Leica III c

[peter_smith30]

Hi

 

I have just inherited a Leica camera circa 1940-50. I think from my research on

the web it is a iiic. I am looking for a technical manual and any info on using

the camera.

 

Peter

[SCL]

Go here for a copy of the manual: www.butkus.org/chinon/leica.htm

[Rob F.]

IIIc is a pretty good guess, for that decade; although the II and IIIb were also being made over part of that period. Give us the serial number on the top, above the accessory shoe, and we can tell you the model. Or, post a picture of it. Congratulations! This is a nice acquisition for you and I'm glad you want to use it.

 

Instructions? Google will find you a copy fast. Try camera manuals online (or something like that). There are several people out there making copies of classic camera manuals available.

 

Info on using: search the photo.net archives with the search engine. The first thing you need to know is to trim the tongue of the film leader out longer (by 10 extra sproket holes) before loading. Actually, if there is a camera store near you with anyone who knows about old screw-mount Leicas, you ought to make a trip there to be shown first-hand. It is a little tricky--but don't let that put you off.

 

The IIIc is my favorite among screw-mount Leicas. I have two of them (so far).

[jim nichols]

I have not seen an on-line manual for the IIIc, but there is one for the IIIf, which covers most of what you need to know. There is one issue in the manual that you should ignore. In the section on rewinding the film, this manual says you should first press the shutter release, then move the lever from A to R. All other manuals, earlier and later, ignore this and it is the consensus of most users that it is unnecessary.

 

The manual can be found at the following link:

 

http://yandr.50megs.com/leica/3f/3f.htm

[andy_piper2]

Someone can correct me if I miss on this - but any "III" Leica can be identified by the fact

that it has two shutter speed dials - one on top for 1/1000 - 1/30th, and one on the front

for 1/15th - 1 sec. Not sure what distinguishes a "c" from an "f" - but I'm sure someone

here does.

 

A IIIc was the first Leica I ever owned - bought from a fellow student in college in 1973

for 100 bucks (including f/3.5 Elmar 50).

 

It is a very pretty piece of mechnical workmanship.

 

I found the biggest practical drawback to the IIIc (which it shares with almost all the other

screw-mount Leicas) was the inability to check shutter operation by looking through the

back (since there is no opening at all - not even the trap-door of the M series). My

shutter, it turned out, was self-capping at speeds 1/250 and faster - and the only way I

found this out was when I got blank or partial exposures at those speeds.

 

No way to just look through the shutter and see what was going wrong. So be sure to try

out all the faster shutter speeds on your first roll, so you know where you stand.

 

And assume you may need to get a general clean and checkup (aka CLA) to get it fully up

and running.

[MTC Photography]

IIIf has flash sync, IIIc no flash sync. Check shutter by taking off

the lens

[apalm]

Remove lens and base, then insert a small piece of white card or paper behind the shutter

where the film is supposed to go. Fire the shutter in a good light and you should be able to

see a flash of white even at faster shutter speeds. With the shutter held open at 'B' or 'T' you

can also check for wisps of lint etc. which will show up against the paper and can be removed

with tweezers.

[andy_piper2]

Martin - you're saying you can tell whether a shutter is actually firing at 1/1000th vs

1/250th by looking in the front of the camera at the shutter against a black pressure plate?

You have a better eye than I did at 20 years old.

 

I check FP shutters for speeds above sync speed by looking through them at a TV set (US-

type) that scans the whole screen in 1/60th sec. The amount of the screen illuminated

becomes a horizontal bar that gets progessively thinner the faster the shutter's actual speed.

[alex_lofquist]

To add to Andy's suggestion, if you wish to get a reasonably accurate check on the actual shutter speeds, using NTSC (USA televisions), the vertical half-scan (interlaced raster) takes a little less than 1/60th sec. Holding the camera horizontally, and photographing at 1/100 sec, the picture should be squeezed down vertically and take up a little more than one half the height of the frame. At 1/200th it'll be a bit more than one fourth of the height. And at 1/500th a little more than one tenth. At 1/1000 it becomes only a sliver, but you may be able to neasure it.

[mike_gillespie]

IIIc s dont have a film reminder on rewind knob, shutter speed dial is smaller on IIIc too