The Strangest Soviet Leica Yet?

This is the first Leica (copy) which I like :D. Not because I'm left handed, but most of the parts have to be inverted or remade in order to work in the other direction! I wonder if Leica did made any left handed camera's, never seen one or read about them before.
 
Or a rangefinder version of the classic Exaktas. They were left-handed, if any camera ever was. It seems apparent that whoever designed them had to be a southpaw.

But at $3,000 for a'20's or early '30's camera (at least in the true Leica incarnation), this is a bit steep. Guess it pays to be rare!!
 
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I seem to remember that Ken Rockwell had or was taliking about a left handed Nikon when I was browsing his site once. I can't remember what model SLR it was but it did exist and he had used it!

This soviet camera is fascinating ... it appears to be very well made and the mind boggles at the thought of using it for a street shoot ... its the sort of camera that was probably used exclusively by the enigmatic left handed photog from last century ... 'Nosserb-Reitrac Irneh.'

:angel: :)
 
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I guess whoever did it just did it to prove how good he was... and he certainly was. which reinforces the fear that ANYTHING that has ever been near Russia could be a fake......
 
If the photos are to be believed, that camera has taken a HUGE amount of work! Not only have the top & bottom plates been made but the entire camera is a reversal. The most difficult of the major parts would have had to be made, even things like the shutter crate. Granted, all the gears and so on would be normal items. I presume even the curtain travel would be reversed!
 
Yes, that's no simple job of rearranging parts or engraving and refinishing... that is a craftsman's masterpiece, and the craftsman's craft is counterfeiting Leicas.
 
Jocko said:
As far as I (or rather Google) knows, like all the best Leica copies, this is not a copy of any real Leica - but, in the current context, this discussion is interesting: http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=003jKU

Cheers, Ian
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Ian

It goes under the category of "Things-We-Wished-Leitz-Made-But-Didn't" :D

The Soviets were able to do some of those- take the Zenit-1 or Zenit-S for instance. It is what a Leica would be if a Visoflex fused with it :)

Jay
 
Princelle mentions this (p.101 in the English 2nd edition):

Jean-Loup Princelle said:
FED I "LEFT HANDED SPECIAL"
The inverted Leica has been the dream of every left-hander in the world. What Leitz never constructed has been done by a talented Moscow counterfeiter. All the "guts" of the camera are mirror images of the original, even the screw threads of the focusing helicoid. It's an incredible piece of work and one which really ennobles the notion of the "fake" Leica. Because the camera works, naturally! All we can say is Bravo!

Variant: Black lacquer model. Once again: Bravo!
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