Pre war vs post war build quality?

[GarageBoy]

Are pre war cameras like the iiia as nicely built as the golden era leicas? I know the war era iiic suffers from poor plating, etc

 

[scigeek]

I have a 1940 111c and the build and finish is superb. My two LTM Elmar lenses are from the same period - again the build and finish is superb. And they are capable of great results.

 

[Roger Hicks]

If anything, pre-war is even better. It WAS the Golden Era.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Two piece vs diecast. Prior to 1940, the cover of the rangefinder was separate from the top plate. With the IIIc it's a single unit -- supposedly it offers greater protection of the internal mechanism. So theoretically the post-1940 cameras should be better, though I do prefer the pre-War.

Not that it affects the build quality, but the bodies are also 3mm longer.

 

[xayraa33]

I always claimed that the pre-war Leicas had better quality RF mirrors, the post war Barnack Leicas only caught up to that quality in the mid 1950s.