Found at last! My Dad’s 1939 Leica camera.

[pbcsky]

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12 minutes ago, TomB_tx said:

I'm approaching 80 myself, and have my family's inherited Leica IIIc and Summitar from 1949. I had both serviced years ago which improved the lens performance greatly - the slight haze had affected the image more than I would expect. I also have several Leica lenses (and cameras) from the 1930s that I have used (with adapters) on my digital Leicas and get very nice results. The Rayqual adapters are very good.

I do like to use the old Leicas (like your IIIc) but agree that my stiff hands and aging eyes prefer the M series of Leica.

The Leica M9 was the first digital camera that I really enjoyed using, as I could use it exactly like a film Leica, and it gave amazing results with my old lenses. I recently gave my son my 1955 Leica M3 so he could keep up with his daughters who have discovered film photography. (Of course now I have to process film for all 4 of them.) I'm also going to give him my M9 so he can use it with the same lenses to practice his manual focus and camera settings without using a lot of film, and get instant feedback of results.

The M9 originally had a sensor that would deteriorate with time and humidity (the cover glass glues onto it), but many (like mine) have had the sensor replaced with a newer design, and it is again a solid camera. A good used M9 is probably the least expensive way to get a good usable digital Leica to use with your lenses.

I have also used my old Leica lenses on a Sony A7 with adapters (the A7 is cheap now) and have had some nice results, especially with lenses 50mm & longer. I've used it with 35mm where the central image area can be excellent, but the edges can be blurred with color shifts due to the sensor stack design.

Anyway, congratulations on the Leica & lenses - I hope you enjoy them!

Tom! Processing film for 4! What a good man!! I notice that film seems to be making a comeback with some young folks! Not in my family though! I appreciate your wisdom on this. The suggestion of the M9 as well as the A7 and lens preferences are duly noted! I wish the doorbell would ring and the Leica technician making house calls would be standing there with a bag filled with appropriate cleaning liquids and adapters as well as a new Leica camera for me! Thanks so much for your perspective!

[luigi bertolotti]

As a side note, your pictures show that the rangefinder is equipped with a small orange filter (OKARO was its code) to improve the contrast while focusing... a useful accessory expecially for lenses of wide aperture, like the 5 cm Summitar you have.

[TomB_tx]

Just as an example of what a 35mm Leica lens can do on a Sony A7 - here's a grab shot at a street party where I saw the dancer about to reach the curb so raised and shot without focusing (focus was behind the subject). I was across the street so 35 was much too wide, and this is a tight crop so it cuts off the edges that would have color and blurry issues. 

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[nykv]

2 hours ago, TomB_tx said:

Just as an example of what a 35mm Leica lens can do on a Sony A7 - here's a grab shot at a street party where I saw the dancer about to reach the curb so raised and shot without focusing (focus was behind the subject). I was across the street so 35 was much too wide, and this is a tight crop so it cuts off the edges that would have color and blurry issues. 

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Perfect example from TomB_tx! There are Sony E and Nikon Z and Canon R or Panasonic Lumix full frame digital mirrorless cameras on the market for quite sometime! In your case Canon R would be ideal, but you can mount your Canon DSLR lenses on the other two brands of mirrorless, too. Or simply sell your Canon gear, too? Because it is obviously too cumbersome for you?

So selling not only the ancient Leica LTM body with the other two lenses, just as they are now = without CLA, because I'm not sure you'll recoup those expenses (but with the nice orange OKARO, as a separate item).

And keeping the 35mm lens of your father as a souvenir -I bet it works ok, you'll confirm once you put it on a (half-)modern body-,

also because it works the easiest and the best of all your LTM lenses on a modern camera. Please don't listen to the ones saying it won't because the finding the right adaptor is rocket science, but you'll need some guidance.

We'll be happy to assist you.

I would suggest you have a look at: Panasonic Lumix DC-S9 and at Sony A7CR: they are very compact and truly powerful at the same time.

If it doesn't need to be that ultra-modern, you can end up with

around a four digit amount in your pocket, a souvenir lens with a vintage look and a good full frame mirrorless from a dealer with warranty.

As you sure know you find full frame mirrorless info on www.dpreview.com It is not what it used to be a few years ago, but nor is the digicam market anymore.

Have fun, 😊 enjoy  !

ps Please do not expect your four digit profit to exceed 1k$ (by much), depending of the condition of your Leica gear. This does not include what you might obtain for your Canon gear. Giving price evaluations is strongly discouraged in our forum.

Edited January 8 by nykv

[nykv]

11 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

The error message has very little to do to do with chrome/aluminium colour, it has mainly do with the "cutout" some adapters have at the part of the 6-bit sensor, exposing it to light.

 

Which might be of some importance if you insist to buy a digital Leica M body for your 3.5/35mm old version LTM Summaron (the nostalgic lens from your Dad). The Canikonpanisony costs a fraction. Even on a digileica M I don't see the point to use such a vintage lens with digital correction, which is obtained the easiest with the 20years old 6-bit coding system. But if you want digital correction done by a digileica M, you can simply set it in the camera, as you only use one LTM lens... if a digileica M is what you want.

Edited January 8 by nykv

[pbcsky]

2 hours ago, luigi bertolotti said:

As a side note, your pictures show that the rangefinder is equipped with a small orange filter (OKARO was its code) to improve the contrast while focusing... a useful accessory expecially for lenses of wide aperture, like the 5 cm Summitar you have.

OKARO! You are a code breaker, Luigi! Didn’t even see it and when I get home, I’ll look for it. Amazing, this forum!!

[wlaidlaw]

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1 hour ago, Al Brown said:

The error message has very little to do to do with chrome/aluminium colour, it has mainly do with the "cutout" some adapters have at the part of the 6-bit sensor, exposing it to light.

 

Sorry to be picky but this is incorrect advice. I have many adapters both with and without cut outs, having been using and collecting Leica lenses and cameras for over 60 years. A bright shiny adapter, even without a cut out will give often give a "No lens detected" message on any digital M with live view. This is not consistent as it depends on the IR reflectivity of the adapter. Certainly applied to the M240 and its sisters. I don't know if it still does on the M10 and M11 family as after the M240, I only used black Rayqual adapters since these came out. 

Wilson

[nykv]

No color or blurry issues whatsoever with any M or LTM 35mm lenses I am using with an adaptor on my Nikon Z7. 

2.8 Summaron LTM (newer version than yours) , Summicron 8-lens (with goggles for M3 - giving the Nikon Z7 a unique exterior appearance), M Distagon 1.4/35 they all draw in the corners with comparable results to the same lens on Leica M digital bodies.

The focal flange distance of Nikon Z (16mm) is the shortest of all FF mirrorless, making it best suited for Leica rangefinder wide angle lenses (being only second to the special sensors of digital Leica M, which becomes evident with lenses of 28mm or shorter.

35mm LTM and M lenses in combination with a FF Nikon Z body render well, while on Sony E (18mm focal flange distance) they perform subpar in the corners.

I have never experimented with wide angle M lenses on L-mount (Leica SL & Panasonic) nor on Canon RF-mount cameras. Both systems have a focal flange distance of 20mm, though they both were introduced after Sony E.

[pippy]

22 hours ago, pbcsky said:

...I’m nearing 80 myself so not even sure I could manipulate it properly (arthritis in hand) and I realize many of the features of a newer Leica would not be possible with these lenses. I’d love to take photos through lenses he looked through but also wonder if is it worth it if indeed it is possible? He has three lenses. If you came across a kit like this what would you do with it?...

Firstly I'd like to say congratulations in having 'found' your father's camera and lenses; they make for a lovely set and, quite simply, are wonderful things to have for very many reasons.

As far as the arthritis is concerned? Not knowing the severity of your particular condition it's impossible for me to say anything meaningful but if you have even a small amount of digital dexterity you should be perfectly fine. The amount of finesse involved in using any leica lens is hardly acute. If one can turn the aperture ring and the focussing knob then that, really, is all which is required.

Even if you have somewhat restricted motor ability then things could still be pretty OK. With the 35mm lens - assuming there is sufficient light to allow for a 'one stop suits all' approach - it could well be the case that having pre-set a generalised focus point and a medium aperture (the hyperfocal distance approach) for general photography there would be no need for any adjustment of the lens whatsoever. The camera / lens package would act exactly like a 'Point-and-Shoot' which is how many Leica photographers approach their art on a day to day basis.

Longer lenses and wider apertures require more accuracy in terms of focus but I suspect that you are already fully aware of what I've been saying so Apologies if I'm "telling my granny how to suck eggs"...😸...

Using your father's lenses on any modern M is not going to be a problem. It is possible to use (almost) every interchangeable Leica lens ever made - from 1932 through to today - with any current camera and the three you have will function, essentially, in exactly the same way as they did when they were used by your dad.

On to your last point as to what would either of us do if we found ourselves to be in a similar position?

Just for fun here is a snap of me taken c. 1964 with my father's IIIb with 50mm f2.0 Summitar;

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My (older) brother and myself both became fascinated with photography at a young age and we are both still keen snappers to this day. After our father died the Leica went to my brother and he has been keeping care of it ever since. He doesn't shoot with the IIIb - pinholed curtains - but, fitted with an adaptor to use with his M9-P cameras, the Summitar still gets 'Playtime' some 85 years after it was made which is exactly how my father would have wished it to be.

The results from the lens, it goes without saying, are superb.

Best of good fortune with your own set.

Philip.

Edited January 8 by pippy

[pbcsky]

3 hours ago, pippy said:

Firstly I'd like to say congratulations in having 'found' your father's camera and lenses; they make for a lovely set and, quite simply, are wonderful things to have for very many reasons.

As far as the arthritis is concerned? Not knowing the severity of your particular condition it's impossible for me to say anything meaningful but if you have even a small amount of digital dexterity you should be perfectly fine. The amount of finesse involved in using any leica lens is hardly acute. If one can turn the aperture ring and the focussing knob then that, really, is all which is required.

Even if you have somewhat restricted motor ability then things could still be pretty OK. With the 35mm lens - assuming there is sufficient light to allow for a 'one stop suits all' approach - it could well be the case that having pre-set a generalised focus point and a medium aperture (the hyperfocal distance approach) for general photography there would be no need for any adjustment of the lens whatsoever. The camera / lens package would act exactly like a 'Point-and-Shoot' which is how many Leica photographers approach their art on a day to day basis.

Longer lenses and wider apertures require more accuracy in terms of focus but I suspect that you are already fully aware of what I've been saying so Apologies if I'm "telling my granny how to suck eggs"...😸...

Using your father's lenses on any modern M is not going to be a problem. It is possible to use (almost) every interchangeable Leica lens ever made - from 1932 through to today - with any current camera and the three you have will function, essentially, in exactly the same way as they did when they were used by your dad.

On to your last point as to what would either of us do if we found ourselves to be in a similar position?

Just for fun here is a snap of me taken c. 1964 with my father's IIIb with 50mm f2.0 Summitar;

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!

My (older) brother and myself both became fascinated with photography at a young age and we are both still keen snappers to this day. After our father died the Leica went to my brother and he has been keeping care of it ever since. He doesn't shoot with the IIIb - pinholed curtains - but, fitted with an adaptor to use with his M9-P cameras, the Summitar still gets 'Playtime' some 85 years after it was made which is exactly how my father would have wished it to be.

The results from the lens, it goes without saying, are superb.

Best of good fortune with your own set.

Philip.

 

“Just for fun here is a snap of me taken c. 1964 with my father'sIIIb with 50mm f2.0 Summitar;” !!!! How absolutely fun it is to see this, Philip! And I loved your entire response and will factor it all in over the next few days. Summitar gets playtime 85 years later. Oh, that IS the whole point of this isn’t it? Best to you and thanks.

[jankap]

Hello, I have the 674 601. Give it a try. The grease is a little bit thick perhaps, but buy a film for it. To put in the film is somewhat difficult, because the cartridges changed. We shall help you. It is time my IIIIf gets something to do either. I am almost 87 years old and my dogs did unfriendly things with my fingers as they tried to catch cats. They had no success, but I got the problem.

Edited January 9 by jankap

[pbcsky]

Kankakee, I’m going to clean it first but I’ll not be doing film at this point! Am glad you can do it!

[nykv]

Leica items so old: I'd first thoroughly verify the serial number of every single article, because a very few of them are so rare, that the price goes through the roof - just saying!

[pippy]

1 hour ago, nykv said:

Leica items so old: I'd first thoroughly verify the serial number of every single article, because a very few of them are so rare, that the price goes through the roof - just saying!

I think you are missing the point completely.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the monetary value of the items; it is because they are the actual items used by the OP's father. That is something which truly has meaning.

Philip.

Edited January 10 by pippy

[nykv]

On 1/8/2025 at 1:28 PM, pbcsky said:

Haha! They do need it! I’m afraid my younger generations are not very interested as their phones are their cameras and they have said that once I meet my maker there’ll be no more good family photos!

Dad was not only my best friend until we lost him aged 93, fairytales do happen (very) occasionally (all lotteries have more than one winning ticket), both my children are proficient photographers - they have returned all the cameras I gave them over the years and only use their phones for taking pictures and mostly short clips for a long time now. Best wishes for you and your photography, pbcsky!