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How rare is the IIIc SCNOO?


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I have a SCNOO which I am selling and I just realised it is not the standard scnoo- but 3mm longer- and I think it only fits on the IIIc cameras? How rare is this SCNOO? Apparently it was made in 1940- but I have not found much information about it- and it seems little is known or published. A penny for your thoughts:

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The SCNOO and its variants are well covered in the various books on Leitz history : Lager - Van Hasbroek - Laney describe it in detail : the Leica IIIC, first Leica with die cast body, was indeed 2,7mm longer than the previous models, so the SCNOO, being de facto a substitute of the standard baseplate, had to be redesigned accordinigly. The concept of the SCNOO endured also after WWII in other similar accessories for rapid film advance-shutter cocking : the well known Leicavit, for IIIG and then for M models too (the most famous being the MP, which had the Leicavit as standard equipment).

Though well known, the SCNOO I think is rather uncommon, surely an interesting and valuable collectible... anyway, is not difficult to find some for sale (in Italy, at the moment I quickly found this one on ebay : http://www.ebay.it/itm/E-Leitz-SCNOO-fondello-per-carica-rapida-per-Leica-III-IIIA-IIIB-Standard-/330680982969) : though finely engineered as all the Leica accessories, it is a someway delicate item, considering also that those who bought it for using were probably intensive shooters... surely value depends a lot on the operative conditions of the item.

Edited by luigi bertolotti
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Thankyou Luigi- as always your answer is comprehensive and informative:). My SCNOO is also currently on ebay- I have no IIIC cameras and it won't fit on my IIIF so it must go I am afraid. As you have suggested as typical my SCNOO shows signs of use- but not abuse and works nicely.

 

I was wondering just how unusual the longer IIIC version is? I think I read that maybe only 500 were produced?

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According to Lager and Laney, the SCNOO for the Leica IIIc (and IIId) was developed at "early 40's" and discontinued in "45-46" : so, definitely a wartime item, which, by the other side, does not seem to be strictly related to military needs (I don't remember to have seen items with special engravings, neither "Luftwaffen Eigentum" bodies are offered for sale equipped with it) : by those facts, is easy to draw the conclusion that it wasn't made in big numbers... I haven't found references to the 500 number... but surely weren't thousands; worth noting, they didn't restart regular production soon after WWII... and when they restarted, it was an item of new design (SYOOM, named "Leicavit" - 1951).

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