Just got my first Barnack Leica II D - Any tips?

[shirubadanieru]

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Hi everyone just got my first ever Barnack camera, the Leica II D; Has anyone used it? Using the camera seems fairly straight forward but if anyone has any tips you’d like to share please let me know! 

Thank you! Here’s a picture I took of it today. 

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[Anbaric]

Have fun!

One tip is to trim the film leader to the profile shown in the manual. This is shown clearly in the later IIIf manual, p28-30:

https://www.cameramanuals.org/leica_pdf/leica_if_iif_iiif.pdf

I do this with scissors, leaving around 23 'unpaired' sprocket holes. Be careful to cut between the sprocket holes, not across one. Trim a spare film or two before you go out, and you won't have to mess around with this when reloading in the field. Leaving the film untrimmed risks jamming the mechanism, since the profile of a modern film leader is different to what the Leica was designed to use.

Edited May 1, 2021 by Anbaric

[pedaes]

Have fun and enjoy! I found the 'how to load' videos on YouTube very helpful, and subsequently use the 'credit card' method, which you will not find in the Manual!

[frame-it]

1 hour ago, shirubadanieru said:

if anyone has any tips you’d like to share please let me know!

get it serviced if required, and use it everyday  

Edited May 1, 2021 by frame-it

[oldwino]

Great camera - it does everything it needs to do to let you make great photos! 

[M9reno]

Avoid touching the speed dial as it rotates when the shutter fires.  This seems obvious where your fingers are concerned, but wearing a hat like a baseball cap led to this problem for me.  The rim of the hat touched the dial as I looked through the finder. I felt so stupid, I wanted to save you the same embarrassment. So the advice is: avoid rimmed hats!  
 

(This must have been a REAL problem in the 1930´s for all those Fedora wearers!)

[nitroplait]

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1 hour ago, M9reno said:

Avoid touching the speed dial as it rotates when the shutter fires.  This seems obvious where your fingers are concerned, but wearing a hat like a baseball cap led to this problem for me.  The rim of the hat touched the dial as I looked through the finder. I felt so stupid, I wanted to save you the same embarrassment. So the advice is: avoid rimmed hats!  
 

(This must have been a REAL problem in the 1930´s for all those Fedora wearers!)

I am aware that the dial swiftly turns when the shutter is released, but what exactly happens to the hat that would be embarrassing is beyond my imagination. Does it pull the hat off??

[nitroplait]

For the first couple of frames, make sure the film is actually winding. It goes for all film cameras, but it is only with my Barnack that I actually need to confirm it. 

[willeica]

10 minutes ago, nitroplait said:

I am aware that the dial swiftly turns when the shutter is released, but what exactly happens to the hat that would be embarrassing is beyond my imagination. Does it pull the hat off??

Wrong shutter speed, I think, due to the hat brim stopping the shutter from operating satisfactorily by catching in the rotating speed dial. The main advice I would give to the OP is to get a CLA done and then to shoot plenty of film, so that using the controls becomes second nature. The same applies to loading film. Finally, avoid becoming a collector. 10 years ago I had one II Model D and now I have seven of them.

William

[Pyrogallol]

2 hours ago, M9reno said:

Avoid touching the speed dial as it rotates when the shutter fires.  This seems obvious where your fingers are concerned, but wearing a hat like a baseball cap led to this problem for me.  The rim of the hat touched the dial as I looked through the finder. I felt so stupid, I wanted to save you the same embarrassment. So the advice is: avoid rimmed hats!  
 

(This must have been a REAL problem in the 1930´s for all those Fedora wearers!)

I had that problem in the winter when I tried to use the camera wearing gloves, a gloved finger was touching the speed dial as it rotated.

[M9reno]

On 5/2/2021 at 9:36 AM, nitroplait said:

I am aware that the dial swiftly turns when the shutter is released, but what exactly happens to the hat that would be embarrassing is beyond my imagination. Does it pull the hat off??

Worse than getting the wrong speed, what happens is that the hat’s (or any) contact with the rotating wheel causes the shutter to self-cap significantly before the end of its travel, so that the right of your frame gets less and less, and finally no light.  Imagine having most or all of a roll spoiled like that, just for wearing a hat that comes too close to the camera.

At the time it was a significant point in favour of THE Leica II (and III) competitor, the Contax, that it had no such moving parts when firing the shutter.  Alas, the Leica was not so fool-proof.

Edited May 3, 2021 by M9reno

[Danner]

On 5/2/2021 at 1:56 AM, M9reno said:

Avoid touching the speed dial as it rotates when the shutter fires.  This seems obvious where your fingers are concerned, but wearing a hat like a baseball cap led to this problem for me.  The rim of the hat touched the dial as I looked through the finder. I felt so stupid, I wanted to save you the same embarrassment. So the advice is: avoid rimmed hats!  
 

(This must have been a REAL problem in the 1930´s for all those Fedora wearers!)

I experienced this with a Nikon model S rangefinder.  The shutter speed dial rotates with the second shutter curtain spindle, I could stop the curtain and move it gradually by controlling the dial movement.  

[marcusleica]

Always leave the lens focused on infinity, this way you always only need to rotate in in one direction to pull the image into focus. It’s a much quicker way to focus any rangefinder

[mediumformula]

If the rangefinder image is weak have the beam splitter replaced.  My II just got back from a CLA and beam splitter replacement and it makes a huge difference in range finder functionality.  

Get an Elmar lens so you can experience ultimate pocketability.  

Edited March 24, 2022 by mediumformula