Leica LTM Show off your Leica I/II/III/LTM Camera

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
My 1935 Leica.3 w/ Industar.50

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Former owner, RFFdude JimG, sent me this pic of his dad using this camera with a 90 degree finder selfy taken in 1955. Pretty cool. 😎

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ray_g said:
I may be mistaken, but I seem to find that these old cameras need less servicing than their M brethren. How many of you "barnack freaks" have found a need to have your camera serviced?
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Ray- I've had my Summitar serviced because the aperture ring got stiff, but my IIIa and 5cm/3.5 Elmar have not been in a shop since I purchased them in 1952. To be truthful, the shop owner said the curtains were new when I bought the camera. The IIIf is newer to me, but I've never had it serviced.

I can't say as much for a couple of Leica lenses that I've tried and sold. A 73mm/1.9 Hektor was a disappointment, and I knew of no one doing CLAs at the time, so I traded it. A 50mm/1.5 Summarit was worn out when I got it, and I got tired of trying to deal with it. Otherwise, Leica gear has held up quite well.
 
back alley said:
that's so much prettier than the leica barnacks...😉
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Hm, can we ban our moderator from this forum? 😉

Didn't you by the way get rid of your IVSB? 😉
 
Gotta sneak in here and support joe. To me, the finest Barnacks ever came from Canon... The single VF/RF is just much more esthetically pleasing to me as well as the far easier to use take up spool. The original was a truely great moment. But some, like Canon, took it as a baseline and ran like a bat out of you know where to turn thiers into somthing even greater.

But, yes, he's right that it's very subjective. To me, the nicest Barnack ever made was the Canon IVSb. But, then, I actually owned one of those... 😀 😀 😀

William
 
back alley said:
it's an m3 that i traded for.
i did have a canon lll and a canon ivsb for a while though.
and i do think the canon is prettier but that's very subjective eh?
joe
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Just yankin' your chain a little Joe. 😀

To tell the truth I owned a Canon RF some 30 odd years ago when I was in Korea but it had a problem and I traded or sold it. I probably should have kept it for repair when I came back to the States but it didn't seem important at the time. I don't recall the model now but it was an early one.

Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder which makes the world go around. Where would we be if everyone thought the Kodak Instamatic was the prettiest camera in the world?

Walker
 
"that's so much prettier than the leica barnacks..."

To avoid further controversy, I have now inserted a smilie into the original post. And to be perfectly clear, I think they're both good lookin' pieces of machinery.
 
Rich Silfver said:
Hm, can we ban our moderator from this forum? 😉

Didn't you by the way get rid of your IVSB? 😉
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gee, i hope not!!

and yes, i did sell the ivsb. i started to feel the collector's urge and having both the lll & ivsb i feared a whole new direction in spending...so i got rid of them both.

same happened with my short lived relationship with a kiev. i really liked that camera and was afraid i would start to collect bodies and lenses and eventually start in on contaxes.
i could not afford the temptation, literally.

at least with screwmount and m i can add an adapter and still have full use without buying more lenses etc.
 
doubs43 said:
Just yankin' your chain a little Joe. 😀

To tell the truth I owned a Canon RF some 30 odd years ago when I was in Korea but it had a problem and I traded or sold it. I probably should have kept it for repair when I came back to the States but it didn't seem important at the time. I don't recall the model now but it was an early one.

Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder which makes the world go around. Where would we be if everyone thought the Kodak Instamatic was the prettiest camera in the world?

Walker
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It'd be great! People would pay $500 for a basic plastic camera and Leicas would go for $5 with only 2 or 3 bids on Ebay. Somebody in Russia would start selling Smena 8s or Cosmic Symbols with Nazi markings for silly money claiming they were copies of original Kodaks.
 
Rich Silfver said:
I've heard about - and seen ads for - the red scale Elmar.
Are there any optical differences in the red scale Elmar vs non-RS Elmars?
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Supposedly the red scale had lanthane in the glass elements [derived from Summicron 50 R&D] which gave it a flatter field especially at wider apertures. There were some black scale Elmars predating the red scale that had lanthane glass, look out for the f22 minimum aperture.

Joseph
 
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They are called Okaro /14058 Orange Rengefinder Filter, for Leica models IIc, IIf, IIIb, IIIc, and IIIf. This small slip- on orange filter was used to improve the contrast between the two rangefinder images. They were particularly recommended for artificial light.

I tried it out with a piece of slide film I mistook for BW film. Orange filter produced a very orange cast. I will keep it on the Bessa T I think, but not on the IIf. It makes the finder a little darker ofcourse, and while enhancing contrast I find myself searching more for bits to focus on.
My rangefinder spot is a little yellower anyway, so I have a little more contrast.

cheers, Rob.
 
CVBLZ4 said:
Naaa. Count it as the green background playing tricks on old eyes, Art. Nice photo of a really nice camera and that lens is a beauty. I'm new to Barnack waters, so tell me about the red lens on the VF. I've seen it before, though rarely, and always wondered... what's it called? what's it for? etc.
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Thanks again. It appears that your question has been answered quite well, I can only add that, in the case of a IIIa, the orange filter is called an ORAKO. It is approximately 10mm in diameter. The OKARO is slightly larger and will not fit the III/IIIa.

Best, Art
 
Ah, yes. Thanks Rob and Art. I remember reading the "OKARO / ORAKO" discussion in the last couple of days here. May have to add the ORAKO to my "List."
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I swear something is not wired correctly in my mind. I seem completely unable to remember which bodies the ORAKO vs OKARO fits.
 
Rich Silfver said:
Richie, nice setup - how do you find using the RASUK/RASUL sportsfinder? Pain in the ass? Fun/Easy?
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It was annoying at first, because of the little peephole that you are supposed to look through; but, after playing with it for a while, I found that just looking through the center of the framelines and leaving the peephole part of the finder down is good enough most of the time. I do not even have to bother to put my face close to the camera. No more scratched glasses-ever 😀

Richie
 
This is some thread... and, like Ralph, I wanna know how is that all threads Rich starts are so successful? 🙁

Heck, I'm glad they stay!

Now, gentlemen, before I fall for these, I must know what is the trick with these cameras: when do you change the shutterspeed? Is it BEFORE or AFTER advancing the film?

Please, remind me...

And thanks, Rich, for the great idea of a Barnack-Leica show-off thread!

In case you care... it was your M3 camera with hood photo that inspired me to get one and use it. Right now, it goes in my pocket every day! 🙂
 
SolaresLarrave said:
In case you care... it was your M3 camera with hood photo that inspired me to get one and use it. Right now, it goes in my pocket every day! 🙂
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Damn, knew I should had marketed that photo 🙂
 
Francisco, old rule of thumb, change the shutter speed after winding the camera. I don't know if it matters with the Barnack Leicas, and I don't think you have to with the later Canon knob winders, but better safe than sorry.
 
Thanks a lot for your pearls of wisdom 😉 , oh, Master of the 6000 posts!

Don't rest yet... I'm after you, with 3000! 😀

(I had no idea about this rule being an old one... I think it makes sense and practice will help me remember it... just in case!)
 
rover said:
Francisco, old rule of thumb, change the shutter speed after winding the camera. I don't know if it matters with the Barnack Leicas, and I don't think you have to with the later Canon knob winders, but better safe than sorry.
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The shutter speed dial on the III/IIIa Barnack will not read correctly unless it is wound before setting.

Art
 
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