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Hi all, i hope to join you in a more orthodox way soon.

 

My Wife's grand mother if giving me all her husbands Leica gear from the 50s and 60s.

apparently he ordered the camera in 1954 but had to wait 2 years for it.

i'm guessing that it will be an M3.

 

I pick it up on Wednesday and naturally i want to play, if it's an M3 will it be 35 mm if not what other possibilities are there and also how do i load the film?

 

ty for your time

 

er....

 

can i post photos of it taken with a canon or will that get me shot?

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If the kit is in good working order you have got yourself a superb toy ... Loading is fairly simple, if it is an M camera. Lift off the baseplate and take out the removeable take-up spool. Fix the end of the film leader to the spool and insert cartridge and spool as indicated in the diagram printed inside. Check (by lifting the back flap) that the film transport cogs engage the film perforation. Replace the baseplate. The frame counter is automatically set to 0 if it's an M3. Make two blind exposures to get past the film leader, and see if the rewind knob rotates when you do it. If not, redo! The rest is fairly self-explanatory. Have fun.

 

If it is a IIIf or IIIg screw-mount camera, these have some extra quirks. In that case you should return here for more advice.

 

You are dealing with a Very Old Camera however which may have lain unused for a Very Long Time, causing lubricants to solidify and dirt to accumulate. I would sincerely recommend a CLA (Cleaning, Lubrication, Adjustment) by a competent camera mechanic or even an authorized distributer's workshop. The people in Solms do it too, at a high price but they do issue a guaranty and certificate. After a CLA you can probably use that camera as long as 35mm film remains available.

 

The old man from the Age of Do-it Yourself Photography

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Thanks Kodaktrix and Lars.

 

I must confess to feeling like a kid on Christmas Eve, I am a film virgin and my excitement is tinged with aprehesion, no chimping :o, how will i cope ? :p

Seriously though i shoot my 40D in manual mode most of the time so i think i understand the concept of exposure.

I also realise that my iso will be based on the film i put in the camera so i'm thinking that my first general purpose film should be @ iso 400?

 

My next problem is likely to be understanding the focusing aspect of the lenses and randfinder system, currently as a dslr user i look through the lens this obviously won't be the case with the Leica.

Please correct me and offer tips as there is some family pressure to make this unexpected inheritance a success, otherwise wifey has hinted that the alchemists of the high street could turn Grandpa in laws kit into a week in the Bahamas :)

 

Cheers

Andrew

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Compliments , and welcome to the forum ! If it's a Leica M3, you've got a superclassic, a camera that it's really a legend, and a very appreciable equipment to use too !!!

 

Of course, LOT of things can be said and explained about... :) and let me say that THIS is the right place to go for infos... just to start here is a site in which you can download the user manual of Leica M3 :

 

Leica camera instruction manuals, leicaflex camera instruction manual

 

And also related manuals for lenses, accessories etc... : start with it, then... we wait for some pictures of your treasure... ;)

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Thanks Luigi

That link is great :)

 

now for the bad news:

 

No M3 :(

 

but the good news is 3 Leicaflex bodies, at least 5 lenses, a projector, a weird bellows thingy, mad sniper riflesque zoom set up and more camera cases and other peripherals than you can shake a stick at. I have all the receipts and a couple of tripods.

 

It's going to take me a couple of days to document all this gear and see what's what :)

 

Thanks again for your help and i'll keep you posted.

 

cheers

Andrew

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No M3 you say ? But... anyway, looking at your picture seems to recognize some things that belong to the Leica M line... try to inspect the items I "arrowed"....

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..but I see a very nice Leicaflex SL (2)mot with the a lot of stuff!...:eek: ..

 

...and the tripod holder! for the mot!...:rolleyes: ...I'm looking for 5 years now....:cool: ...

 

Have fun with the nice cameras!...:)

 

.....in the backyard, is it a 800er Telyt..!!!!!!!??!!!

 

 

regards,

 

Jan

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No M3 you say ? But... anyway, looking at your picture seems to recognize some things that belong to the Leica M line... try to inspect the items I "arrowed"....

Luigi the ERC is for the Leicaflex 1

the tele lens are for Visos but there is an adapter for use with the Leicaflex

the 21 viewfinder is for use with the 21mm lens with no retrofocus so you must up the mirror (and so no more reflex)

you can see the hood near the foldind tripod.

I can understand his frustation........... no M3................

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..but I see a very nice Leicaflex SL (2)mot with the a lot of stuff!...:eek: ..

 

...and the tripod holder! for the mot!...:rolleyes: ...I'm looking for 5 years now....:cool: ...

 

Have fun with the nice cameras!...:)

 

.....in the backyard, is it a 800er Telyt..!!!!!!!??!!!

 

 

regards,

 

Jan

 

In the leather case, you say ? To me... uhm... I'd bet 1 $ is a 400 Telyt.

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Luigi the ERC is for the Leicaflex 1

the tele lens are for Visos but there is an adapter for use with the Leicaflex

the 21 viewfinder is for use with the 21mm lens with no retrofocus so you must up the mirror (and so no more reflex)

you can see the hood near the foldind tripod.

I can understand his frustation........... no M3................

 

I thought that ERC couldn't accomodate a "prismed" body... no objection anyway...You know, my knowledge on SLR line is next to zero...:o but insist that one of the finders looks really a VIOOH...:) . Funny exercise... we wait for other infos...

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I thought that ERC couldn't accomodate a "prismed" body... no objection anyway...You know, my knowledge on SLR line is next to zero...:o

...

This is the first or second model in fact you cannot disconnect the battery on the first model and there is a place in the top to keep the battery.

the other one is very similar of the M4 model but the screw is in the middle of the bottom

...

but insist that one of the finders looks really a VIOOH...:) . ...

Sure it is !

...

Funny exercise... we wait for other infos...

from who ?

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wow

 

you guys have been busy

the case does indeed contain a Telyt 6.8 / 400 with the very groovy shoulder stock, possibly the only bit i figured out for my self, i abosolutely love it, it's so cool in a 007 kind of way :)

 

i'm devoting saturday to cataloging this little treasure trove.

as to the mystery M bits, it's possible i guess, because i have 2 passports without cameras.

 

thanks for your continued interest, i also bought some film today, a cheapy fuji 200asa idiot pack to get me clicking and used to the concept.

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This is the first or second model in fact you cannot disconnect the battery on the first model and there is a place in the top to keep the battery.

the other one is very similar of the M4 model but the screw is in the middle of the bottom

...

Sure it is !

...

from who ?[/quote]

 

He Andrew !!! I love so much lenses that I hope he'll post some details about them... :) looks there is a good number of.

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I tried :

1ERC Mark I

2 ERC

2a Universal bag #III

3 Leicaflex SL Silver 10011

4 Leicaflex SL Silver 10011

5 Leicaflex SL MOT Black 10013

6 MOT 14077

7 Super Angulon R4/21 11813

8 Elmarit R 2.8/35 11201

9 Elmarit R 2.8/28 11204

10 Summicron R 2/50 11228 (not sure about the ranking 8/9/10)

11 TelytV 4/200 11063

12 Elmarit R 2.8/180 11919

13 Elmarit R 2.8/135 11211

14 Elmarit R 2.8/90 11239

15 Telyt V 4.8/280 (2nd model)

16 Telyt R 6.8/400 11960

17 Colorplan 2.8/90 for Pradovit color

18 Macro Elmar 4/200 + box

18a Add on for close focus for 18

19 Bellow R +box

20 14167 V to R ring

21 16466 to accommodate threaded V lens on 14167(or viso)

22 Elpro lens

22a Elpro lens

23 Tilt head 14121

24 little tripod 14100

25 21mm viewfinder 12002

25a leather bag for 25

25b Universal viewfinder VIOOH lyre shaped

25c Bracket for SLMOT tripod

26 Dia projector Pradovit color 150 ? small base (non autofocus)

26a Hood for 2/50

27 Hood for 28/35

28 Hood for 4/21

29 Handle for MOT

30s Gossen Light meters

31 90° angle viewfinder

 

Andrew, have you emptied all these leather bags ?

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Great work J.C. :D ..."18" should be a 100mm lens?....

 

 

 

The flyers behind the Telyt 400, what is it?...the 400 flyer or 560 flyer?...the lens looks so big!...and behind I can read "Televit"....is it in the case?

 

...great stuff!...

 

regards,

 

Jan

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The Leicaflex SL and SL2 are still by some regarded as the finest SLR cameras ever built, and with the best finders. One problem is with the meters. They do of course take the now banned mercury button cells, type 357 and the like. The only viable replacement that I know of is the zinc-air Wein cells.

 

There seems to exist, or has existed, a Japanese manufacturer who made a cup-like adapter for a standard 1.5V silver oxide cell, but with a built-in Schottky diode that took the voltage down to 1.35V. Has anybody heard about them?

 

The old man from the Age of Selenium Meters

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18" should be a 100mm lens?....
Yes and there is its box just under it

The flyers behind the Telyt 400, what is it?...the 400 flyer or 560 flyer?...the lens looks so big!...and behind I can read "Televit"....is it in the case?

the front flyer is for the 560

the Televit is for the 5.6/400/560 different lens than the 6.8

Objectif Leica pour Visoflex - Telyt 400 mm et 560 mm f/5,6 (1966-1971)

Objectif Leica pour Visoflex - Telyt-V 400 mm et 560 mm f/6,8 (1970-1984)

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