WWII Leica

I need the help of the forum please, is this camera an original or fake?

 

 

 

Looks like a fake. The shutter release is wrong -- the button on a Leica is smooth on top, not threaded for a cable. The collar around the button should be much shallower. It's threaded to fit a ring surrounding the button. A cable release can only be installed after the collar is removed

Not to mention the swastika.

Look through the Rangefinder Window: The Russian cameras have a yellow tint on the RF window. The Leica requires use of an external filter.

 

It looks like a fake.

A very clear fake. This one started life as a Zorki 1 (type 1e) made in the USSR in the mid 1950s. The chrome and original engravings have been stripped off, leaving bare brass, and fake engravings added.

I concur with everyone else. It is a fake - 100%. This is actually an easy one for those familiar with old Leicas. Give us something more challenging next time! :-)

Ditto. Hope you didnt pay 2 much 4 this. Did it come with a lens. Is it working. You may still b able 2 use it 4 fotographic purposes.

Can't recall who posted, where I saw it - if one can buy a fake "right" there are those who collect the counterfeits. However, this one has been "rode hard, put away wet".

There is a Russian lens on eBay at the moment with a very dashing black and orange paint job. I have to admit I'm just a little tempted. This isn't so funny. It pays to do your research I guess. I wonder if this one was battered on purpose?

LINK:FED vs Zorki or at other site (google 'fake leica' for more)

 

real military or other WWII markings exist, but are very very rare and expensive.

 

"Gold" finish is practically a guarantee that it is fake. I think maybe three (3, count them) real gold ones were made???

Here's a real Leica II Luxus, apparently one of four made (the other three are MIA):

 

Extremely Rare Gold-Plated Leica Luxus II Could Fetch $1.6 Million At Auction

 

At first glance, it looks totally fake, but when you start looking at the details you realise it really is a Leica. The Luxus version of the Leica I is rather more common (95 made) and is presumably the camera that inspired the fakes though (like the Zorki in this thread) they are generally based on Soviet copies of the Leica II. As well as looking a bit like a Luxus, I suppose leaving the camera with bare brass also saves the faker re-finishing the top plate (they must remove some of the original chrome when they grind off the Zorki or FED engraving, so it's easier to strip off the lot and leave it that way).

 

The Luxus models were gold-plated, but brass finish genuine Leicas also turn up, and we've seen a couple posted here. Typically the original finish has been removed for some reason (as with the fakes) but in one case the poster checked with Leica, and apparently the camera was originally shipped that way (a poor man's Luxus?).

Leica II Luxus

 

Saw a report on this one. It apparently sold for "only" $600+K

 

LINK https://www.businessinsider.com/1932-leica-camera-sold-for-620000-2013-11

Bargain!