mikebidwell Posted October 15, 2009 Share #1 Posted October 15, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi there everybody, well I've just come back from a fortnights cruise around the Western Mediterranean so I thought I'd take my Leica IIIf Red Dial along with me. I bought it back last year and Malcolm Taylor CLA'd it for me but unfortunately because of family problems and my own ill health earlier this year it stayed in the cupboard. So armed with the camera and my Weston Master IV off we went. Here is an image of the camera and a couple of images taken on the trip. It really was enjoyable getting back to do some real photography. My apologies for the quality of the images but next time out I'm going to use my IIIg The next image is of a street in Palma Majorca And this one is only a bit of MV Ventura, our cruise ship. You can guage her size by looking at the security officer walking just under her bow, to get anymore in the frame I'd have ended up swimming Best wishes Mike Bidwell Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 15, 2009 Posted October 15, 2009 Hi mikebidwell, Take a look here Leica IIIf given an airing. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
luigi bertolotti Posted October 15, 2009 Share #2 Posted October 15, 2009 Compliments for your trip, and thanks for the pair of fine pics : any comment is superflous about the pic of your IIIf ... there has NEVER been such a gracious piece of photo equipment like a classic LTM with Elmar fitted... may many of them go on working for MANY MANY decades to come. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebidwell Posted October 15, 2009 Author Share #3 Posted October 15, 2009 Compliments for your trip, and thanks for the pair of fine pics : any comment is superflous about the pic of your IIIf ... there has NEVER been such a gracious piece of photo equipment like a classic LTM with Elmar fitted... may many of them go on working for MANY MANY decades to come. Thank you Luigi for your kind words, they are very much appreciated. Whilst onboard the Ventura I got to know most of the young ships photographers. They showed a great interest in my Leica and Weston Meter. I suppose the eldest of them was about 30 and whilst he had heard of Leica he'd never ever seen a camera such as I showed him and let him handle. It's very sad that the average photographer these days knows really nothing about the age of the fully mechanical camera. Best wishes Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
storybrown Posted October 15, 2009 Share #4 Posted October 15, 2009 beautiful camera; beautiful street scene . . . Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishimage Posted October 15, 2009 Share #5 Posted October 15, 2009 It's very sad that the average photographer these days knows really nothing about the age of the fully mechanical camera. Best wishes Mike Well said Mike, I echo your words exactly .. and let me add .. The sheer joy of using such a fine mechanical instrument makes photography all the more such a very pleasurable experience. Noel Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted October 15, 2009 Share #6 Posted October 15, 2009 ... It's very sad that the average photographer these days knows really nothing about the age of the fully mechanical camera. Therefore it is always good, when people use those ever young cameras and give others the chance to see their results. Thank you for showing and I hope we will see more from your using it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sobreiro Posted October 15, 2009 Share #7 Posted October 15, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi, That camera is fabulous! I have already made my mind! One day I will have one... And the photos came out really well. I apologise for my curiosity but, was that last photo shot in Lisbon? That bridge on the background looks very familiar... With best regards JPS Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbgeach Posted October 16, 2009 Share #8 Posted October 16, 2009 (edited) My father-in-law has a IIIf and it is a great camera, makes excellent pics. However, the rangefinder is so dark, I have to half cover the opening so I can see the projected image to align. I think we may have to send it in for service, but it really is a beautiful piece of history. Edited October 16, 2009 by jbgeach Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebidwell Posted October 16, 2009 Author Share #9 Posted October 16, 2009 Hi,That camera is fabulous! I have already made my mind! One day I will have one... And the photos came out really well. I apologise for my curiosity but, was that last photo shot in Lisbon? That bridge on the background looks very familiar... With best regards JPS Yes you are quite right, the photo of Ventura was taken in Lisbon, I remember that day very well, my wife and I walked from where she was berthed into the town from there. Took an hour and it was unbearably hot. I've another image I'll post later of somewhere else you might well remember. Best wishes Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pecole Posted October 16, 2009 Share #10 Posted October 16, 2009 My father-in-law has a IIIf and it is a great camera, makes excellent pics. However, the rangefinder is so dark, I have to half cover the opening so I can see the projected image to align. I think we may have to send it in for service, but it really is a beautiful piece of history. This is definitely not a Leica IIIf, but a IIIc built in 1950. And it is not even original, since a synchro socket has been put on the front. No historical value at all ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebidwell Posted October 16, 2009 Author Share #11 Posted October 16, 2009 Hi there This is an image again taken with my IIIf Red Dial. Sobreiro correctly recognised that Ventura was docked in Lisbon Harbour so I said I would upload another shot taken in Lisbon. I didn't realise that I'd just clipped off the top of the tower. Never mind if I ever get back there I'll do a better job next time. Kind regards to all Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted October 16, 2009 Share #12 Posted October 16, 2009 This is definitely not a Leica IIIf, but a IIIc built in 1950. And it is not even original, since a synchro socket has been put on the front. No historical value at all ! IIIc by sure, with synchro added : anyway it retains a historical interest, even if a purist Leica collector cannnot like those modified bodies; but outside this specific world, well it's undoubtly a vintage Leica, a camera that can give great photos after about 60 years of life, and has a glorious place in the story of photography . Value is not only related to a money evaluation, which isn't high neither for this camera, nor for a standard-original IIIc, which is anyway a common item. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted October 16, 2009 Share #13 Posted October 16, 2009 (edited) This is definitely not a Leica IIIf, but a IIIc built in 1950. And it is not even original, since a synchro socket has been put on the front. No historical value at all ! If you mean the market value for collectors you may be right. But this has nothing to do with history nor with the value of a camera from this time. What we see is historically telling more than an unaltered camera from the same time: the users in this time were interested in "upgrading" their cameras with new technology like flash synchronisation. The user didn't think of originality but of taking photos. It also tells a lot about so called technological advance: you won't be able to use this synchronisation properly today, for the flashes are out of the market - but you can use the camera. When we talk of so many gadgets and new devices and upgrades of our present cameras today we could sometimes remember equal practices from former times and what they were really worth in the long run. The only value such a camera can have is making photos with it. Great if it still does. If not it should be not difficult, to make it work again for many years for an appropriate price. Thats valuable. Edited October 16, 2009 by UliWer Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted October 17, 2009 Share #14 Posted October 17, 2009 Every old camera has a history, which may be visible, as with your IIIc. But collectors are not interested in history, not even the history of photo technology. They are interested in collectibles, and could, but for the grace of Chance, just as well have been collecting stamps. Your camera is an individual, with a past. Give it a CLA (Cleaning, Lubricating, Adjusting) by a competent technician, and you will have an interesting friend. Running a film through it now and then keeps its joints supple. It will continue working for as long as you can buy 35mm film. And after that, it will be a fine conversation piece. The old man from the Screw Thread Age (35 and 42mm) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbgeach Posted October 18, 2009 Share #15 Posted October 18, 2009 (edited) Thanks for all the comments. I really believed it was a IIIf, but as some of you alluded to it has more value to me than any collector. My Grandfather-in-law bought this camera in Geneva. He was an Argentine diplomat who simply wanted to record the world around him. He then passed it down to his son, who taken great care of it and cherished it. The reason I was posting was not to show have valuable it was, but simply how well it still works, and can make better images than many current cameras. Honestly, it is what got me interested in Leica and I hope that some day my grandchild will fiddle with an old camera (my m8) as I have with his. Also, as someone else said, I plan to use the IIIc as long as I can get my hands on 35mm film. So for Picole, the camera may have little monetary value, but its historical value is without end. Thanks again. Jonathan Edited October 18, 2009 by jbgeach Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
@bumac Posted October 18, 2009 Share #16 Posted October 18, 2009 (edited) The IIIf is a great camera. Enjoy it. I have a red dial too with a 2/50 Summitar. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited October 18, 2009 by @bumac Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/100268-leica-iiif-given-an-airing/?do=findComment&comment=1079464'>More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted October 18, 2009 Share #17 Posted October 18, 2009 This is definitely not a Leica IIIf, but a IIIc built in 1950. And it is not even original, since a synchro socket has been put on the front. No historical value at all ! LOL, nonsense. Yes it's a lllc modified to take flash as stated. The lllc and lllf and most Leica's were after all mass produced cameras and none of them are really of any historical value (unless one day you happen to own the last surviving example!). Many Leica cameras were modified, either by the factory or by individual camera technicians, adding flash capability was a common upgrade (just as people upgrade their M8's today). In terms of monetary value only the very best examples are of interest to collectors, boxed and as new, or cameras with some important past i.e. the military issued models. The lllc is a very useable and capable camera, enjoy it! It is definately worth the cost of a service. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc_braconi Posted October 22, 2009 Share #18 Posted October 22, 2009 I think Mr Jeandrain was speaking about the historical production from Leitz, ie the tree structure of production whithout alteration or modification. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Wright Posted October 26, 2009 Share #19 Posted October 26, 2009 It's nice to see a reference to the 111f these days. My son (then sixteen) took on his (now dead) grandfather's 111f together with a 35mm Summaron, Imarect viewfinder and Weston Euromaster meter to shoot some film in the style of James Ravilious. He had some marvellous results on Rollei technical pan film rated at iso 25. I would love to post some of the results. Is there a simple man's guide for submitting images? cheers Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrutcher Posted August 8, 2010 Share #20 Posted August 8, 2010 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! I just put got my IIIf this week and love it. So far I have a collapsible 50 cron and a 35mm 3.5 Summaron. This is a work of art and I love the small size. It is a good compliment to my M3 and M6. First roll is still in the camera, can't wait to see them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! I just put got my IIIf this week and love it. So far I have a collapsible 50 cron and a 35mm 3.5 Summaron. This is a work of art and I love the small size. It is a good compliment to my M3 and M6. First roll is still in the camera, can't wait to see them. ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/100268-leica-iiif-given-an-airing/?do=findComment&comment=1399827'>More sharing options...
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