Nicca 3F

<p>This is the Nicca 3F that reached me yesterday. I had heard the Niccas were well made, and now I can confirm that. This model is something of an anachronism, being made in 1956-57, that is, some while after the M3 was released. It is like the III in having slow speeds and a fastest speed of 1/500 sec.; but it does not have diopter adjustment. The single casting body was introduced with the IIIc and the catch above the slow speed dial came in with the post-war IIIc. It is synchronised for flash, but unlike the IIIf it works only with electronic flash and only at one speed (1/25 sec.). It seems that this is one of the last models that the Nicca company made before it was bought by Yashica.</p><div></div>

<p>What a beautiful camera! I believe there was a (final) later version than yours, which had a lever film wind rather than the knob. The last version also had a film loading back which flipped up like the M series cameras, rather than the solid back of most previous versions. Let's see some pictures with that lens. I have a Canon 50/1.8 and 135/2.8 on my Leotax of the same vintage, but it seems to me the 100/3.5 might be a better choice.</p>

<p>Many years ago, one or more technicians(old school types) verified that Nicca models(and Yashica/ Tower) were the best built of the Leica copies, easy to repair, robust high quality construction. I have a Tower IIIa with f2 Nikkor 50mm. Nice smooth camera but alas 1 second is slow.</p>

<p>Stephen, the 3F itself came in two versions, knob and lever. It was the Nicca 4, I think, which had the flip-up back: but that seems to have come before the 3F. Looking at what was included in it and what was dropped, I have concluded that the 3F was meant to be a low cost option: a simple work-horse.</p>

<p>I have had this Canon 100mm lens for some time now, and a couple of pictures taken with it are on this site. I'd call it a well behaved and dependable lens if an unremarkable one, which was also what I said of my Canon 50/1.8. It will be one of the two lenses I shall put on the Nicca: the other is a Canon 50/1.4. I could use my 35, which is a screw mount Ultron, but I have had enough of multi-focal finders.</p>

<p>Paul, Don Goldberg said the same. He also said that some Niccas were the Leica copies most faithful to the original.</p>

<p>The Canon 100 F3.5 is a real sleeper. Fairly light so it balances well on the LTM bodies. Very sharp with good contrast, images are a little tighter than with the 90's but you can still use a 90 viewfinder. Nice for head and shoulder portraits. Once I saw the 100's image results I put my 90 Elmar in the drawer.</p>

<p>Somehow, when the Allied Control Commission made the German designs free to all, I don't think this was exactly what they had in mind.<br>

Weren't the (Sears) Tower models 48, 45, and 46 made by Nicca, too?<br>

Here is the 1953 listing in <em>Popular Photography</em>'s annual Directory for the Nicca III.</p><div></div>

<p>I wonder if there were former Nicca Is and IIs or whether III is the first and thus just a marketing ploy? It certainly looks well made, but you will no doubt be able to compare its action, VF-RF and smoothness to that of your Leica III at some point.</p>

<p>The Nicca nomenclature is really confusing. Some time ago I tried to summarize it chronologically. The info was confusing, but this is what I gleaned fram a variety of source (I don't vouch for its full validity):<br>

Type 3 of 1951 iwas also branded as Nicca III, Peerless Type-3, and Tower 3;<br>

Nicca IIIA of 1951 was also branded as Tower Type-3;<br>

Nicca IIIB of 1952 was also branded as Tower Type-3;<br>

IIIC of 1952 was also known at Type 3;<br>

Nicca IIIS of 1955 was also branded as Nicca Type-IIIS and Tower-3S;<br>

Nicca Type 4 of 1956 was also known as the Nicca 4;<br>

Nicca Type 3-S of 1956 was same as Type 4 but with only a 1/500 top shutter speed;<br>

Nicca Type-5 of 1958 was also branded as Snider 35, Tower 45, Tower 46;<br>

Nicca Type-5 L of 1958 was also branded as Tower 45, Tower 46;<br>

Nicca IIIF of 1959 was also known as the Type 3-F, Tower 48 (lever wind);<br>

Nicca 3-F of 1959 was also branded as the Tower 3-F;<br>

Nicca III L of 1960 was also branded as the Tower III L, Yashica YF of 1959, Yashica YL;<br>

and finally <br>

Nicca 33 of 1960 was also branded as Nicca Type 33, Yashica YE.</p>

<p>It seems that often they were running earlier and later models off the assembly line concurrently, and often the changes were quite minor. Often the model differences was only noted by a switch from a roman numeral (III to 3), or the placement of a hyphen in the designation. If any afficianados have more accurate info, please pass it along....I got really twisted up in the designations.</p>

 

<p>The Nicca Type 3-S was also rebranded and sold under the Sears Tower name. I have two of these in my collection. They're essentially identical to the Tower 3-S except that the shutter speed dials split at 1/25 instead of 1/20 of a second. I haven't been able to determine if a different model number was assigned by Sears to this variant or if the differences were too minor to warrant a change.</p>

<p>You're right about the confusing model designations, Stephen. Matters are further complicated by the fact that Nicca products often had other brand names put on them but not always the same model numbers. Your list confirms that the 4 came before the 3F (for which model two sources gave 1956 or 1957 as the year of introduction, not 1959). The catalogue photo shows a diopter adjustment around the eye-piece, but this was dropped in the later 3F. I am trying to make an arrangement which will allow me to see clearly through the finder and avoid badly focussed photos.</p>

<p>Your optometrist may be able to determine the diopter + or - eyepiece correction you need for proper focusing. You may be able to remove the eyepiece lens holder and have him make lenses with the correct diopter that can be fit to the eyepiece.</p>

<p>Thank you, Christopher. I know that I need +1.0D in addition to whatever is in the eye-piece. As it may not be easy or possible to get a lens under the black cover, I'm thinking of attaching a corrective lens outside.</p>