife... "Look Honey, it was the same price as the _copy_ that the guy also has forsale".

One note, the position of the slow speed dial will get in the way when you try to mount a I-22, but it'll work if you mount the lense with it set to the closest focusing distance instead of infinity.

 

[pshinkaw]

The IIf was originally a lower priced IIIf. It did not thave the slow shutter speed dial on the front. Back in the 1950's Leitz would upgrade a IIf to a IIIf for an extra fee. Thus, there are fewer IIfs arounf than IIIfs. Fewer numbers with Leicas usually means higher collector interest.

The European model numbers were different from the US market model numbers. In the US market, II as in IIc and IIf, indicated a lower priced model to the IIIc and IIIf. The IIf and IIIf were the first post-WWII models. The Russians copied one of the earlier pre-WWII models which was sometimes called a Leica II. In the US market it was known by a letter, either a B, C or D. I can't remember which.

In any event, the IIf is not as common as the IIIf and as long as you don't need shutter speeds slower than 1/25, just as functional.

-Paul

 

[Kin Lau]

Yup you're right.... I must have been looking at the IIIc.

 

[Poptart]

One of these days I will find a CL w/lenses in a thrift shop for $10.

 

[captainslack]

One of these days I will find a CL w/lenses in a thrift shop for $10.

I always figured that's how I'd find one! This was the next best thing. 😀

Update: my wife didn't kill me!! Woo-hoo!!!!! 😎

 

[Kin Lau]

Update: my wife didn't kill me!! Woo-hoo!!!!! 😎

My wife also enjoys photography (although she's not that wild about all the cameras), so I got her to handle a Leica III, feel the wind, listen to the shutter etc, and she even got to play with a Hassy at a camera store. When I got the Leica, she was expecting it... now she's the one explaining to others what a Leica is 🙂.

 

[pshinkaw]

Sherry Krauter's webpage lists a Leica IIf bofy at $600. Of course hers are perfect, but that should give you some idea of the value of what you purchased.

http://www.sherrykrauter.com/index.php

-Paul

 

[captainslack]

Sherry Krauter's webpage lists a Leica IIf bofy at $600. Of course hers are perfect, but that should give you some idea of the value of what you purchased.

http://www.sherrykrauter.com/index.php

-Paul

Wow!! The one I'm getting definitely isn't in that good shape! Still, I got a steal and I know it!

I noticed the same seller had a Canon IIf for sale at the same price. I'm starting to wonder if he got his auctions mixed up and priced the Leica wrong.