Question about a Leica II (D) from 1938

[Leticia GD]

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Hello everyone! My name is Leticia, I'm 29, and I'm from Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

As many of you, I recently inherited an old camera from my german grandfather, who came to Brazil in the 40's. It passed from him to my father (who took his firsts "night sky" long exposure pictures with it) and then to me. 

I looked up on the internet, and came to the conclusion that I have a Leica II (D), from 1938, serial number 302605, and lens Leitz Elmar f=5cm 1:3,5. I believe it's the original lens that came with it, right? 

This camera has been restored already, about 10 years ago, and remained unused until now - it works, but the film is kind of "stuck" - it doesn't roll properly. The first film I tried to use, during development, turned out to be empty, meaning it never "rolled" in the first place. 

Besides that, I'm struggling with how to use it - the aperture range is different from other manual cameras that I'm used to, also the Shutter Speed has different numbers - 20-1 (which I have no idea what it means), 30, 40, 60, 100, 200, 500 and Z (also don't know what it means). 

I'm having a hard time finding a user's manual, or even youtube videos about the camera's specificities, best way to use it, and general configurations, so hopefully I can find some guidance in here! 

And last but not least - which film is best for this camera? I tried 35mm with color, but I'm not sure if the camera goes only with black and white film. 

I know I have an incredible camera in my hands, which has been in the family for generations, and to which I have a lot of emotional attachment - so I would really appreciate it if anyone could shed some light on all of this. I also took some pictures of the camera  

Thank you very much!

 

 

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Edited May 26, 2024 by Leticia GD

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[spydrxx]

Hi Leticia - You can get a free manual here: https://butkus.org/chinon/leica/leica_model_ii/leica_model_ii.htm althoughhe would appreciate a small donation for all the old amera manuals he scans and makes available. The camera works just fine with both color and B&W film. B&W film had more latitude, meaning exposure can be less exact giving good results. As far as the shutter speeds and apersture selection numbers being different, don't worry about it, the differences are negligible in terms of exposure. You will need either an external exposure meter or to become familiar with the "Sunny 16" guidelines for exposure. Film needs to be trimmed in accordance with the guidelines in the manual, as these older cameras are designed to take trimmed film leaders, unlike modern cameras which don't need to be trimmed. If everything works smoothly - great. However given its age, you might want to have it CLA'd (cleaned, lubricated and adjusted) at some point. The Collectors and Historica forum here lists known Leica repairpersons who have performed good work, but if in doubt, after checking things out, post the question here, noting you are from Brazil. Best wishes and hopefully you will enjoy using this fine family heirloom.

[Anbaric]

Welcome to the forum!

Just to add to the above:

Yes, you are correct about the model, and it was commonly paired with this lens. You can look up the serial number of the lens to see if it's contemporary with the camera (I can see the number but can't read it on the black ring around the front element):

https://wiki.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/Elmar_(I)_f%3D_5_cm_1:3.5

You could also ask info@leica-camera.com what records they have in their archive for the camera and lens serial numbers - they may be able to tell you when and where the camera was delivered, and perhaps whether it was originally paired with this lens.

Z = Zeit (time) which means the same as the B setting on other cameras - the shutter stays open as long as the shutter button is held down.

20-1 = 1/20s on this camera. The reason it says '20-1' rather than just '20' is that Leitz were at this point using the same shutter speed dial on the II and III series cameras. The III series cameras have an additional dial on the front of the camera for selecting slow speeds. On one of these cameras, you set the top dial to 20-1, and the front dial to the speed you want in the 1/20s to 1s range. On yours, 1/20s is as low as you can go, apart from Z. Incidentally, the III series camera are otherwise very similar, and you may find more information that's relevant to both cameras by searching for 'Leica III'.

The lens is absolutely fine for both colour and black and white.

Loading can be a little tricky until you get used to it (maybe you just had a misload and the camera is fine, otherwise it may need to be serviced). I think the instructions in this version of the manual are particularly clear, even though they were written for a later model:

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

See p27 onwards for loading instructions. As noted above, the leader of a modern film needs to be trimmed correctly, or you may run into problems. The correct profile, with a longer 'unpaired' section than is standard today, is shown on p29 (23 sprocket holes are left unpaired). Leitz used to sell a cutting template, the ABLON, you could use with a sharp knife, but these are now rather expensive collectors' items. Modern plastic templates are available on ebay etc., but many of us just use a small pair of scissors - it's easy enough to do by hand without a template. Make sure you cut between rather than across the sprocket holes to that none are damaged, and round off the corner. Follow the loading instructions closely - if everything is fine, the rewind knob should rotate every time you advance the film with the wind-on knob.

If you have more questions about this camera, this part of the forum is probably the best place to go:

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/forum/35-leica-collectors-historica/

Another nice source of information is the Morgan & Lester Leica Manual, published from the 1930s onwards, which can still be found pretty cheaply in various editions and is available online:

https://archive.org/search?query=morgan+lester+leica