NIKON KIU
Did you say Nippon Kogaku
Someone here should have one of these?
Raid did you know there is a camera out there named Reid?
Kiu
Raid did you know there is a camera out there named Reid?
Kiu
davidbivins
Established
I have a Tower 3 (Leica screwmount copy) and Tower 18B (fixed lens rf w/integrated meter).
I use the Tower 3. Not regularly, but it's a great match for a superwide lens like the CV 15mm. In fact, it's in my everyday bag right now with the 15mm and finder mounted and a roll of Tri-X loaded.
The Tower 3 came to me with the original leather everready case and a Nikkor 1:2 50mm lens. No lens cap though. I really wish I could find the original lens cap. I even have the plastic DOF card that goes into the pocket in the back of the case.
I use the Tower 3. Not regularly, but it's a great match for a superwide lens like the CV 15mm. In fact, it's in my everyday bag right now with the 15mm and finder mounted and a roll of Tri-X loaded.
The Tower 3 came to me with the original leather everready case and a Nikkor 1:2 50mm lens. No lens cap though. I really wish I could find the original lens cap. I even have the plastic DOF card that goes into the pocket in the back of the case.
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physiognomy
Confirmed RF addict...
I have a Tower Type 3 (Nicca IIIB clone) & Nicca IIIS... I think they are great little cameras!
Peter
Peter
raid
Dad Photographer
NIKON KIU said:
Kiu,
There is a roach killing insecticide that is called Raid.
As for a Reid camera, if you have an extra one for donation, I am welcoming it. :angel:
There is a car called Kia.
Raid
flashover
John K
there was a nice Nicca LTM body at the Toronto camera show last sun. 180 CND was on the ticket. The seller was asking for offers.
furcafe
Veteran
I have @ least 1 of each, plus a few Leotaxes (Leotaci?) & some Canon RFs, too. A Reid III is the latest installment, but currently w/DAG.
NIKON KIU said:
VinceC
Veteran
I believe Raid, the insecticide, is pronounced differently from Raid, the photographer.
Old Niccas and towers are good ways to get a cheap screwmount Nikkor f/2 lens.
Old Niccas and towers are good ways to get a cheap screwmount Nikkor f/2 lens.
raid
Dad Photographer
Vince: I am just pulling Kiu's leg.
Raid
Raid
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Ken Ford
Refuses to suffer fools
About ten years ago I had a Nicca/Tower LTM that had lever wind and a Nikkor 50/2. I never should have sold the lens...
NIKON KIU
Did you say Nippon Kogaku
Your Tower may be one of many,actually,Tower cameras are Niccas branded for Sears stores in the USA,and of course over the years,Sears had many other companies produce cameras for them,including German....here is an example of a Tower Type IIIA(according to the seller) which seems to be an early example markedMIOJ(made in occupied Japan):davidbivins said:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Tower-Nicca-Typ...0QQihZ011QQcategoryZ30030QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
This one includes a cap,most of the caps I have seen look like this.
Is your's newer?
Kiu
julianphotoart
No likey digital-phooey
Reids rool okay
David Murphy
Veteran
Despite the rarity of some of these they all appear on eBay at regular intervals, often at extraordinary asking prices. The Nicca is more common though, and I think it is same camera that Sears rebranded as the Tower. They are all fun and capable machines.
Have a look at:
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/iannorris/leica.htm
for even more. My personal obsession is currently Leotax.
Have a look at:
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/iannorris/leica.htm
for even more. My personal obsession is currently Leotax.
S
Stanton
Guest
I have both a Tower version of the Nicca 3 and a Tower 45/46 which is a version of the Nicca 5. Both are essentially clones of a screwmount Leica, probably IIIf since they have sync and slow speeds. The Tower 45/46 may be slightly different than the Nicca 5. It has features which a Leica screw mount does not have: -- lever wind and a back which is hinged so that it can be much more easily loaded. The 45 came with a screw mount f2 Nikkor, and the 46 came with a screw mount f1.4 Nikkor. The body is the same. Unfortunately I have only the body, but any LTM lens mounts. The site Cameraquest discusses them and ranks them very highly. The 45/46 is hard to find. Dave
John Robertson
Well-known
There are four British Leica "copies" here are pictures to whet your whistle.
Sadly I only have the comon ones, the Advocate,and Periflex although I do have and use the Reid standard lens, the Taylor Hobson 2" f2 Anastigmat its probably the best lens I own!!
The Advocate was the official camera of the 1953 Tensing/Hilary Everest expedition. This one was my fathers and still looks and works like new.
Reids come in three versions Reid 3 the comonest, Reid 1 (like a Leica Standard) and Reid 2 the rarest (like a Leica 11) only a few dozen of these were made, but as usual there are fakes!!
The Periflexes are just plain weird, I have two Periflex 1 (shown) and Periflex Gold Star.
I'll have to do a seperate post for the Witness, (about 1000 made) I think the prettiest and advanced for early 1950's
Sadly I only have the comon ones, the Advocate,and Periflex although I do have and use the Reid standard lens, the Taylor Hobson 2" f2 Anastigmat its probably the best lens I own!!
The Advocate was the official camera of the 1953 Tensing/Hilary Everest expedition. This one was my fathers and still looks and works like new.
Reids come in three versions Reid 3 the comonest, Reid 1 (like a Leica Standard) and Reid 2 the rarest (like a Leica 11) only a few dozen of these were made, but as usual there are fakes!!
The Periflexes are just plain weird, I have two Periflex 1 (shown) and Periflex Gold Star.
I'll have to do a seperate post for the Witness, (about 1000 made) I think the prettiest and advanced for early 1950's
Attachments
John Robertson
Well-known
David Murphy
Veteran
I read somewhere that back in the postwar era the UK had some rather draconian import taxes that they slapped on foreign-made cameras. I think this is what led to the Reid and some other (now insanely rare) domestically produced LTM lenses. (Correct me if I botched my UK LTM camera history somewhat.)
john neal
fallor ergo sum
I'm not quite that old, but I believe it was cheaper to buy a car in 1950's Britain than a Leica III due to the import tax. The Reid was produced to plans officially siezed from the Leica plant by the occupying forces and was one of the better quality copies, due to being somewhat over-engineered in respect of materials.
As the SLR boom came along, import duties fell, and British industry failed to maintain a competitive edge, Reid & Siegrist found themselves hand producing a camera that no longer captured the imagination of the buying public, at a price that was unrealistic. I understand they sold off all the parts and machinery to one of their distributors who then completed the last 2000 or so bodies. At this point quality control went out of the window and the Reid gained a fairly notorious reputation.
I lived about 30 miles from Leicester where the Ried was produced and always wanted one because it was a British Leica. I finally got one in the 1980's. I was passing a dealer in Liverpool who always had some nice used gear in his window. I stopped to look at a Leica IIIc, and noticed the Reid behind it. The story was that they had taken these in from the widow of a local enthusiast and were selling them on commission. Rather oddly, they had the Reid priced lower than the Leica, so I bought it.
Sad to say, I no longer have it, and rather wish I had the common sense to hang on to it. The results from the TTH 2" lens were completely different to any other lens I have ever used - I got 1940 style pictures, but with something of that Leica "glow". I shouldn't pine too much as the cash raised from it's sale got me onto the slippery slope that is the Leica M system. Now, if I could have both.......
As the SLR boom came along, import duties fell, and British industry failed to maintain a competitive edge, Reid & Siegrist found themselves hand producing a camera that no longer captured the imagination of the buying public, at a price that was unrealistic. I understand they sold off all the parts and machinery to one of their distributors who then completed the last 2000 or so bodies. At this point quality control went out of the window and the Reid gained a fairly notorious reputation.
I lived about 30 miles from Leicester where the Ried was produced and always wanted one because it was a British Leica. I finally got one in the 1980's. I was passing a dealer in Liverpool who always had some nice used gear in his window. I stopped to look at a Leica IIIc, and noticed the Reid behind it. The story was that they had taken these in from the widow of a local enthusiast and were selling them on commission. Rather oddly, they had the Reid priced lower than the Leica, so I bought it.
Sad to say, I no longer have it, and rather wish I had the common sense to hang on to it. The results from the TTH 2" lens were completely different to any other lens I have ever used - I got 1940 style pictures, but with something of that Leica "glow". I shouldn't pine too much as the cash raised from it's sale got me onto the slippery slope that is the Leica M system. Now, if I could have both.......
dexdog
Veteran
I have a Tower 46, which is the Nicca model 5 with lever wind. The lens is a 50/1.4 Nikkor.
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Jocko
Off With The Pixies
Another interesting aspect of the Reid was that it's original purpose was as a high quality camera for military use. According to the famous British Intelligence Objectives Sub-committee report on Leitz (1946) -
"In November 1946, the production of Leica Cameras was 1100 per month of which 89% was allocated to the American forces, 6% for French forces and 5% for German sales. A small proportion of the American 89% was available for the British forces in exchange for Rolliflex cameras".
Which was found unacceptable. Reid production should have started much earlier - prototypes were ready in '46 - but goverment interference and various problems stalled plans for years and cameras were not sold on the civilian market until the early 50s. Curiously, I don't think that the import-duty argument holds up, except perhaps in the immediate postwar years, when cameras were not available anyway. Indeed, I've read that many of Reid's problems were caused by the very heavy levels of tax applied to their cameras.
Adverts in AP suggest that the Reid was actually more expensive than a new Leica - here's a fairly late example. In the same issue there are adverts for Leica IIIgs at £91/19/10 - £10/$40.00 cheaper - a pretty significant sum in 1961. I also include a Periflex Ad. weird is the word
Cheers, Ian
"In November 1946, the production of Leica Cameras was 1100 per month of which 89% was allocated to the American forces, 6% for French forces and 5% for German sales. A small proportion of the American 89% was available for the British forces in exchange for Rolliflex cameras".
Which was found unacceptable. Reid production should have started much earlier - prototypes were ready in '46 - but goverment interference and various problems stalled plans for years and cameras were not sold on the civilian market until the early 50s. Curiously, I don't think that the import-duty argument holds up, except perhaps in the immediate postwar years, when cameras were not available anyway. Indeed, I've read that many of Reid's problems were caused by the very heavy levels of tax applied to their cameras.
Adverts in AP suggest that the Reid was actually more expensive than a new Leica - here's a fairly late example. In the same issue there are adverts for Leica IIIgs at £91/19/10 - £10/$40.00 cheaper - a pretty significant sum in 1961. I also include a Periflex Ad. weird is the word
Cheers, Ian
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furcafe
Veteran
Somewhat similar to the story behind the American Kardon:
http://shutterbug.com/equipmentreviews/classic_historical/0106classic/
http://shutterbug.com/equipmentreviews/classic_historical/0106classic/
Jocko said:Another interesting aspect of the Reid was that it's original purpose was as a high quality camera for military use. According to the famous British Intelligence Objectives Sub-committee report on Leitz (1946) -
"In November 1946, the production of Leica Cameras was 1100 per month of which 89% was allocated to the American forces, 6% for French forces and 5% for German sales. A small proportion of the American 89% was available for the British forces in exchange for Rolliflex cameras".
Which was found unacceptable. Reid production should have started much earlier - prototypes were ready in '46 - but goverment interference and various problems stalled plans for years and cameras were not sold on the civilian market until the early 50s. Curiously, I don't think that the import-duty argument holds up, except perhaps in the immediate postwar years, when cameras were not available anyway. Indeed, I've read that many of Reid's problems were caused by the very heavy levels of tax applied to their cameras.
Adverts in AP suggest that the Reid was actually more expensive than a new Leica - here's a fairly late example. In the same issue there are adverts for Leica IIIgs at £91/19/10 - £10/$40.00 cheaper - a pretty significant sum in 1961. I also include a Periflex Ad. weird is the word
Cheers, Ian