Leica LTM Should I sell my IIIc stepper?

[EcoLeica]

Hey guys and girls, I'm just wrestling with a decision and would like to get your opinion. Around about 5 years ago I discovered a leica IIIc at a local salvation army shop. Needless to say I was happy and that camera opened the world of photography back up for me. Fast forward to today and I'm snapping like mad and just about to try and find some part-time work doing weddings. Im using a leica m6ttl so it goes without saying that my leica IIIc is currently gathering dust. Now this is the problem, I dont like cameras hanging around if they are not being used, so i am considering selling it and using the funds to get myself a decent 28mm lens. The only thing holding me back is im a little sentimental about this camera...

So ladies and gentlemen.....to sell or not to sell?....that is the question

 

[elshaneo]

Don't sell it, it's your very first Leica 🙂

I do regret a lot selling my very first Leica...

 

[Rob-F]

Don't sell it. Just lay it down and use whatever you are using at the moment. Soon enough you will decide it is time to pick up the IIIc and shoot with it. You don't have to use it all the time to justify keeping it.

 

[DNG]

Don't sell it, it's your very first Leica 🙂

I do regret a lot selling my very first Leica...

+1
My 1st Leica was an M5 with 35mm Cron (German pre-asph), I have JUST bought replacement M5... Not selling it again !!
I too regret selling many of the cameras I have owned in the past.. Some very unique to me... Robot Royal 36 with a 45mm f/2.8 for one, and Canon IIb with Canon 50/1.8 for another.

 

[Melvin]

Is it worth a lot? If so then sell it. But if you're not going to get more than $300 or $400 might as well keep it and load it with a different kind of film than the M6.

 

[EcoLeica]

I have no idea how much it is worth. $400 Usd is a lot of money for a poor student trying to put a kit together. It was nice to use to begin with, but I will just not use it. The shooting experience with the M6 is by far nicer. If I want another film type i usually just change film and reload. However there is that little feeling in the back of my head....

 

[bhop73]

Personally, I would keep it, but unlike you, i'm a camera hoarder..

 

[Keith]

Sell it and put the money into that lens you want ... being emotionally attached to any camera is a little pointless but we all do it to some extent.

From your perspective as a student at the mere age of twenty five there's plenty more cameras out there and plenty more time to get attached to them.

 

[EcoLeica]

Thanks all, it might seem like a big decision but for some reason it is for me. I think im airing on the side of selling it so I can get closer to the 28mm I have been wanting to complete my kit.

 

[chris7521]

If you really like it to just look at and occasionally use..I'd keep it. The money is nice for a short time. Then you wish you wouldn't have sold it.

 

[johannielscom]

ecoLeica,

get one of these for your IIIc and bring it along, you'll love it. Simple 28mm finder on top, or the Cosina MiniFinder and the camera still is small enough to pocket!

I got the version II of that Canon lens on my IIIa and that setup it really small, while the lens is tack sharp.

 

[furcafe]

I'm a collector (of various cameras, not just Leica) as well as a user, but I would just sell it if it doesn't have significant sentimental value to you. A lens, or another M body would be more useful.

I sold my 1st Leica (an M2) many years ago & have no regrets. As far as market value, is there anything particularly rare about these "stepper" IIIc's?

 

[BillBingham2]

Keep in mind, the market is soft these days for just about everything.

Picking up a great Canon LTM 28/2.8 and leaving her on the IIIc is not a bad idea.

B2 (;->

 

[batterytypehah!]

I'm with the hold on to the body & sell the rest towards a Canon 28/2.8 crowd. There's one graded "ugly" on KEH right now, at $179, and it's been there for a while since it's also in the printed circular. In my experience, KEH ugly = perfectly good user.

Does your M6 have framelines for 28 or do you need to buy a finder either way?

 

[EcoLeica]

I should just say again that im a student with little money, let alone enough to buy a 28mm canon lens. Any money I manage to come by I am reserving for my m6 kit so I can start shooting more weddings. While it would be fun to have a 28mm on my IIIc to my own work, using a screwmount camera while dealing with clients is too much of a hassle (film loading, focusing, film advnace etc) hence why I have basically retired it.

Cheers for the comments

 

[johannielscom]

Then sell it, the 28mm Canon I suggested with an adapter also fits your M6 and it still is a small package with that lens attached!

 

[Leigh Youdale]

I should just say again that im a student with little money, let alone enough to buy a 28mm canon lens. Any money I manage to come by I am reserving for my m6 kit so I can start shooting more weddings. While it would be fun to have a 28mm on my IIIc to my own work, using a screwmount camera while dealing with clients is too much of a hassle (film loading, focusing, film advnace etc) hence why I have basically retired it.

Cheers for the comments

Then sell it. You'll have some regrets, but it's only something to fondle and eventually you'll be able to afford to buy another one if you really want to. It's not a decision you can't reverse at a future date.
I had two IIIf's and a bunch of old Voigtlander folders from the 1950's and sold them all in the last twelve months, even though I loved them, because they didn't do for me what my two Bessa 35mm's do. The shortcomings of 50 year-old cameras was getting in the way of the photography. I might add that two of the folders were my own and my fathers original cameras, so there was a considerable sentimental attachment to overcome as well.
I still have the Rolleiflex but if a Bessa III comes my way then I'll probably make the same decision again and for the same reason.

 

[batterytypehah!]

I should just say again that im a student with little money, let alone enough to buy a 28mm canon lens. Any money I manage to come by I am reserving for my m6 kit so I can start shooting more weddings. While it would be fun to have a 28mm on my IIIc to my own work, using a screwmount camera while dealing with clients is too much of a hassle (film loading, focusing, film advnace etc) hence why I have basically retired it.

Cheers for the comments

Fully understood and respected, but I think $179 is tough to beat. I don't see how you could get any 28 for your M6 for less than that. CV lenses start upwards of $500. There's the Orion-15 around $150 but it's f/6.

Given the budget constraints, I would seriously look into a film SLR kit for 28. Or maybe an XA-4 or other fixed lens camera, if you can convince the clients it's not a toy. Or an adapter to use an SLR lens on the M. (You shouldn't need RF coupling at this FL.)

 

[EcoLeica]

hey Bgb Im seriously leaning to the side of selling. Im currently penny pinching so I can invest in the voigtlander 28mm f2, pricey but I love a slightly fast lens and I really want a more modern lens. Yes it sucks being a student but I have busking to care for my current film costs haha. That being said I have just got some more prints from the lab, have a look and tell me what you think everyone

http://stevetingphotography.blogspot.com/2010/05/polly-hughs-leaving-partyquinns.html

 

[bgb]

Enjoy being a student while you can because once you go out into the big bad world you will look back on your days of being a poverty stricken student living on 2 minute noodles as the good old days
I had a cold flat in Christchurch and rode my pushbike every where ... never tried busking i think I'll save that for when I'm retired and have a bit more character.
🙂