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I ♥ my 250GG

Overgaard

By Overgaard
in Leica Collectors & Historica

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Overgaard

Overgaard

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Ah, I'm kidding. I'm sure somebody love theirs, but I'm not the owner of one. But I did however update the Leica History site today with the 250GG and the MP2 sold at WestLich Auction his weekend. And other stuff on page 1 and 2 of the history page

 

Also, there is President Ike Dwight D. Eisenhowers Leica if you haven't seen it before.

 

leica.overgaard.dk - Thorsten Overgaard's Leica Pages - The Leica History - Page 2

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jaques

jaques

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Good additions to your site Thorsten.

 

I was watching some of the WestLicht auction online- some great stuff.

 

150,000 Euro? Amazing...

 

what do you think it was it about that camera in particular? The MOOEV motor drive? Peculiarity in the camera? Provenance? Condition?

 

If it was the motor drive then that has to be the most expensive motor drive for any camera? You would sure have to LOVE your 250GG.

 

Or would a moon shot Hasselblad (with motor drive) get more at auction?

 

Not sure if they bought any of them back though... there is a small fortune in hasselblad gear sitting on the Moon for any takers... given the way some rare camera prices are going perhaps in a few decades it will be an economically viable project... ;-)

 

 

I saw one of these 250 GG sell at auction only a few months ago here in Australia for around 5000 euro- not as fine condition- and no motor drive- but still good and a seeming bargain:

 

http://leonardjoel.com.au/lot_details.php?lot=127331&auction=164

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Overgaard

Overgaard

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It's just a very limited camera, and built in a very special way to work in low temperatures.

 

Perfect collectors item, not usable for much other than shelf sitting in a collection. No one would screw theirs onto an airplane anyways.

 

Won't work without the motor, by the way.

 

Listened to a very interesting lecture by Ottmar Michaely who is one of the few persons in the world who can repair them, and who have had a few of them through his laboratory in Solms/Wetzlar to service them.

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Robert J

Robert J

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Good additions to your site Thorsten.

 

I was watching some of the WestLicht auction online- some great stuff.

 

150,000 Euro? Amazing...

 

what do you think it was it about that camera in particular? The MOOEV motor drive? Peculiarity in the camera? Provenance? Condition?

 

If it was the motor drive then that has to be the most expensive motor drive for any camera? You would sure have to LOVE your 250GG.

 

Or would a moon shot Hasselblad (with motor drive) get more at auction?

 

Not sure if they bought any of them back though... there is a small fortune in hasselblad gear sitting on the Moon for any takers... given the way some rare camera prices are going perhaps in a few decades it will be an economically viable project... ;-)

 

 

I saw one of these 250 GG sell at auction only a few months ago here in Australia for around 5000 euro- not as fine condition- and no motor drive- but still good and a seeming bargain:

 

Leica 250GG Reporter camera no. 300090, Leonard Joel Auctions, Calender, Australian Auctioneers

 

None of the lunar surface Hasselblads that were actually used on the moon were returned to Earth.All that was brought back were the film magazines.I believe the idea was to maximize payload capacity for lunar rock and dust samples.

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Dr. No

Dr. No

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thorsten, I was willing to say congratulations ... ;):D

so we'll love the pictures in the books ...

or the ones we made:

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

 

cheers, OLAF

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jaques

jaques

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Thorsten: are you sure the 250 GG was made for use on aircraft? I always thought is was called the 'reporter' because it was intended for reporters?

 

Also are you sure you can't use the camera without the motordrive? Couldn't you advance it with the big winding knobs?

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Overgaard

Overgaard

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It was for aircraft, at least the camera with motor. I doubt anybody wanted a large camera with that many frames for manual rewind back in 1940'ies. Those with extra film capacity (Nikon and others) came about in the 70ies or so when motor rewind became normal for sport events and such.

 

But maybe somebody more knowledge about the camera can fill in.

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Pecole

Pecole

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Thorsten: are you sure the 250 GG was made for use on aircraft? I always thought is was called the 'reporter' because it was intended for reporters?

 

Also are you sure you can't use the camera without the motordrive? Couldn't you advance it with the big winding knobs?

 

Yes, it was for aerial views. The surname "Reporter" had been given to the Leica 250 long before the motorized version was developed, and it was intended specifically for "reporter" work, as evidenced by the "special order" following which the prototypes were developed in 1933 (a specification from a Belgian reporter of mass religious events).

And yes, you could perfectly use the camera the conventional way when it was detached from the motor. I personally owned - and used - a 250GG nº 352477 delivered in Berlin as LOOMY with MOOEV motor nº 10043 on February 12, 1942 (unfortunately, I never traced the motor).

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Robert J

Robert J

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Am I correct in assuming that the 250GG motor drive is the first electric motor driver ever produced for a 35mm camera?I know Zeiss Ikon produced a motor for their contax camera that never got beyond the prototype stage.Like the leica motor,this was also intended for aerial photography.

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adan

adan

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The price of the 250GG is based on rarity.

 

Slightly OT - a couple of the Lunar-surface Hassy bodies did actually make it back to Earth - very unofficially. With a weight budget for 100+ lbs for lunar samples, it just wasn't that hard to substitute or disguise a couple of pounds of Hassy body. ;)

 

That's from someone retired from high up in the NASA photo department, who was able to compare serial numbers for the cameras NASA actually had in storage c. 1990, and the ones listed on lunar mission manifests from the 1970s.

 

The astronauts were famous for being able to sneak stuff onto flights - going either direction.

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tdavis

tdavis

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And even more OT: Leitz had a little known item on the moon - Trinovid 10 X 40 especially modified monocular for the Apollo 11 mission; in 1969, the first optical device used on the moon - see NASA

 

It's amazing Leica never used this item in their advertising. I don't know if it came back or was left there.

Tim

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gyoung

gyoung

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It was for aircraft, at least the camera with motor. I doubt anybody wanted a large camera with that many frames for manual rewind back in 1940'ies. Those with extra film capacity (Nikon and others) came about in the 70ies or so when motor rewind became normal for sport events and such.

 

But maybe somebody more knowledge about the camera can fill in.

 

A bit OT, but I used a Nikon F2 with the 250 exp. back for a job once and I'm pretty sure it wound from one cassette to a second one, no rewind.

 

Gerry

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