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LTM users, its time to stand up and be counted!


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That is correct. I have never had difficulty mounting an LTM (M39) on an adapter. There may be issues with framelines as Leica has tended to pair them 28/90, 35/135 and 50/75 on Ms. So a 28/50 adapter will probably give you 50/75 framelines. If you are just looking at 50s, you should not have an issue. For wideangles I would usually recommend a separate viewfinder, anyway.

 

William

 

My comments above relate to LTM-M adapters. Wilson is correct in saying that you can get an adapter for M42 to M but you will not get RF focussing. You can use live view or an EVF on the M240 or M10, a point I have been making on this forum in connection with the availability of those facilities on the new M10.

 

William

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Somewhat OTT for LTM cameras but relating to the last couple of posts: Live view focusing on the M240 is only barely adequate, due to the indifferent viewfinder with a relatively low pixel count, slow refresh rate and weak focus peaking. I was amazed how much easier it was on the SL with M lenses, where focusing in the wonderful EVF is pretty much as easy as RF focusing in good light. In low light with say a Noctilux, where you want to be super accurate, if using wide open, it is easier on the SL than on an M using RF and you get DOF preview. The better EVF with built in GPS rather than having to use the bulky and heavy MF grip on the M240, with its very slow acquisition of GPS lock, is the only thing that slightly tempts me on an M10 but I don't think it is enough. My wallet says:  :)  :)  :)

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It is a Ic from the late 40s/early 50s. I have one of these with an SN commencing with '56'. This one seems to begin with '45', but it is blocked by the viewfinder. This is the perfect camera to use with the 2.8cm f 5.6 Summaron.

 

William

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I was thinking of a 1C, F or G to use with an LTM Super Angulon 21 or Color Skopar 21mm. I could of course use my 1© Standard when it comes back from Alan Starkie, as it is now all checked out and recovered in real leather. Admittedly my previous Color Skopar 21mm was totally unusable due to de-centred optical cell but luckily I ran a 24 exposure film through the M7 I had at the time, got it processed overnight and took the Skopar back to the Hong Kong dealer the next day. I swapped it for a Zeiss ZM 21 Biogon, which I rather regret now selling. 

 

Wilson

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Wow! Look what Alan has managed to achieve with my I©, III and Hektor. The III in particular looks spectacular with its new paint. The internals and RF of the III have had a total overhaul as well, plus new curtains. I am now going to send him my Reid and Sigrist to get the accessory shoe screws replaced with the correct BA size in place of the metric ones, the flash sockets sorted and my CL for a rangefinder clean and overhaul. 

 

Wilson

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Edited by wlaidlaw
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Wow! Look what Alan has managed to achieve with my I©, IIII and Hektor. The III in particular looks spectacular with its new paint. The internals and RF of the III have had a total overhaul as well, plus new curtains. I am now going to send him my Reid and Sigrist to get the accessory shoe screws replaced with the correct BA size in place of the metric ones, the flash sockets sorted and my CL for a rangefinder clean and overhaul. 

 

Wilson

 

Let us know how you get on with the Reid and Sigrist. I sent my Reid III in for a CLA, but the technician said that he did not have all of the shutter parts (perhaps different to similar era Leica parts) to complete the job. He does seem to have done some work, even though there was no charge. I am going to run another test roll through it one of these days, but if there is another technician who is able to do these, I would get it done by him. I have also acquired an RAF Reid I but I have yet to test it. It seems to have been 'very well used' by the RAF, so I am not that hopeful that it will be perfect. That might also need a CLA. My Reids are lovely cameras from a cosmetic perspective, but they have had a lot of use in the past.

 

That is a nice chrome Hektor that you have on the III above.

 

William

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Alan said he was just starting a CLA on another Reid, so he may be your man. Some Leica IIIB parts fit some don't. The screws on R&S cameras are all BA rather than a mixture as on early Leicas where they used some metric both coarse and fine, some Swiss Thury = equivalent of BA and some GKWTTI (god knows what thread that is). For example the lens mount is 39mm but 26 threads per inch!

 

Some time ago Kevin Cameras had a whole box full of R&S bits and spares but I cannot find it on his current website. 

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I thought I was going to have a problem using my recently acquired (and working!) Metraphot 3 meter, identical to a Leicameter II, on my rebuilt and painted Model III. See the photo below, which shows that the meter overlaps the shutter speed knob, preventing it being raised to change the shutter speed. I was looking all yesterday for a camera accessory I used to have, which had a male accessory shoe fitting on the bottom and two accessory shoes on the top. You could unscrew and reverse the top shoes to alter which offset it was, left or right. It is many years since I last used or even saw it and I failed to find it. The solution was very much easier. The meter has three pairs of threaded brass inserts on the bottom, so you can offset the shoe fitting on the meter. As supplied, my meter was using the centre pair. 

 

The only problem I had was undoing the screws, which I doubt had been moved for the last 60 years. I have a nice German Hilka micro screwdriver set with 15 assorted blades (flat, crosshead and Torx) and a brass handle but the screw slots in whatever Metraphot and many other German photographic makers used at the time, were very narrow and the correct 2.5mm width flat head blade would not fit into the screw slot, nor the narrowest in that set, 2mm. In the end I had to go to my A+F Swiss jewellers screwdriver set and use the largest screwdriver in that set, 1.4mm, which as it was applying the torque over a narrower face, has slightly marked the soft brass screws.

 

I have had this problem a number of times before, so I have ordered some wider A+F screwdrivers (1.6, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0mm) and a screwdriver sharpener, to make a set of thin blade, old camera screwdrivers. So the next time I meet one of these narrow slot screws, I will have the correct tool. I hate using the wrong implement to do a job. Watching my wife use a wood chisel to open a can of paint, makes me want to scream but of course, my lips are zipped (you learn when this is advisable, after being married 45 years  :))

 

Wilson

 

 

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Another unusual LTM copy:

Here is a Leotax model TV2, another lever-wind IIIf copy that tried to combat the M3 by adding features. As you can see, it is Barnack sized copy of the IIIf, but with thumb lever wind. Leotax, Nicca, and of course Canon were the major Leica-inspired cameras of Japan after the war. This Leotax is very well made and is quite delightful to use. I purchased it from a seller in Japan quite cheaply, as the rewind crank didn't fold properly, as it had been incorrectly re-assembled. It took a few minutes to fix. On the first test roll, everything works fine, so it may have had a CLA recently (and the unusual construction of the rewind would explain it being off). All shutter speeds are good, with even exposure across the frame, unlike most I get on auction.

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While the Nicca models can use a Leica style film cassette, the Leotax uses a Canon style cassette, similar to the old Contax style (as was Nikon). These machined brass cassettes are as well made as Leica's. This was a generic Canon copy, but I've seen Leotax branded ones as well.

As I mentioned, besides being Barnack sized with a lever film wind (ratcheted, and very smooth), this also has a unique folding lever rewind knob:

With the crank unfolded it works like any other folding rewind crank. But when folded, it can't rotate around because the crank hits the VF housing. So when it folds it releases a clutch so the inner spool can rotate freely while the knob stays stationary. So how do you know the film is winding when you advance? The small slotted screw head that sticks through the center of the crank rotates with the mechanism below, so you still have a visual indication the film is advancing.

I also appreciate the viewfinder. The eyepiece opening is larger than a IIIf, and the view is a bit wider than a 50mm view, so there is a bright line 50mm frame that I can see with my glasses on. It doesn't move for parallax correction, but has parallax marks for close focus.

It also has modern geometric shutter speeds, but still on two dials like a proper Barnack.

Notice also the shutter release button has been moved forward so it falls to finger easier.

The frame counter is below the top cover, and is manually reset easily. It is unusual also, in that it counts DOWN. For a 36 exposure roll you set it to 36 when you load, and it counts down to zero. So you don't have to remember what size roll was loaded if you don't use it quickly, as in the 50s many of us took months to use up a roll of film.

This feels compact and solid, and fun to use.

However, what these advanced clones lack is the great view and sharp RF rectangle of the M series Leicas, where you see the view much better, focus faster, and can use the patch as either double image or split image. That was Leica's attention to detail and made the M series so desired.

Edited by TomB_tx
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My recently acquired Leica III from 1936 in very good condition. The black paint shows scarcely use and vulcanite is original. Attached is a 1933 Summar in remarkable condition, the lens shows hardly any cleaning marks, I guess due to the fact that it was coated in the 1950s or later. It is a full user combo.

Michael

 

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My father also had his Summar coated in 1948/9 (only the front and rear surfaces of the optical cell) but the coating was very soft, like old Leica coating, albeit much more purple than Leica's coating of this period, which is quite blue. By the time I took it to get recoated in 1965, it had pretty much reverted to being uncoated, except for a thin rim round the edge. My father, being a woollen textile manufacturer, always wore a suit, even when on holiday or playing golf (chequered tweed plus-fours suit), with a silk handkerchief in his breast pocket. This always got flicked out to clean the lens on his IIIA Leica and I am sure it was full of gritty dust, thereby acting like sandpaper on the front element.  :)

 

Wilson

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi everyone, a few weeks ago I asked about the Canon 50mm LTM, I've only taken a few shots with it but I'm noticing some vignetting on the M240. Is anyone noticing this as well, is this a known issue?

 

I tried various settings - no lens profiles, automatic, manual profile. None of the 50mm profiles seems to affect it very much.

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Hi everyone, a few weeks ago I asked about the Canon 50mm LTM, I've only taken a few shots with it but I'm noticing some vignetting on the M240. Is anyone noticing this as well, is this a known issue?

 

I tried various settings - no lens profiles, automatic, manual profile. None of the 50mm profiles seems to affect it very much.

 

I have the 50/f1.8 Serenar/Canon "Hiroshi" lens, chrome plated with an infinity lock, dating from around 1952. Mine is in very nice condition with no fogging, fungus, separation or cleaning marks. These earlier lenses do not seem to suffer from the back element fogging, to anything like the extent of the later black barrel models. I tested it quite a bit on my SL and whereas vignetting was not a big problem, when used at anything wider than f3.5 spherical aberration and field curvature in the corners was quite noticeable. It is super sharp and contrasty in the centre of the image and actuates focus peaking with no problems, unlike my contemporaneous Summitar, where you have to stop down to get peaking on the M240. It gives a slight blue tinge when used with colour film but to nothing like the same extent as my Summitar. I believe the design of these Canon lenses, like many Japanese lenses of the period, is heavily Zeiss Sonnar influenced. It is not in my view, as good as the rigid Summicron, to which many have compared it, although the standard of manufacture and finish, is if anything, better than Leica. I was a little disappointed with it, as I thought from others' opinions, its wide open performance at the edges and corners would have been better. I will post a couple of photos tomorrow taken with the SL or M240 and Canon. 

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Here is the test of the Canon 5cm/f1.8 "Hiroshi" lens on my M240. 

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Built in 1930s and used, daily, for the last two years.

 

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