Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Since i bought my first Leica III from 1934, i fell in love with these old Barnacks. I introduced it also in a nice review with pictures of many accessories. 

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!

  • Like 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

Compliments ! Really an item in excellent shape !  As you say this is a significantly reworked item (born as model III) : thanks to these capabilities of upgrading, there are lot of fascinating variants of the classic Barnacks... 😎

By the way : I see that also the top writing is "new" ("GMBH" - and capital letters) : I didn't remember that, when Leitz "upgraded" old cameras, they re-engraved the top... 

 

 

Edited by luigi bertolotti
Link to post
Share on other sites

vor 3 Stunden schrieb luigi bertolotti:

: I didn't remember that, when Leitz "upgraded" old cameras, they re-engraved the top... 

Hello Luigi, they did not. This is now IIIa sync, in order to have enough space for flash contacts the new top cover has been produced, note different shape around speed dial compared to regular III. And because engravings are in capital letters conversion has been done after 1954

Link to post
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, jerzy said:

Hello Luigi, they did not. This is now IIIa sync, in order to have enough space for flash contacts the new top cover has been produced, note different shape around speed dial compared to regular III. And because engravings are in capital letters conversion has been done after 1954

Thanks Jerzy , indeed the top writing is the detail that suprised me more... I think that Barnacks which such writing are rather few (some IIf/IIIf... apart IIIG, of course) : do you think that, anyway, the conversion has been made by Leitz ?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Luigi, I am quoting the Dates out of my memory now, I believe it was 1952 when Leitz started to engrave GmbH instead of DRP, at that time it was in lower/uppercase changed later to uppercase all. So yes, only late cameras and conversions have uppercase only but I believe that lower/uppercase are more scarce. It is possible that sync was added by third party however I think it was done at Leitz. All features are like Leitz was doing it, more components are needed with this implementation then it it in case of typical third party synchronisation. Note the position of flash socket, it is placed directly under the accessory shoe, there is no place in IIIa to position it left to the socket like it is in IIIf. In order to have enough room for the flash socket the accessory shoe needs to be moved a bit up, the rails are higher now then top cover. None of the photos in review shows details of top cover around the speed dial, but I believe that there is a small screw between 11 and 12 contact numbers. This screw was introduced in later IIIa sync, to stabilize the top cover. And this needed additional support to be mounted on the top plate. So all in all it is rather complicated conversion and I do not think that anyone else besides Leitz and their subsidiaries got authorization (and spare parts) to perform such upgrade.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

A bit off the topic, but a wartime IIIc with uppercase only engraving is a curiosity, until now I have seen only 3 cameras like this. Well, it is in reality a IIIf with wartime SN. It is not unusual to find wartime IIIc with added flash, but almost always it has been done by screwing on a small plate with contact numbers on the existing top cover. Those 3 cameras have IIIf top cover, without the step with original SN engraved. Mounting IIIf top cover on stepper IIIc require replacement of most of the parts including die cast, so it was done on special order only. Similarly like it is with IA converted to IIIa sync as well in case of IIIf with wartime SN it is practically a new camera keeping its original wartime SN.

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Advertisement (gone after registration)

It is a very interesting and valuable insight that is shared here, please i added a picture of the top cover, so you can enrich your findings. Thanks!

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!

Link to post
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, jerzy said:

A bit off the topic, but a wartime IIIc with uppercase only engraving is a curiosity, until now I have seen only 3 cameras like this. Well, it is in reality a IIIf with wartime SN. It is not unusual to find wartime IIIc with added flash, but almost always it has been done by screwing on a small plate with contact numbers on the existing top cover. Those 3 cameras have IIIf top cover, without the step with original SN engraved. Mounting IIIf top cover on stepper IIIc require replacement of most of the parts including die cast, so it was done on special order only. Similarly like it is with IA converted to IIIa sync as well in case of IIIf with wartime SN it is practically a new camera keeping its original wartime SN.

To understand better, please post a photo of these wartime items

Link to post
Share on other sites

vor 16 Stunden schrieb sabears:

To understand better, please post a photo of these wartime items

here is the non-usual wartime IIIc with top cover from IIIf. Note black flash contacts numbers - in the time of conversion all  IIIf were produced as red dial but because the shutter has still old speeds Leitz painted the numbers black. Samples of regular conversion (added plate with contact numbers) are common to be found

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!

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, jc_braconi said:

Pity that this camera suffered a fall
typically the indent under the s/n is the evident of the base of a VIOOH at time of the fall.

Is that a dent, or just a reflection of the front of the VIOOH on the chrome due to the lighting?

Link to post
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, TomB_tx said:

Is that a dent, or just a reflection of the front of the VIOOH on the chrome due to the lighting?

The edge of the camera on the left is  scratched and the top cover near by is stamped
the viewer is an SBOOI

The base of a VIOOH comes across the top cover and the parallax compensatory hurt the top when a force is applied on
Saw some cameras with this stamp.....

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes, the moderator is right, the rewind knob is also slightly bent due to, i presume a fall. Fortunately the Leica was CLA' ed by Will van Manen here in the Netherlands, a famous Leica specialist and the camera works 100%, but it is a pity of the dent. Things can happen in 86 years... Thanks guys for your insights about the camera. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...