mark_ehlers Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 I picked up a Leica IIIf RD off ebay last week. It arrived today! Can't wait to get a roll shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summitar Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 looks to be in very fine condition. Congrats. Now keep calm as you attempt to load film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtdnyc Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Looks like a beauty. I'd be interesting in hearing how you compare the shooting experience with using an M camera -- not so much the results, which depend more on the era of the glass, but the how user-friendly the camera is in actual use. Good luck with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronald_moravec1 Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Looks like mine which is going on an outing tomorrow morning. Digi cam is staying home Trim the leader back 21 holes and let 1/8 inch full width stick out from the cartridge. Attach to take up, take slack out. wind advance and see that film is pulling. Put the bottom on and finish that frame and two more blanks and you are good to go. Forget the rest of the schemes to load film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon_bruxelles Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Don't be disheartened if the first roll doesn't produce the results you are hoping for. My experience, learnt the hard way, is that there are very few vintage Leica lenses that won't benefit from a clean and service. In fact, if you are on a budget it's better to spend the money on a service than pay the premium for one the merely looks good. The same goes for the camera, as the rangefinder image is often cloudy but can be transformed. I recently bought a Summaron 35 that looked clean but produced washed out results. I was going to sell the lens but decided instead to have it serviced by Malcolm Taylor. The result is some of the crispest, sharpest images I've seen from any lens. The other piece of advice is to get the 50mm accessory finder which clips into the hot shoe as there hasn't been a camera made that has a better viewfinder. After a few shots the need to focus and compose in separate viewfinders becomes second nature. Not only will you get used to it, but you will miss the magnified image and resent the clutter of other viewfinders when you pick up any other camera. Good luck, Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luis triguez Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Mark, Congrats. That Summitar from 1946 looks nice too. Don`t forget to acquire a hood for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_neuthaler Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Enjoy -- I love mine (& get the viewfinder!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_baker6 Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Nice strap--anyone know where to get one like it???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summitar Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 IMHO and also my wild imagination, using a screwmount Leica is sorta like dating Paris Hilton. Awfully attractive, but you have to put up with a lot of inconvenience, and you never know if it/she is going to love back. But you will be hanging out with a celebrity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw12dz Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Enjoy and take pictures! One word of warning. They can become very addictive and owning just one will not be enough! You will soon want to collect and use other models of the Barnack. At 3am in the morning you will be searching the big auction site for various lenses to compliment your screwmounts. And in the end you will even pawn your mother's/wife's jewelery in order to get a fix! Welcome to the "Dark Side". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_elder1 Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 A Leica 111F or 111C is very well suited for a VC21mm , VC25, or VC 28mm 3.5 Lens. You don't even need the rangefinder. Zone focus and shoot. I have a VC21mm permananently attached to my Barnack and it is quick to shoot. Here is a solution to those using a 21mm on a Leica screwmount. As you know there is almost no space between frames, so instead of trying to cut between exposed frames, I skip every 6th frame. I shoot 35 frames to the roll and skip frames 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30. Its a hell of alot easier than cutting a space that has less width than your scissors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blowingsky Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 I had that same rig in Milano in '84 and it did me well. My lens was relatively soft and lower contrast, but that was a good thing. It's a very expressive set up. Any fuss you go through to load or adjust the camera only draws you closer to the conscious act of photography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 It's beautiful! (I think, perhaps, even prettier than mine with the self-timer. DRAT!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chromatic-aberration Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 Paris Hilton probably isn't the best analogy... If it was, they'd have gone out of style well before the Great Depression, and they'd have problems with the bottoms dropping off and exposing their film from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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