Barnack collecting

[Matlock]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

All I can say is that I love my iiig....I shoot with it ALL the time; in fact, it has re-invigorated my shooting. I have an Elmar 50 f3.5 collapsible (1949) as well as a CV 28mm Color Skopar f3.5 (excellent and very sharp lens - I'd have bought a Leica 28, but the aperture is 5.6 or 6.3....a bit too slow for me), and a 90 Elmar f4. The iiig shoots wonderfully, is a joy to use. And produces excellent results (my composition is up for a vote, but the technical qualities of the body and lens = excellent).  And, all of this " incredible difficulty loading a Barnack" mythology is just that...prep your film ahead of time, cut it properly with a template, no big deal... I can change a roll in my iiig, while walking down a street, without stopping. Peepholes are a bit of a drag for those of us with glasses in particular, but oh well.  Are Barnacks as fast as M cameras, etc....? Nope, but who cares. Wonderful machines, whichever model.  I loved my iiig so much I just bought a iiif as well! Along with a Summitar 5cm f2, which is super clean...the precursor to the wonderful Summicron.

I fully agree with Jon. I tried my first Leica in the 1980's when I borrowed a IIIb from my local shop. I was hooked but it would be many years before I got my own Leica. I was lucky to get hold of a new M6TTL in 2001 and that started me on a long journey. I never forgot the magic of the IIIb and in 2008 I got a mint+ IIIg, added a 50mm Summicron ASPH and have a 35 Summicron ASPH on order. The only (slight) down side is the lack of viewfinder frames for wider lenses which requires the use of a supplementary finder, no real problem. I recently got hold of a , really tacky, IIIb. Looks terrible but works well. Just a little bit of nostalgia  .​ ​