How rare is this camera & accessory?

[ID_Mac]

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Hello Leica experts,

 

My grandfather recently gave me this 1930 Leica Modell 2 camera (Serial # 29540).

Is this a rare model? He also gave me plenty of different accessories.

 

Leica camera:

 

Accessories:

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[earleygallery]

Welcome,

 

Firstly please check the 'sticky' threads in this forum about dating and valuing Leicas.

 

Your camera isn't rare, but it looks like a nice example of a black and nickel camera with matching lens, and deserves to be used. The accessories seem to include a lens hood ? for a Summar lens - not the Elmar you have - some filters, film cassettes (if you use bulk reels of film) and various manuals.

 

Check out the 'LTM users stand up' thread too (LTM = Leica Thread Mount, and these cameras are also known as 'Barnacks').

[luigi bertolotti]

29540 is a VERY OLD number (all the 5 digits items are, in general, valued some more), but it was not the number of a model II, so, apparently, yours can be a "factory converted" camera, and in this case , probably, with the original Elmar that was too converted to screw mount with RF coupling (29540 belongs to a Leica I with fixed lens)... infact it is a "50 MM" and not a "5cm" as later Elmars are.

So... an interesting item, that looks also in fine conditions : not rare in absolute terms, but really appealing for many collectors.

[ID_Mac]

Thanks for the answers. I will certainly keep the camera for another 30 - 40 years. Let's see how rare it's by then... ;-)

[giordano]

It look as if there's a focusing lever on the rangefinder eyepiece. Doesn't that mean it was converted to IIa rather than II?

[jc_braconi]

Hello,

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[doubice]

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It look as if there's a focusing lever on the rangefinder eyepiece. Doesn't that mean it was converted to IIa rather than II?

 

There indeed is.... However, there never was a Leica model IIa (the tree went ...II - III - IIIa.... etc.) The diopter adjustment lever was introduced in a model III. The OP's camera is obviously a factory conversion from a model I to a model II, with the diopter adjustment lever thrown in, as this was not a standard feature of model II. This would probably indicate that the conversion was done shorthly after the model III introduction.

 

Best,

 

Jan

[ID_Mac]

This would probably indicate that the conversion was done shorthly after the model III introduction.

 

Is that a good thing?

[250swb]

Is that a good thing?

 

Yes, it makes the camera more usable, which is the next best thing if you don't have a camera that is rare and valuable.

 

Steve

[doubice]

Is that a good thing?

 

As Steve mentions above, it makes the camera easier to focus, thus more usable. My comment however, was meant to approximately date the time of the conversion.

 

Best,

 

Jan

[jerzy]

based on components used for conversion it should have been done 1933-1934.

[greyelm]

I have a 1927 model I converted to model II but without the diopter adjuster, any suggestions on the conversion date?

[doubice]

I have a 1927 model I converted to model II but without the diopter adjuster, any suggestions on the conversion date?

 

It is impossible to date when a conversion was done without seeing detailed photos of the camera. Even with detailed photos, one would have to go on assumption only, based on details of the body (chrome or black, type and finish of knobs, type of engraving etc. etc....).

 

The only reason I attempted to approximate the conversion date of the OP's camera, was the fact that it was a model II with one feature of the model III. Thus - the conversion must have been done when both model II and model III were still in production.

 

Another possibility is that the original owner asked for a model I to model II conversion and the factory used a model III top plate, which had the diopter adjustment feature built in.

 

Best,

 

Jan

[Robert J]

In your photo of the accessories,in the bottom row,second from the left,is what appears to be the original instruction manual for the camera when it was first manufactured as a Leica I.

[luigi bertolotti]

Should be interesting to try to EXPOSE and DEVELOP the photographic papers, that, apparently, are still sealed in their original envelopes...