David.Boettcher
Established
I'll offer some advice: beware of Summars.
In your shoes, if you must have a 30's Leica then look for a model II (simple version without slow speeds to go wrong) and an Elmar. And study the websites about forgeries as though your life depended on them. (Your sanity will.)
Whatever you decide you will probably ruin a film or two before you stop screaming at it; loading it can be a PITA and still not quite right but you won't realise until it's too late. Plus you'll have no problem finding instructions for it (focal press is where I'd start). And lastly, check the thing has a take up spool in very good condition and buy a pack of those self adhesive felt pads sold in furniture shops for the cassettes: you'll need a decent hole punch too, to modify them.
Whatever else you do, don't believe it's easy to repair them on the kitchen table. This is not a popular opinion, btw...
The learning curve with 30's Leicas is best described as an uphill and expensive struggle.
Regards, David
David,
Thank you for your advice, which has had the opposite effect to what I think you intended. You have reinforced my eagerness to plunge into the world of pre-war Leicas. I like something quirky which presents a challenge and so the last thing I want is something "nice and safe".
I am going to go out later and rummage through some old boxes in the stable to see if I can find my dev tank, bought from Jessops in the 1970s when they only had one shop in the centre of Leicester. I used to use Ilford FP4 which seems to be still available, any opinions on that? And I am racking my brains to remember what developer I used with it.
This is going to be more interesting than I thought at first blush . . .
Regards - David