My Garage Sale Leica

flatflip · Apr 29, 2011

Got this today at a garage sale for $10. I thought it was a little high. Did I get a decent collectable, a decent usable camera or just plain junk?

Any info would be cool. Is it a 35mm? Is that two viewfinders or one? I'm serious! Thanks for any help.

Breaux · Apr 29, 2011

It looks lika a Leica II or III, which dates it to the 1930s. If that's what it is, they sell on eBay in the $100 to $250 range, depending largely on whether it works.

Derrel · Apr 29, 2011

SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!

dxqcanada · Apr 29, 2011

Based on the serial number:

Leica IIIc
1946-47

Leica IIIc - Camerapedia
Leica IIIC instruction manual, user manual, free PDF camera manuals

flatflip · Apr 29, 2011

Thank You guys for everything. I do believe it is a IIIc. I have been enjoying the owners manual online. Thanks dxqcanada for that.

I think there is a problem with the shutter release process. I cocked the shutter, set the speed to 100, 200 or 500 and pressed the release. It clicks but actually takes a couple seconds to "snap". The speed dial turns as you wind and also turns when you release the shutter. So I can slightly help the speed dial turn with my finger and the shutter will snap nicely, but not acceptable obviously. My wife said maybe I need to put film in it to work properly. Any thoughts on that? I finally read to set the slow speed dial on front to 30 but that didn't help.

altitude604 · Apr 30, 2011

nice deal for $10!

might be worth taking into a shop to get it looked at.

usayit · Apr 30, 2011

flatflip said:
Thank You guys for everything. I do believe it is a IIIc. I have been enjoying the owners manual online. Thanks dxqcanada for that.

I think there is a problem with the shutter release process. I cocked the shutter, set the speed to 100, 200 or 500 and pressed the release. It clicks but actually takes a couple seconds to "snap". The speed dial turns as you wind and also turns when you release the shutter. So I can slightly help the speed dial turn with my finger and the shutter will snap nicely, but not acceptable obviously. My wife said maybe I need to put film in it to work properly. Any thoughts on that? I finally read to set the slow speed dial on front to 30 but that didn't help.

Typical slow shutter for a cloth shutter camera of this age. I've never seen a camera of this age that didn't need service.

Don't send it to Leica for service unless you are willing to spend some cash. I recommend a local (to me) hole in the wall place that does most of my service; Camera repair and used cameras by Camerarepair.com; New York and New Jersey's premier camera repair service (also known as ) Essex Camera Services Inc. - Home. They've done some extremely complex work for me that even Leica Solms was hesitating to perform.

usayit · Apr 30, 2011

btw.. VERY nice find.

flatflip · Apr 30, 2011

usayit said:
flatflip said:

Thank You guys for everything. I do believe it is a IIIc. I have been enjoying the owners manual online. Thanks dxqcanada for that.

I think there is a problem with the shutter release process. I cocked the shutter, set the speed to 100, 200 or 500 and pressed the release. It clicks but actually takes a couple seconds to "snap". The speed dial turns as you wind and also turns when you release the shutter. So I can slightly help the speed dial turn with my finger and the shutter will snap nicely, but not acceptable obviously. My wife said maybe I need to put film in it to work properly. Any thoughts on that? I finally read to set the slow speed dial on front to 30 but that didn't help.

Click to expand...

Typical slow shutter for a cloth shutter camera of this age. I've never seen a camera of this age that didn't need service.

Don't send it to Leica for service unless you are willing to spend some cash. I recommend a local (to me) hole in the wall place that does most of my service; Camera repair and used cameras by Camerarepair.com; New York and New Jersey's premier camera repair service (also known as ) Essex Camera Services Inc. - Home. They've done some extremely complex work for me that even Leica Solms was hesitating to perform.

I will contact them and see if they might give me a ballpark quote. I wouldn't mind spending some money on it. Do you think $100 is too much to spend on a clean & adjust, for this age camera? Thanks and thanks for the link. I'll check it out later when I get caught up. Got a family wedding to go to and I just got off work.

Mick

OK, I see that it's $180 to replace curtain and it probably needs it even though the curtain doesn't look wasted to me. Now I have to decide if the whole experience is worth it to me. I know It's subjective. Does anyone use one of these enough to justify a $180 repair? I call that a substantial expense. Again, relative and subjective.

usayit · Apr 30, 2011

Well it depends on you... Is this something you want to shoot with? Are you interested in shooting film through a rangefinder?

If it were me, it definitely worth fixing it but then again.. that's just me (I shoot with Leica). I'd probably put it up on a shelf and start saving a little bit here and there for a full repair. If I never get around to it, it makes a great addition to my display case.

How about the lens? Shine a pin point bright light while looking in from the other end. LED pen light usually works well. Shine the beam in circles from outer to inner and examine all of the inner elements. You want to look for haziness, fungus, or de-lamination.

I've spent more than that to bring my Leica M3 as well as my Canon IVSB into service. They do great work.

Of course, the other option is to see how much a collector is willing to pay for it as-is. Definitely worth more than $10. Especially since it looks to be the original vulcanite and its intact. The lens alone (in good condition) is worth much more than $10.

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/Leica_IIIc
http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/Elmar_f=_3.5_cm_1:3.5
http://www.cameraquest.com/ltmcam.htm
http://www.cameraquest.com/ltmlens.htm

Also, Careful with that lens when cleaning. The coatings on it are soft. I had the shop clean it well and screw in a high quality Heliopan UV filter. I've never removed it since.

flatflip · Apr 30, 2011

usayit, Thank you for the great info and advice. I checked out all of the links that you provided. I think I'll just calm down for a little while. That's hard for me but it could be best. I'm really enjoying having my new camera sitting on my desk. It's quite a piece to just look at. Of course it's all a new experience to me but I definitely appreciate it as finely designed technical machinery.

I've been talking up an outing with my Pentax K1000, my only working 35mm film camera. My Pentax ME Super has shutter problems too. It will not cock but only winds. Anyway, I need to go out and shoot some film. Then I can check my heart and see if I really need another film camera. I know I want several more.