Making a UR Replica look more like The UR.

[Ambro51]

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So having three of these now, #80, currently in Korea on Mr Kim’s workbench for full conversion to operational, and I have a curious mismatch of #13 body and #22 baseplate., a Virgin untouched survivor in flawless condition, and Number 9 here. Ol’ Number 9 is really close to film capability, by my hand. It is a work in progress. But..I needed a way to tell them apart. So why Not recreate the majestic patina the unique UR has? ......With a grin I began tonite, inflicting various wear related artifact. I personally feel it awakened the drab replica and gave us the oomph of the Real one. Next job is duplicate that finder!

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If replicating what a camera looks like after being attacked by sandpaper counts as 'wear' then top job, a big success.

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[Pecole]

That is how "my" UR replicas made by the artist Alberico Arces looked like in...1978. As new or made old.

 

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The Real Deal

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The lens #9 came with was “photographic” but mismatched to the needs of the camera and had a fl. Requiring it to be positioned about 10mm ahead of the front flange. So that’s out and fitting in the UR barrel now is a Leitz Milar 50mm F 4.5. By removing the rear panel and laying a piece of ground glass over the film run shows focus to be spot on with the Milar at its furthest forward behind the lens door. It looks to throw a superb image.

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[Ambro51]

Took some time today and made a basic copy of the finder currently on the UR. A rather complicated device, mine dosent really fold and lacks the adjustable for parallax eyehole of the Original. But, it is dimensionally correct and now I see how good a viewfinder it really is. Your eye is higher off the camera, you look closely through a .250 aperature. The frame in the front is painted black on the back and so is the eyehole. Your eye sees the scene full size, but oddly less 3 dimensional. It really is a true view viewfinder! So now the bland middle child Camera #9 gets a New Look!

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Edited June 21, 2018 by Ambro51

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It Works!! And what an Amazing thing it is to USE a UR Leica. It really is a sweet pocket camera, easily the best carrying Leica I’ve ever had. This camera is essentially just the Leitz Replica, without skilled additions and modifications by a technician. The UR Replica is Much closer to functional than is commonly thought. It’s quite a simple machine and what needs changing is fairly easily done. I’d encourage any Leica buff to consider a UR. Now you see they CAN work.

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Edited July 7, 2018 by Ambro51

[harryzet]

while i appreciate the effort to build a ur-leica replica, the pictures are below par - surely there is something wrong...

[Ambro51]

Yes I added a paper spacer behind the lens flange to better match infinity. In hand, the prints look better you see Im rephotographing them with the iPhone then cropping to size, so detail is lost there.

Edited July 7, 2018 by Ambro51

[Ambro51]

I’ve had good results with the UR but I’m swapping the lens to exactly to the type Barnack first used in the original UR, the Zeiss Kino Tessar F 3.5 50mm. Though Barnack moved on because he felt it insufficiently covered the image....I view it as an opportunity to achieve an exact image Oskar would have gotten. I’m limited to 1/250th so it’s All about F stop and film speed with this. What is nice is I can use tri x and hopefully stay close to this lens “happy zone” about F11. Serial number of 164757 puts this lens about mid 1911 production!!

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Edited August 21, 2018 by Ambro51

[Ambro51]

The Zeiss Kino Tessar installed now in UR #9. Now, it is said Barnack ‘may’ have Shortened the inner barrel when he installed the 42mm Summar. We know the camera was a test bed in the hands of an innovative engineer, thinking out of the box. We know he tried this lens first but didn’t like its coverage. ••••• So Now we have the oppprtunity to recreate this camera on its first optical version. The Zeiss Tessar needs no introduction. To put it in this era, the 3.5 50 appeared as a Cine lens Only in 1906. The design overall was reworked to 4.5 for General Tessar lenses, but only the small Cine lens was 3.5. ••• The actual installation was crazy simple, as if the camera had been designed for it....the lens cover on the UR is unscrewed, the Tessar cell threads in,, the inner barrel slides in to the top of the outer barrel. This fully extends (with inner still retracted), and it is installed...And in Focus! And WOW what an Image! I’d describe it as “elmar like, with a wide angle flair” ( images coming soon, still need to upload). But here it looks like the very far corners of the image vignette slightly, so I suppose that is what Barnack did not want to see. In the one photo you’ll note the Tessar is marked out in mm size of iris. This lens has perfect glass and was made in 1911. It is the Most reflective uncoated lens I’ve ever seen! Not good, so I added in on the installation a lens hood. It reminds me of FIKUS and is a press fit on, and grips the iris control ring, so adjusting is just turning the lens hood! Now there’s no built in lens cap, but happily the black plastic top of a Rollei film container is a sweet internal fit, plus the added benefit of being easily replaced if lost.••••••All in all a Great User Camera has been built from a functionless dummy. Oskar would be Happy. :-)

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UR Leica #9, Zeiss Kino Tessar. At F5.6 1/250 Rollei 25

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Another.

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Another. Unfortunately these loose crispness as I am photographing the meg with an iPhone then inverting colors

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And Another

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Pulled some darkroom prints tonight, a good idea of the sharpness

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The Batsto Church

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The Mullica River Bridge

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The Bulkhead (the bassards walled off a great swimming spot )

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Edited September 4, 2018 by Ambro51

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

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River Luxury, a crop from Don Leeks home across the river.

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Edited September 4, 2018 by Ambro51