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

[earleygallery]

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Red Dot have a number of nice looking inexpensive lllc and lllf cameras for sale at present - and you get a warranty!

 

e.g. http://www.reddotcameras.co.uk/screw-bodies/9622-leica-iiif-body.html

Edited March 17, 2016 by earleygallery

[jimbo035]

Definitely time to get a Leica (back) in my life,  so the  Canon 7 body has been traded in for a 1955 llf converted to lllf which is expected tomorrow.     Found a nigh-forgotten 'useable' EHO Altissa accessory viewfinder in my Oddments box (resort to Google if you haven't heard the name), which I recall once sat lop-sidedly in a Fed 4's accessory shoe.  If it sits up straight on the Leica (may have been the Fed's fault) = cost of a SBOOI saved.

(Not from Red Dot, though it comes from another reputable dealer with a 6-month warranty).   

Perhaps the Canon lens may 'morph' into a collapsible f2 or f2.8 before the year is out ..... Summar,  Summitar, Elmar  ?    How far will the trade-in value of my Exc++ Canon 501.2 go towards any one of those I wonder ..... 

[lleo]

Summicron?

[jimbo035]

If the asking price for the Summicron I see on Ebay (£323)  is typical',  the cost (after buying the right Leitz lens hood/shade and a couple of filters for it) would rise too high for me.   If the Canon 50/'1.2lens was collapsible  and its Hood  not so big ...less obtrusive - helping me to become less conspicuous as I particularly enjoy photographing cityscapes and life on the street.

[TomB_tx]

Yes, the 50 1.2 will block a good part of the viewfinder - and more on a Leica IIIc or f than on a Canon RF due to the location of th VF window.

The Canon 50 1.8 is much better on a Leica, and performs VERY well. I use them on both a Canon IVSB and Leica IIIf. I also use a Canon 35 f1.8 on them.

For Leica lenses, a Summitar from late 1940s can be reasonable, and performs close to Summicron. And of course a 50 Elmar, is always nice. The Elmar 2.8 that came out with the IIIg has more modern aperture control and works well on a IIIf.

[earleygallery]

Get an Elmar, superb lens and a perfect match for the body.

[jimbo035]

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Whichever lens I get, there'll be difficulty in finding the right lens shade and filters.

My notion that once the camera had arrived and awakened fond memories of past 'Leica years' I'd be willing to trade in both Canon lenses for a Summicron/Summitar/Elmar seems to have been well founded.

 

The Search begins.....

[earleygallery]

Clamp on filters/hoods for the Elmar are quite common. Of course there is the minor inconvenience of having to remove a filter to adjust the aperture, or there are tiny screw in filters but harder to find.

 

I must admit I've never used a hood or filter on my Elmar - a later red scale version.

 

As mentioned above you can find the later style f2.8 Elmar in screw mount, which has a 39mm filter ring and conventional aperture ring - it might be a better lens if you intend to use filters regularly.

[willeica]

Clamp on filters/hoods for the Elmar are quite common. Of course there is the minor inconvenience of having to remove a filter to adjust the aperture, or there are tiny screw in filters but harder to find.

 

I must admit I've never used a hood or filter on my Elmar - a later red scale version.

 

As mentioned above you can find the later style f2.8 Elmar in screw mount, which has a 39mm filter ring and conventional aperture ring - it might be a better lens if you intend to use filters regularly.

 

 The Leica VALOO hood, originally designed for use on enlargers, will allow the changing of aperture on the 50mm/5cm Elmar without removal of the hood.  As James says, the FISON hood, which was designed for the Elmar, does require to be taken off in order to change aperture. If you think that is bad, I recently picked up a copy of the very earliest FISON with a square front cut-out, which not only has to be removed in order to change aperture, but also has to be re-oriented every time you focus. It is now a rare 'collector's piece'. The VALOO, therefore, represented progress of a kind in it's day.

 

William

[Wayne]

 If you think that is bad, I recently picked up a copy of the very earliest FISON with a square front cut-out, which not only has to be removed in order to change aperture, but also has to be re-oriented every time you focus. It is now a rare 'collector's piece'.

 

William

Now there is some tremendous wisdom concerning prediction of what will become a valuable collectible: just identify the Leica items that are virtually impossible to use, and for which Leica will likely find it difficult to sell in large quantity, and there you have it....an item virtually guaranteed to be a valuable collectible.  One has to wonder, are earliest FISON hoods rare because they did not sell, or did they frustrate our fore-fathers to the point of throwing them away.

[willeica]

It is virtually impossible to second guess the context of any product from more than 90 years ago, looking back from the perspective of today. Leica engineers were designing what they thought was the best possible camera, lens or accessory in the context of those times. What collectors might do 90 years in the future was entirely irrelevant to them, and rightly so. There is even more irony, from today's perspective, in the various upgrade programs which Leica ran during the 1930s. In many cases the customer was getting a 'better camera' or lens, but today collectors value rarity and original condition above all else and downgrade such modified (by Leica) cameras. Were the customers in the 1930s wrong to get an upgrade? No, they were not. They were seeking a camera or lens that would be the best for them at that time. The concept of being a collector did not even occur to them. Post hoc rationalisation or revision of what might have happened many years ago is always a dangerous thing.

 

William

[jimbo035]

On March 21st I wrote:  "Whichever lens I get, there'll be difficulty in finding the right lens shade and filters.

My notion that once the camera had arrived and awakened fond memories of past 'Leica years' I'd be willing to trade in both Canon lenses for a Summicron/Summitar/Elmar seems to have been well founded.  The Search begins....."

Now that re-familiarisation with a model lll is complete (c in the past - f now),  SOOMP lens shade/A36 filters availability and prices researched;  a  Summar  with a 'proper' hood, yellow & UV A36 filters seems the most likely option to replace my Canon 50/1.2 with its 'proper' hood and filters asap.  Here's hoping I won't have to wait too long    

[jimbo035]

Eleven days have passed since my previous posting and a 1938 llla with its original Summaron is on its way to join the 'RDST' lllf.  I have it on good authority (Ivor Cooper of Red Dot Cameras) that the llla 'kit' (includes erc, hood and lens cap) was one of two Leicas brought out of Germany by  a Jewish family fleeing Nazi persecution.  "One careful owner" seems to be a bit of an understatement in this case.

There's a luggage label tied to the case , which I shall be particularly interested to see.  Furthermore, of the two that the family brought back this one is rated E++, as the other was the one used most.    

Edited April 12, 2016 by jimbo035

[convexferret]

I've recently returned to the ranks of Barnack owners and users and have ended up buying three IIIgs in two months.I'm having fun!

 

[M9reno]

Nice!  But careful with those rings - they wear away the strap lugs.

[convexferret]

Nice!  But careful with those rings - they wear away the strap lugs.

It should be fine, I don't carry it like that, it's just for safety.

[serjohn]

I joined the wonderful world of bottom loaders about 2 years ago. Got a IIIc and a 5CM Summar to begin. Got a 9CM and VIOOH finder last year followed by a 3.5CM Elmar last fall. Haven't had much time to shoot with it but am in love with the build quality and feel. 

 

For years I lusted after a M2 or M3 but they were out of reach. I figured a LTM one was a cheap way to get into a Leica rangefinder and if I didn't like it I could sell it at little/no loss.

 

Figure I'm set lens wise for now and maybe some point will get a M2 as that makes more sense as it has the frame lines for the 3 lenses I have now.

[Bateleur]

How about a trio of ladies from Wetzlar ...

 

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[jimbo035]

Back with Leicas in my life, and now that I have a 1934 lll to work with my 1938 llla and two lenses, viz the llla's uncoated 50mm Summar and a Canon f3.5 28mm, all with a view to carry on using  XP2 (usually with a yellow filter) mainly for a mixture of 'street'  and architectural subjects.... I just found a forgotten close to use-by-date cassette of Portra 400.   After a little hesitation I decided to use it asap weather-wise with  the llla /Summar, as I have never used a colour film with an uncoated lens before and have heard so much about the "look' of a Summar.   Perhaps the outcome will affect my original intention to use the Leicas just for black & white work, i.e. the 50 on the llla and the 28 on the lll with their respective accessory viewfinders in place.   The KISS principle applied, and thus no juggling of lenses and finders if - for example - one camera had portra and the other XP2.    (Did I hear someone suggest "stick to C41 and desaturise" ?     )

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[Sparkassenkunde]

Just re-scanned this picture of my IIIc with standard Elmar 3,5/50. Nowadays I use it with a Summitar 50:

 

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Shot with M4-P, Cron 35 on Portra 400