Why Buy Leica Screw Mount Cameras?

Far too many bells and whistles on a screwmount with it's fiddly rangefinder etc ... far better off to get a Leica 1 or a Standard.

Now there's simplicity ... and it's smaller still!
 
Hmmm. My IIIf is really annoying me, because the shutter is sticking. And I've never been fond of "dual window viewing/focusing".

I am tempted to go full-minimalist, and stay with my 1a, or fully RF/viewing convenient and shoot LTM's on my M's with the suitable LTM adapters.

...Vick
 
Since I bought my first M in 1974 or so I've not used my IIIa anything like as much and I've not bought another screw-mount for at least 25 years. The last two I bought were a mint IIIg in box and a Luftwaffe IIIc, not exactly everyday users though of course I used each of them for a while before selling them at a large-ish profit. An M2 with a collapsible Elmar ain't that much bigger than my original IIIa (which I bought in 1969 or so and still have).

But before the Ms I had A, II, III, IIIa, IIIb, IIIf; in several cases, more than one of each, simultaneously or serially. I just decided in the mid-70s to give up camera collecting and concentrate on taking pictures - for which I find the Ms much more convenent.

In the 60s and 70s it was far easier to find Leicas cheaply in camera shops, and if you knew what you were doing, good profits were often easy. An acquaintance came into the studio once with a camera he'd just bought cheaply at a major London store: an ugly, nasty, badly-synched (though the top plate) conversion to a II. The serial number was 139.

Cheers,

R.
 
Do the Leica screw mount cameras provide you with something that you can't get with the 'M' series?

What do you like about these cameras?

My first real camera was a IIIc with a battered Sonnar (with adapter). I have flirted with LTM cameras since, but largely from nostalgia. They feel good in the hand and can be used to great effect. Yet at the end of the day I prefer the Ms.

Chris
 
Size and weight. And because I often shoot with small aperture and zone focusing, separate VF/RF doesn't bother me. And when I do use the RF, full screen double image of Barnack Leica is actually great (as long as you've got contrasty RF).

I wish the shutter sound was as quiet as M, though.
 
Double exposures are also easier... say I accidentally click with the lens cap on - I just rewind a frame.
 
Well, let me see.

No worries about the wind lever poking your eye out.

The rewind crank won't bend or break or get caught in your sweater like on M4s and up.

The film reminder dial on the back can't be set wrong (unless it's a IIIg.)

No pesky rear door flipping open when loading film.

Absolutely no RF patch flare.

No irritating framelines or focus patches cluttering up the view except on that oddball IIIg again.

No frameline preview mechanism to get stuck, requiring a cla.

Lighter weight than Ms, so less likely your neck strap will break, and it's easier on the strap lugs.

Just try setting 1/40th second on your M. When you need it, you've got it.

Fewer lens options to empty your pocket.

Screw mount lenses allow more time to savor the lens swap process.

Longer effective RF baselength than all but the M3 and uncommon 0.85x models. A full 1.5x magnification, with a variable diopter to boot.

Brighter viewfinder.

The frame counter is much more readily visible than on any M, even the M2.

Trimming the film leader keeps things in perspective that your Barnack is unique and special.

The vast majority of Barnacks were made in Wetzlar, not Canada.

Uses the same cable release as the Nikon F and F2, saving you at least $3.

Sturdier 3/8" tripod thread.

T.
 
Over the last year I have used four cameras, Contax I (3.5 Tessar), M6 (2.8 Elmar M), Leica I (3.5 Elmar) and Canon Ixus (haven't a clue).

Put the Contax I to one side, it is camera for sado-masochistic nutters, beautiful and fascinating but for all the wrong reasons. It is ideal for gear heads.

The M6 is truly wonderful but does tend to make me take myself too seriously which doesn't really help the results.

The Leica I and the diginasty are similar. Both are complete packages. Both are snap happy, both have squinty viewfinders and fiddly controls. Both are go anywhere and immediate...but only one has charm...
Enough said.

Michael
 
Haptics mayhap?

Seriously though, it's fun: and there is the satisfaction of using a 60 year old, beautifully constructed machine (IIIf in my case) which still functions perfectly, in the same way that someone used it 60 years ago.
 
A Barnack is elegant

A Barnack is elegant

Well, let me see.

No worries about the wind lever poking your eye out.

The rewind crank won't bend or break or get caught in your sweater like on M4s and up.

The film reminder dial on the back can't be set wrong (unless it's a IIIg.)

No pesky rear door flipping open when loading film.

Absolutely no RF patch flare.

No irritating framelines or focus patches cluttering up the view except on that oddball IIIg again.

No frameline preview mechanism to get stuck, requiring a cla.

Lighter weight than Ms, so less likely your neck strap will break, and it's easier on the strap lugs.

Just try setting 1/40th second on your M. When you need it, you've got it.

Fewer lens options to empty your pocket.

Screw mount lenses allow more time to savor the lens swap process.

Longer effective RF baselength than all but the M3 and uncommon 0.85x models. A full 1.5x magnification, with a variable diopter to boot.

Brighter viewfinder.

The frame counter is much more readily visible than on any M, even the M2.

Trimming the film leader keeps things in perspective that your Barnack is unique and special.

The vast majority of Barnacks were made in Wetzlar, not Canada.

Uses the same cable release as the Nikon F and F2, saving you at least $3.

Sturdier 3/8" tripod thread.

T.

My IIIb takes a snapshot skopar as if they were made for one another.

yours
FPJ
 
Damn, I want a IIIG.

Hmm.... did I say that out loud?

I too fell victim to lust !!

I love the whole Barnack shooting experience:-

The watch like qualities of the camera , the trimming the leader, the two speed dials, the Knob wind Film advance,the separate rangefinder and viewfinder but I too fell for the superior viewfinder of the IIIg.

Coupled to a Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton makes for a very pleasant shooting experience
 
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Then again, I sometimes suspect that my Retina IIa is a better camera than my Leica IIIa. Smaller; lighter better range/viewfinder; faster, coated lens; lever wind; easier shutter-speed setting; no piddling around with ABLON; and I can use Shirley-Wellards if I want to roll my own, so reloadable cassettes are a zero-sum game. Since I started using Ms I've almost never used anything other than 50mm on my IIIa, but I use other lenses on my Ms all the time, from 15 to 135mm.

Cheers,

R.
 
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