IIIa and the 15VC

[owen w.]

Well, I've been playing with my new IIIa and a 36 Summar. I hadn't

gotten around to pulling the M-adapter off my VC 15. Putting it on a

IIIa made the camera look oddly very sleek and new. Is it digital?

<p>

Ah, but the catch. The VC 15 Viewfinder is a fat little toad. Not

only can you barely look under it to see the shutter speed dial, you

cannot lift the dial sufficiently to set the speed. Grrr.

<p>

Eying the thing over, I suspect I could take a hasp to the offending

square edge and gain just enough clearance to succeed. But, I do not

have Huw's hands (nor brains, nor tools), so I hesitate.

<p>

My temporary solution is to put the Summar back on the IIIa.

[richard s.]

Hey Owen,

 

having missed the opportunity to post a comment on your early threads about your Barnack (welcome to the tribe), thought I'm add my irrelevant musings to this one ...

 

Have a black paint Leica II, came with an uncoated Elmar 50mm f3,5, which is an excellent lens. So compact, really compliments the camera perfectly. And the photos really do have that mythical Leica glow. The camera itself is amazing - a mechanic jewel that not even the M series comes close to in my opinion. Ergonomics are superb. That brassing black paint seductive.

 

Soon realised that I needed a proper viewfinder and so acquired a VC 50mm viewfinder (in black of course - and I'm happy to add it seems to be brassing slightly). Ended up with the VC viewfinder rather than the Leitz one purely by default. Went to Lemonsha (a camera store here in Tokyo) to try the various options. Tried the Leitz SBOOI viewfinder first - looked good, functioned perfectly. Then slipped that off and forced on the VC viewfinder. The darn thing refused to come off, so ended up buying it! No complaints though, it is fantastic!

 

Anyway, soon got to thinking about a new lens. In December purchased a VC Color-Skopar 50mm f2,5 from another forum member. Black paint version of course! Very good lens, smooth, creamy, almost buttery. Excellent for B&W. Not so good for color though.

 

In February picked up a Heliar 50mm f3,5. A match made in heaven. The lens is exactly what the Barnack Leicas' need. Modern, yet old. Medium contrast, high resolution. Unique looking retro styling. Definite signature to the photos. And best of all, only 2,000 of them made!

 

To cut a long story short, why don't you think about picking up the Heliar (assuming that 50mm works for you). They're relatively cheap, for some bizarre reason people seem to think that it's too slow!

 

All the best,

 

Richard

[peter_a__nyc_]

Owen, get a cheap hot shoe adapter. That will give you around a half inch gap to set the

shutter dial.

[owen w.]

Thanks Peter. I'd dug through my gadget boxes, none in hand, but I get the idea.

<p>

To Richard, Oooh, how I'd love that heliar. The only one I've seen is attached to the original body kit and the dealer has marked it up to nearly $1k. That's in Bkk. Any chance you can find another? I, too, would consider that the perfect lens.

[huw_finney]

On my II it needs about 1mm more lift, I see two options in addition to the hotshoe adaptor one (which I like) 1) dismantle the finder (two screws, no springs) and add a spacer to the foot (another two screws) or 2), as you suggested, remove a weeny bit of plastic not with a rasp however but using a hot bit of metal to melt the offending plastic out of the way. Of course you could just guess!

[richard s.]

Owen:

 

well, this could be your lucky day. Saw one for sale in a camera shop here the other day for about $450 I think (need to check on that). With the hood and cap. Can have a look over the weekend if you're interested.

 

Another interesting one to watch out for is the Hexanon 50mm f2,4, but that somehow looks bigger (more volume) and doesn't really match the Barnacks so well. They seem to go for around $800 or so here.

 

Richard

[owen w.]

Gosh, Richard. Would give me another distraction to obsess about, eh? It would give you an excuse to cruise thru the camera shop. Tell me about it, if it falls in your weekend path.

<p>

My favorite hole-in-the-wall shop for Chinese and even cheaper parts is in Yangon. I remember them having adapters. I bought a big clunky one that I fixed to a lanyard for an experiment having a viewfinder 'round my neck. That was a joke.

<p>

Another annoying detail is that you cannot screw the VC15 into the IIIa body IF you have the ORAKO (orange) filter in place, either. Sure, the VC15 isn't range-finder coupled, so it isn't needed. But, it does mean you have to take it off (and risk misplacing it). I don't get all that excited about the 15mm, anyway. I'll fantasize about the heliar...

[jeffpolaski]

The best way to use a VC 15mm is on a VC Bessa L. You are simply buying a film holder, shutter and meter for the lens. And buying it cheaply, I might add.

[Troll]

Voigtlander makes brackets that relocates the accessory shoe so it will no intefere with everything.

[craig_zeni]

- I use the 15 on a IIIa - I am able to adjust the shutter speed. The knob touches the

underside of the finder, but it turns with no resistance...I just got the 12mm lens

yesterday...the finder looks like a big screen tv on top of the IIIa :)

 

As for the Bessa L being cheap - yeah. I bought one on 'bay for $50...

[malcolm_tentt]

Change the f-stop instead?

[dan flanders]

All you need to do is frame your scene with the finder off camera and pick an aiming point, then use the camera's finder to aim and make your picture. Seems complicated at first, but in time you will probably realize how much handier the Barnack is without any accessories hanging on it. In my own case I find it faster than trying to get around the problems you have noted. If on the other hand you don't like that procedure then you can find an extension insert for your VF that will raise it enough to access the speed dial. Though I have well used M's my Barnacks are my pets and I enjoy using them much more than the newer models, despite minor inconveniences.

[owen w.]

I'm such a slow learner. I am still too concerned about metering, so one pocket has a small Sekonic coming in an out of it. The separate VF is another item to keep track of or juggle with, but I've tried this several ways. I tried a lanyard to keep track of external viewfinders (15 or 24), but didn't like the extra cord around my neck, nor the wildly swinging viewfinders when they fell out of a shirt pocket (or I didn't have a shirt pocket). You are completely right that, for the 15, this approach of occasionally pulling out the VF to look around works pretty well. Kinda how I use the 15 with an M or CLE body.

<p>

I know the proper answer: Practice, shoot more, meter less, wide latitude film, secure pocket for VF (or find and try adapter). I'm still in the early stages of learning my Barnack, and unlearning other stuff. Nothing interesting to shoot this week, so I'm only onto my third roll of film. (The 2nd was a Tri-X roll I'll get back next week.) I'm back to color print.

<p>

The 15 is just not a main lens for me. I think I need to figure out the "sweet spot" on the little Summar I have. The distance between the tighter stops is miniscule (and hard to see), and it only stops down to 12.5. An old lesson used to be never shoot a lens wide open or at its tightest aperture. I've learned to shoot wide open a lot, but still rarely choose much below f/8. The Summar image seems to change a lot in the f/2 to f/3.2 range. Soft, but I'm still unclear where it works and when it just looks weak. Given I'm not working very hard at it, this may take a while. (I'm away from family, so no captive subjects to torment.)

<p>

All said, the little IIIa is such a fun gem. Using it does bring its very own pleasures. I am very glad to have succumbed to an impulse to get this, as it's bringing a certain fun back into my photography. And grateful to have Harry and Huw to follow around and ask dumb questions. And, so many others, too. Thanks.

[owen w.]

Craig, Sorry not to respond. <p>

I'm intrigued that you can turn your speed dial with the 15 VF in place. My IIIa wants to have that dial lifted all the way up. Huw also suggested a full 1 mm blockage (which looks right by mine). Is your speed dial worn and turn at, say, half-mast? Just curious that yours doesn't need the clearance mine does. Is the 12mm VF housing bigger, but it is slightly taller, yes? So it may have better clearance than the 15? But, the small TV on IIIa must look quite amusing. I find the 15 VF on top of the IIIa to be curiously disconcerting. The 12 (w/level?) must be a real sight!