Leica IIIF restoration?

[Durr3]

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I just found an old Leica IIIF with a 50 Summarit lens, BUT it needs restoring and new leather. Who should I trust with this chore?

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[joeswe]

I just found an old Leica IIIF with a 50 Summarit lens, BUT it needs restoring and new leather. Who should I trust with this chore?

 

Welcome to the forum. To make a useful suggestion it would be good to know in which part of the world you live.

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[Durr3]

Welcome to the forum. To make a useful suggestion it would be good to know in which part of the world you live.

 

Sorry....USA....Mississippi 39211

[luigi bertolotti]

I'm on the other side of the Ocean, but as a frequent surfer of this forum, in US there is by sure a very appreciated lab : Featured Products - DAG Camera Parts

Edited February 5, 2015 by luigi bertolotti

[TomB_tx]

DAG did a great job servicing my IIIf, but I don't think he replaces the vulcanite leather. I know Youxin Ye is faster than DAG, and he will replace the leather, etc. He has done good work on a few old Leicas of mine. The best restorations I've seen in the US were by Gus Lazzari, but he can be slow.

[Shac]

Youxin Ye in the US did a really god job with my IIc and other cameras - quick service and very reasonable price

[spydrxx]

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The 3 mentioned above can work wonders. DAG and Gus are sometimes overwhelmed with jobs waiting in queue, which means long tuernaround times, Youxin has turned around jobs for me within 2 weeks. I suggest giving each a call or email to discuss what you want, listen to their responses and decide from there.

[250swb]

I just found an old Leica IIIF with a 50 Summarit lens, BUT it needs restoring and new leather. Who should I trust with this chore?

 

If you just found it then having it restored is a good idea. If you bought it you need to consider that the costs of restoration will mostly probably be disproportionate to the price of a camera that is already working in the current marketplace.

 

Steve

[Durr3]

Thanks to all of you....I understand the costs involved, but with the leather coming off and the fact that it won't wind leads me to believe it needs a CLA for sure. As you can see, it "looks" good. I paid $300 for the camera....with the 50 Summarit, is this good?

[smb]

With the going prices if the Summarit is in good working condition then the camera was free.

[Durr3]

I have been warned against using Cameraleather, so where can I get a covering for the Leica IIIF? Does anybody have a link?

 

Thanks

J

[TomB_tx]

I've done a couple of IIIfs with these with good results:

http://aki-asahi.com/store/html/IIIcf/IIIcf.php

[spydrxx]

I've used both Cameraleather and Aki-Asahi....the products were excellent in both cases. Cameraleather has a wider selection, but Morgan is sometimes less responsive although ultimately he has always delivered and often has offered some interesting commentary on my projects. Mr. Rikuo at Aki-Asahi has been immediately responsive and accommodating to any specialy needs I have had. FWIW - I would go with Aki-Asahi right now, given that the northeast is buried in snow and bitter cold, downed power lines, etc. and I am speculating that could even further slow down Cameraleather's cutting and delivery schedule.

[pico]

Thanks to all of you....I understand the costs involved, but with the leather coming off [...]

 

Technically, it is not a leather cover, but vulcanite, a rubber-like compound used by Leica until the the late Seventies, as far as I recall.

 

Regardless, if a user camera is what you want, worry not.

.