Potential new Leica owner

[vkotis]

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Hi. So, I've decided to get back into very casual photography(used to shoot with a Canon 7D several years ago). The last time I shot film was 24 years ago in highschool photography class. I've been doing hours of reading and I'm insanely intrigued by the Leica rangefinder, particularly the iiif and iiig. I know there is a sharp learning curve, but I'm looking forward to it. 

[ianman]

Hello.

The learning curve is not as sharp as some would like to make you think. Shoot and enjoy… and share here!

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[frame-it]

1 hour ago, vkotis said:

Hi. So, I've decided to get back into very casual photography(used to shoot with a Canon 7D several years ago). The last time I shot film was 24 years ago in highschool photography class. I've been doing hours of reading and I'm insanely intrigued by the Leica rangefinder, particularly the iiif and iiig. I know there is a sharp learning curve, but I'm looking forward to it. 

this might help

[earleygallery]

The lllf and lllg are good choices being the last of the line of Barnack's. The lllg has a better viewfinder perhaps, but it's also that bit larger. You can't go wrong with either.

Pair the lllf with a 5cm f3.5 Elmar, same for the lllg or the more conventional designed 5cm 2.8 Elmar which was designed for it (maybe harder to find an LTM version as many were also made in M mount).

Learning curve? It's a camera like any other, focus/aperture/shutter speed. Their are a few handling points like setting the shutter speed only after winding on, and trimming your film leader before loading the film. Plenty of info on here already and plenty of us willing to help you!

 

[vkotis]

Thanks for the info! Can't wait to jump into it. 

[earleygallery]

19 minutes ago, vkotis said:

Thanks for the info! Can't wait to jump into it. 

Make sure you buy well - get a camera from a dealer who will give a warranty with it and get a good lens free from haze/fungus or scratches.

[vkotis]

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48 minutes ago, earleygallery said:

Make sure you buy well - get a camera from a dealer who will give a warranty with it and get a good lens free from haze/fungus or scratches.

I've been looking on ebay at some reputable sellers. I'm reluctant to get anything that hasn't been CLA'd. I'd hate to have to send it in for repair right after getting it. 

[Anbaric]

2 hours ago, vkotis said:

I've been looking on ebay at some reputable sellers. I'm reluctant to get anything that hasn't been CLA'd. I'd hate to have to send it in for repair right after getting it. 

Very wise. I'd say condition / service status is more important than the specific model if you want to use it. I've posted about some other points to consider in the thread mentioned above. I wouldn't just look at ebay - as you're in the UK, here's another post with links in a thread about good dealers to check out (and bad ones to avoid). Someone like Peter Loy will be much more meticulous about describing any issues a camera may have than a typical ebay dealer (though there are certainly some good traders on ebay).

Devil's advocate opinions:

- For about 50% more than a IIIg, you could buy an M2, which is more convenient in various ways and gives you a much wider choice of both M lenses and adapted LTM lenses. But then again, there must be a reason I have a IIIg but not an M2. A lot of us are 'insanely intrigued' by these quirky old cameras around here.

- If you still have the 7D kit and any full frame lenses, you could buy an EOS film body for next to nothing and start shooting it with all the advantages of a modern AF camera. Or you could get a classic manual SLR for maybe half the price of a IIIf, or a full-on mechanical pro SLR like a Nikon F2 for less than a IIIg. But it will, of course, never be as cool as a screwmount Leica (or as pocketable, especially the IIIf and earlier).

- If you like to shoot colour, there is currently a global supply crisis with no end in sight, worsened by an unexpected boom in demand, which means that very little film is available, and when it is a dealer may only have one or two expensive pro emulsions sold at even more elevated prices than usual. The cheap consumer films we all used to take for granted are simply missing from the shelves. Probably a good time to develop a taste for B&W.

 

[frame-it]

37 minutes ago, Anbaric said:

sold at even more elevated prices than usual.

a.k.a. ridiculous prices!

[vkotis]

14 hours ago, Anbaric said:

Very wise. I'd say condition / service status is more important than the specific model if you want to use it. I've posted about some other points to consider in the thread mentioned above. I wouldn't just look at ebay - as you're in the UK, here's another post with links in a thread about good dealers to check out (and bad ones to avoid). Someone like Peter Loy will be much more meticulous about describing any issues a camera may have than a typical ebay dealer (though there are certainly some good traders on ebay).

Devil's advocate opinions:

- For about 50% more than a IIIg, you could buy an M2, which is more convenient in various ways and gives you a much wider choice of both M lenses and adapted LTM lenses. But then again, there must be a reason I have a IIIg but not an M2. A lot of us are 'insanely intrigued' by these quirky old cameras around here.

- If you still have the 7D kit and any full frame lenses, you could buy an EOS film body for next to nothing and start shooting it with all the advantages of a modern AF camera. Or you could get a classic manual SLR for maybe half the price of a IIIf, or a full-on mechanical pro SLR like a Nikon F2 for less than a IIIg. But it will, of course, never be as cool as a screwmount Leica (or as pocketable, especially the IIIf and earlier).

- If you like to shoot colour, there is currently a global supply crisis with no end in sight, worsened by an unexpected boom in demand, which means that very little film is available, and when it is a dealer may only have one or two expensive pro emulsions sold at even more elevated prices than usual. The cheap consumer films we all used to take for granted are simply missing from the shelves. Probably a good time to develop a taste for B&W.

 

Was thinking about the M2 as well, but I think the smaller size of the iiig and iiif would be much more appealling to me than the single viewfinder. 

 

Just wondering though...should a replaced shutter curtain be something to look for in a CLA, or do these shutter curtains hold up pretty well over the many years?

[Anbaric]

2 hours ago, vkotis said:

Was thinking about the M2 as well, but I think the smaller size of the iiig and iiif would be much more appealling to me than the single viewfinder. 

 

Just wondering though...should a replaced shutter curtain be something to look for in a CLA, or do these shutter curtains hold up pretty well over the many years?

The smaller size is certainly appealing and if that's what you're after, the IIIf might even suit you better. The difference might seem small on paper, but the IIIf is the more pocketable of the two. And the pre-war cameras are that little bit smaller again - I like the IIIb a lot, which retains the basic size of the earliest Leicas, but has the improved adjacent RF and VF eyepieces that also featured in the (slightly larger) IIIc and later. I wouldn't rule out earlier bodies than the IIIf unless you need flash. The IIIg viewfinder is very nice, though. Leica's accessory brightline viewfinders are in some respects even nicer, giving you an exceptionally bright and clear view, but you lose the IIIg's automatic parallax correction for 50mm and 90mm lenses.

Many of these shutter curtains seem to hold up very well, though I suppose it's hard to know in 2022 exactly what the service history of an individual camera is (maybe someone already replaced some of mine after the first 30 or 40 years!). If you're not going to have the camera serviced immediately, I think the main thing is to have a guarantee, or at least return privileges that give you enough time to test for things like pinholes in the curtain, light keaks, low contrast RF images, dry mechanisms, sticky or malfunctioning shutter speeds, etc. A random unserviced camera on ebay is more likely than not to have something that needs attention after 60-70 years. Even serviced cameras can have issues.

[earleygallery]

Shutter curtains only need replacing if they need replacing. The main issue is pinholes due to people leaving the camera pointing at the sun with the lens cap off!

I repeat what I said above, buy from a dealer who will back up the camera with a warranty.

Ideally buy in person so you can see what you're getting and check the basics yourself.

[vkotis]

Great! Very much appreciate all the advice! Going to make good use of that dealer list. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[arrigato]

Has anyone purchased a camera from the Leica Classic Store?  That is an official Leica store isn't it?