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Newbie:I need some help


Ren

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Hello, I'm new to this forum and I'm looking for some informations:

I inherited a Leica from my grandfather and I'd like to learn to use it but I have no idea where to start.While looking online I found a form where you can put your S.N.(mine starts with 336) to discover the model which apparently is IIIb.

What I'd like to know is:is there a way for me to find some in depth info on my camera?If I ever wanted or needed to fix my camera could I or is it too old?

 

Thanks in advance, I'm really sorry if I asked something stupid but I can't make heads or tails of his notes I found in the camera...

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Teresa,

 

Welcome to the Forum!

 

Your camera is a great one, and surely you will take very good photos with it.

 

A very good source of information about these Leicas is the "Leica Manual", by Morgan & Lester. Any edition will tell you about this type of camera; in internet there are some editions for free. Anyway, it is a cheap book.

 

Right here in this Forum (at the Leica Collectors & Historica - Leica User Forum there are a lot of topics about the LTM Leicas (IIIa, IIIb, IIIc, IIIf, etc).

 

A lot of people uses these old cameras, so there is no problem about fixing it. Probably you will need to clean, lubrificate and adjust it (if your grandfather didn't use it for a long time), and that's all.

 

Martin

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There is plenty of info here: look in Collectors and Historica forum. Many of these cameras are still in use, at our last Sunday forum meet there were two out of thirty cameras. They can be completely serviced and repaired, there are specialists in many countries.

Another great resource is Rangefinder Forum.

Leica Screw Mount / LTM Cameras - Rangefinderforum.com

 

Have fun! These are great cameras

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Teresa,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

There are many 'Leica Thread Mount' or LTM users here, me included. As mentioned have a look in the historica/collectors section.

 

If you don't know how to load the film in these cameras, again check the forum or find a local dealer who knows about Leicas and they can demonstrate for you. Basically you need to trim the leader of the film - I don't have time right now but will try to find a link for you later.

 

Which lens/lenses do you have? Hopefully you have a (collapsible) 5cm Elmar f3.5 which is a superb little lens. You need to pull it out (and twist to lock) before shooting with it.

 

Do feel free to ask away.

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Hi!Thank you all for the welcome words and all the informations.

I just checked the lenses, what I can see is:

Leitz Elmar f=5cm 1:35(thanks for telling me about it being collapsible by the way, I was so afraid to touch it I would have never pulled it out!)

 

I was a bit afraid to ask such basic questions to the more experienced people in the forums but I see everyone is willing to help and kind, thanks so much!

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Ciao,

 

I see you come from Italy. Beautiful country, we enjoyed it! These sites may help:

 

http://www.leicapassion.com/

http://www.nadir.it/recensioni/id-ob-leica.htm

http://www.leicatime.com/a000-OtticheLeicaVite.htm

 

And for some actual pictures taken with this fine vintage camera, see:

 

http://web.telia.com/~u32008343/ltm.htm

 

Good luck, and have fun!

 

David

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Hi!Thanks so much for the links, and I love the photos!If I understand correctly these are all yours?I especially like your self portrait and your daughter's.

 

I hope I can ask yet another question:yesterday I was talking with my Figure teacher and he told me that I can actually take out the lenses(that much I could imagine myself) and hold them in my hand reversed over the hole of the camera to take photos of very small objects from a small distance.

Does anybody know if it's true or if he was actually wrong?

 

thanks again for the info, you're all very kind :)

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Teresa--

Technically, he's right. But it may not be as simple as he makes it sound.

 

Leica made a Visoflex (Visoflex I for this model) that took a number of accessories to allow you to do macro photography (extreme closeups such as he is talking about) and telephoto photography by turning the camera into a very clumsy SLR. But of course, at that time there were no SLRs, so no one knew it was clumsy. :)

 

In fact, the Leica was the star of the age, the must-have camera, just as the iPhone or iPod might be considered 'must-have' items today.

 

But there's one major difference: The Leica does nothing automatically. Instead, it teaches you the basics on which photography is built.

 

Don't worry about asking questions. Glad you found us. Welcome aboard.

 

--HC

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Ciao Teresa, e benvenuta ! Ho l'impressione che tu sia la prima donna italiana che si vede nel forum....

 

In questo link puoi scaricare il manuale di un modello molto simile al tuo

 

http://www.cameramanuals.org/leica_pdf/leica_iiic.pdf

 

Se non hai mai avuto una Leica... la cosa che lascia più perplessi è il caricamento della pellicola: appare strano e laborioso. Altra cosa da tenere sempre a mente : PRIMA caricare l'otturatore (grosso bottone zigrinato a destra) POI settare il tempo (i due bottoncini uno di fronte e l'altro sopra... quello di fronte serve solo per i tempi lunghi): è importante: muovere la rotella dei tempi ad otturatore scarico può dare guai meccanici.

 

Per il resto, se la tua macchina funziona bene, può fare delle splendide foto: l'obiettivo è ancora utilizzato da parecchi appassionati, anche su macchine molto più recenti.

Se hai altre domande... sono italiano e appassionatissimo di Leica... ben disposto a rispondere a quesiti: se preferisci la nostra lingua, tieni presente che puoi usare i "Private Messages"

 

Saluti

Luigi

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Hi Teresa

 

Welcome to the world of Leica cameras.Put/Get film in your camera go out and shoot things you like. Get film dev then you will find out what mistakes if any you have made.Put the results here on the forum and loads of folk will help you.You have quite an old type of camera and you need to discover how to use and if you like it. Be warned however if you take to it you could well be hooked for life on a Leica and wont be able to rest until you have got yourself a modern one.

 

Regards

 

Rob

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