Search the Community

Hello, The exposure dial on my 1951 black dial Leica IIIf is misaligned. This doesn't seem to have any bad effects, I just need to remember that the operating exposure is at about, say, 7 o'clock instead of next to the little arrow on the shoe (at 9 o'clock). But it would be kind of nice to have it line up properly. I read a post elsewhere in which someone suggested 1. setting the exposure to 'B' (because it's the most easily identifiable), 2. loosening the three screws which hold the exposure dial tight, 3. rotating the dial until 'B' is at 9 o'clock, and finally 3. tightening it all back up. But those three screws aren't there on my camera, just three little holes! And yet it works. Without lifting the dial, it's impossible to rotate the dial clockwise. It's possible to rotate it anti-clockwise a short distance, but it just springs back to where it was when you let it go. To change the exposure setting you lift the dial... I mean, I know you know all that, my point is just that it works like that even without the screws. Which is great, who cares about screws? But it is preplexing, and it means I can't realign the dial. Or is there another way? Let's leave aside taking it to a repairer, I already know that that's the best way, but, you know, if there was something easy... Thanks, Ben

Having recently purchased a IIIf from ebay for £109, I was naturally excited at the prospect of becoming a Leica owner. However, I was advised by the seller that there is an issue with the advance knob making a clicking sound just before it completes a full rotation, sometimes not making a full rotation at all. On investigating the issue, I've found that when the slow speed dial is set to 30 (where it locks into place), the problem vanishes and it works apparently flawlessly. However, when the slow speed dial is set to another number, the problem increases to a point where, when set at 1 or 10, the camera stops short of a complete advance and would require excessive force to turn further. And, of course, the shutter stops short (as seen in the photo). Am I doing something wrong or is there a mechanical issue?

Having recently purchased an Industar-50 f3.5, I have an issue regarding focussing. When set to infinity, it doesn't focus correctly, seemingly needing a slight turn beyond infinity. Also when trying to focus on objects at 0.65m (the minimum focal distance of this lens), I need to stand about 1m away to focus properly. I don't know if it's a problem with the camera or the lens. Any suggestions?

Hi folks. I'm looking at buying a iiif as my first Leica, but it doesn't matter how much I google I can't seam to see an indication on how big the eyepieces are and only one or two blurred pics looking through the rangefinder bit. I wear glasses sp don't know if anything really small would be any good, and I've never handled one, only an M years ago in the late 90's at a Focus show on Birmingham. I've also been looking at Canon IVsb's as well (with the option of using Leica LTM lenses) as they show 1.1 with built in magnification for other lenses. Even looked into Canon P for the bigger viewfinder and LTM mount, but they are mostly in Japan at a decent price. The thought of owning a Leica keeps bringing me back to the iiif though (iiig is too expensive for me at the min). I love the compact nature of my Fuji X-Pro2 but it isn't a proper rangefinder, and I've gone off my Nikon D3s as its too heavy to cart around so I'll probably end up selling it before the prices plummet any more (which will bring me into M territory). Can anyone take a few pics of a iiif viewfinder next to a penny or similar to give me an idea of size, and maybe a few pics from a camera phone showing the rangefinder split screen and viewfinder please.

Hello everyone! I'm new to the leica film cameras but I came up a rather very nice iiif in great condition which comes with a summarit 50mm f1.5 going for about $550. This sounded like a pretty good deal to me, however, upon closer inspection the lens seemed to have a lot of haze (not sure about fungus) as when I performed the light test there were specks everywhere. It seemed to be internal and in the second glass?? Not sure how to fix it or if I even can, also the focus ring was pretty stiff (but that isn't a deal breaker or anything). Like I said, the body of the camera was in very good condition however the lens is my biggest concern. As most of you are owners/experts and such please help me out and let me know if this is a good deal or not. Thanks, Ashley

is this a collapsible viewfinder ? does it have a Code name ?

i accidentally pressed the shutter [was cocked] of my iiif while removing it from my coat pocket, the lens cap was on..am curious how many turns of the rewind knob would equal 1 frame ?

Hallo Freunde der analogen Fotografie, seit einer Weile fotografiere ich nun schon analog, erst mit einer Canon AE1 und jetzt mit einer Olympus OM1, da ich vollmechanische Kameras mehr mag, so kommt es auch, dass ich mir jetzt eine alte Leica zulegen will. Da mein Budget als Schüler begrenzt ist und ich Schraubleicas bald schöner als dass M-System finde, habe ich meine Suche auf die IIIF, IIIC und IIIG eingegrenzt, wobei die IIIG auch schon fast zu teuer ist. Dazu soll es noch ein schönes Elmar, Summitar oder sogar Summicron sein. Da ich Händlern generell mehr vertraue bin ich auf 2 Angebote gestoßen: Leica IIIC mit Summitar 50mm f/2 und Beli für 500€: https://www.meister-camera.com/de/gebraucht/5297/leica-iii-c Leica IIIF VLW mit Elmar 50mm f/2 für 445€: https://www.leica-store-muenchen.de/de/gebraucht/15166/leica-iiif-vlw-3550mm Ich weiß wirklich nicht, welches Angebot ich nehmen soll, da beide Kameras ziemlich gleich sind (Der Blitzanschluss der IIIF ist mir egal). Die IIIC hat halt noch einen Belichtungsmesser und das bessere Objektiv für Naturlichtfotografie, jedoch, hat Sie kein Rückgaberecht, der Zustand ist schlechter (das Chrome blättert ab), sie hat Selbstauslöser (eigentlich ein cooles Feature, was jedoch kein Muss ist) und ich habe von vielen gehört, dass es nur selten ist, dass man ein Summitar ohne Kratzer findet, da dass Glas sehr weich ist. Objektiv und Kamera sind beide von ca. 1949/50. Die IIIF hat an sich ein (licht-)schwächeres Objektiv (ist das ein großer Unterschied?), keinen Belichtungsmesser (welchen ich eigentlich nicht wirklich brauche, jedoch ist dieser ganz nett) und ist ein Umbau (was nicht unbedingt schlecht ist?). Jedoch hat der Body einen besseren Zustand, die Kamera hat ein Rückgaberecht und ist 50€ günstiger. Der Body ist auch so von 1949/50, von dem Objektiv kenne ich aber Jahr, was auch bedeuten könnte, dass es keine Vergütung hat. Ich gehe bei beiden Kameras davon aus, dass ich sie noch justieren lassen muss, dazu will ich sie für 120€ zu Oleg Khalyavin schicken, hat da jemand Erfahrung? Schon mal vielen Dank im Vorraus für eure Antworten! Max

Hallo, ich habe eine Ja/Nein Frage für euch. Ich bin drauf und dran mir eine IIIF oder eine IIIG zu kaufen. Ich bin auf zwei Konfigurationen mit dem gleichen Elmar 50mm f/3,5 gestoßen. Die Frage die sich mir nun stellt, ist, ob sich ein Aufpreis von 200€ von der IIIF zur IIIG und Features wie der größere Sucher wirklich lohnt? LG

Hi all! I've just started shooting and developing my own black and white film (on a Leica IIIf). I need some help with my most recent roll that I tried to develop. I got this "faded" look (attached screenshots). Any ideas on what went wrong? Only thing I can think of is that the chemicals I used (developer and fixer) were each used only once before. I was also very slightly less careful about the temperature of the chemicals, because I didn't have a way of heating up my saved chemicals, and the temperature of the chemicals was maybe 17-19 C. My scanning process is very sub-standard since I haven't invested much into this process yet. I'm using an old scanner with max 600 dpi, and I haven't yet solved the newton ring problem yet. I intend to improve on this once I figure out my chemical process. The film I am using is Kodak T-Max 400, and I used Ilfosol 3 developer (1+9 ratio) and Simplicity Rapid Fixer (1+5 ratio). I used the following development times: * 7:30 development * 1:00 stop bath (just used tap water) * 5:00 fixing * Fill and empty tank with water 5 times to wash off fixer * 0:30 of wetting solution Any help appreciated.