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New acquisition ... ~1946 Leica IIIc


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Once upon a time, I had a Leica IIc and IIf along with 3.5cm and 5.0cm lenses. And a little later I inherited my father's IIIf and accessories. The IIIf and I didn't gel at that time, a decade on and I sold the whole kit to pay for some things I needed for college. The IIc and IIf were nicer for me, then, but sadly each of them was lost to the rough and tumble of my world through happenstance. And I already had an M body or three by that point; I remembered them fondly but never thought I'd replace any of the Barnaks. 

Well, a chance discussion on the forums happened a couple of months back. I did a search just to see what the prices were as a point of conversation. And in doing that, happened on a very pretty looking IIIc body at a modest price. Hmm. I had already gotten an Elmar 5.0cm for other purposes, had a Voigtländer Color-Skopar 28/3.5 and 50/2.5 fitted with M-bayonet adapters in the closet. Hmm again. On a lark, I made a low offer on the IIIc .. And it was accepted. And it arrived a few days back and looked really nice. And all seemed to work. 

So I loaded up a roll of Ilford Delta 400 (re-learning as I did so the fussiness of loading a Barnak... oh, muscle memory, awaken!) and took the camera out on my walk for two days... 

Doorway and Bicycle on Overpass :: both with Elmar 5.0cm.

Ah, the IIIc is a delight in the hand! So small and simple, so precise. All the things that got in my way when I was 20-something seem insignificant now at near-70. Quite the lovely thing to return to after so many years... :D

G

 

Picket Shadow

“. . . a stone, a leaf, an unfound door; a stone, a leaf, a door. And of all the forgotten faces.

Naked and alone we came into exile. In her dark womb we did not know our mother's face; from the prison of her flesh have we come into the unspeakable and incommunicable prison of this earth.

Which of us has known his brother? Which of us has looked into his father's heart? Which of us has not remained forever prison-pent? Which of us is not forever a stranger and alone?

O waste of lost, in the hot mazes, lost, among bright stars on this weary, unbright cinder, lost! Remembering speechlessly we seek the great forgotten language, the lost lane-end into heaven, a stone, a leaf, an unfound door. Where? When?

O lost, and by the wind grieved, ghost, come back again.”

― Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward, Angel

 

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Great! I got my father's IIIc with Elmar 5cm/3.5 as a loaner when I started showing interest in photography - at age 11. It was magic. Hooked ever since although having a rodeo with many, many other brands.

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Thanks! 

I'm really enjoying this camera! Another roll of film is in it now, Fuji ACROS 100, and I have about a dozen frames to go; shooting this time with Voigtländer Color-Skopar 50/2.5 and 28/3.5. It is such a handy, tactile, comfortable camera to use! :)

G

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ACROS 100 film done, processed, and a bunch of new photos to review and render. This is the first:

Boiler Room - Santa Clara 2024
Leica IIIc + Color-Skopar 28mm f/3.5
Fujifilm ACROS 100

Enjoy! G

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Posted (edited)

Ladies At Lunch - Santa Clara 2024
Leica IIIc + SMC-Pentax-L 43mm f/1.9 Special
Fujifilm ACROS 100

The Pentax 43 is somewhat large on the IIIc body, I like it more fitted with an M-bayonet adapter and fitted to an M, but it performs very well regardless.

G

Edited by ramarren
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Tree On El Camino Real - Santa Clara 2024
Leica IIIc + SMC-Pentax-L 43mm f/1.9 Special
Fujifilm ACROS 100

 

Yet another photo with the Pentax 43... really is a lovely lens. :)

G

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On my bicycle ride to Mountain View, I cross California Hwy 85 via a pedestrian bridge. I stopped for a moment to catch the highway traffic below, but found this view of the path/roadway to be more intriguing.

Rounding The Bend - Mountain View 2024
Leica IIIc + Elmar 5.0cm f/3.5
Ilford Delta 400 

The photo proved a trickier-than-usual exposure to render due to the bright sun on one side and the dark shade on the other, as well as the reflectivity of the concrete. I'm curious to try a similar photo again the next time I ride over the bridge with the M10 Monochrom, just to see how the monochrome digital sensor handles it compared to this relatively fast film.

G

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I had the small Ricoh GV2 28mm viewfinder already, but it's not quite the right format for 35mm (3:4 instead of 2:3 proportions) and is a bit tight on eye relief. So I hunted up a Leica 28mm Accessory Viewfinder on Ebay ... It arrived yesterday and is absolutely perfect, including the small leather case for storage. :)

 

Leica IIIc + Color-Skopar 28mm + Leica 28mm Accessory Viewfinder

G

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  • 2 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

The Voigtländer Color-Skopar 35mm f/2.5 I ordered arrived, and is darn near perfect condition...

Leica IIIc + Color-Skopar 35mm f/2.5 + Voigtländer 35mm Viewfinder

Time to load another roll of film ... 

G

Edited by ramarren
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Posted (edited)

Not A Door #2 - Santa Clara 2024
Leica IIIc + Color-Skopar 35mm f/2.5, green filter
Ilford Delta 400 

Quote

 

“. . . a stone, a leaf, an unfound door; a stone, a leaf, a door. And of all the forgotten faces.

Naked and alone we came into exile. In her dark womb we did not know our mother's face; from the prison of her flesh have we come into the unspeakable and incommunicable prison of this earth.

Which of us has known his brother? Which of us has looked into his father's heart? Which of us has not remained forever prison-pent? Which of us is not forever a stranger and alone?

O waste of lost, in the hot mazes, lost, among bright stars on this weary, unbright cinder, lost! Remembering speechlessly we seek the great forgotten language, the lost lane-end into heaven, a stone, a leaf, an unfound door. Where? When?

O lost, and by the wind grieved, ghost, come back again.”

― Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward, Angel

 

I turn 70 years today. This camera is older than I am by near to a decade. We're both still functional...  :)

G

Edited by ramarren
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On 8/18/2024 at 9:35 PM, ramarren said:

The Voigtländer Color-Skopar 35mm f/2.5 I ordered arrived, and is darn near perfect condition...

Leica IIIc + Color-Skopar 35mm f/2.5 + Voigtländer 35mm Viewfinder

Time to load another roll of film ... 

G

Voigtlander has made some great lenses and their viewfinders are superb, often better than their Leica equivalents.

William

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