Wonderful Leica IIIf Restoration

[jackm1]

<p>In February I inherited my late grandfather's 1951 Leica IIIf with Elmar 5cm f/3.5 lens. The shutter material had failed, the slow speeds didn't work at all, and the shutter dragged in some of the normal speeds. The rangefinder focusing image was very dim and barely usable. After reading Ken Rockwell's excellent article on the IIIf, I sent my camera off to The Great Gus Lazzari at TLC Camera Repair. I was quoted a reasonable price and 9 weeks turnaround. This turned into about 16 weeks, but it was worth the wait. The camera functions as well as it must have in 1951. The rangefinder is as-new - bright, accurate, and easy to use, and all the knobs and levers operate smoothly. The shutter is accurate and snappy. The camera is a joy to use and produces fantastic results. I'm sure my grandfather is happy that his prized camera has new life and is being enjoyed as it should.<br>

<br /> Thank you Gus!!</p>

<p>For some sample images from my test roll of Ektar 100, you can check out this little comparison I did between my Canon 5DII and the IIIf - with the Elmar and a Summicron 50/2 I picked up off ebay:</p>

<p>www.jmphotocraft.com/leica/leica.htm</p>

<p> </p>

[Sanford]

<p>I had a IIIF with a 50mm Summitar for a while. The problem is, once you own a camera like that, nothing you have after it is ever quite a nice, even the M's. The kind of camera you can examine under a loop - flawless!</p>

[michaelging]

<p>That is a nice demonstration that shows off the quality of the cameras and lenses as well as the person who took them. Thanks for sharing them. </p>

 

[Rick_van_Nooij]

<p>Sounds like Gus did a great job on your IIIf. The results speak for themselves.<br>

Thanks for sharing!</p>

<p>One of my Leica bodies needs to be overhauled one of these days. I've recently acquired a Leica IIIa (which was factory-converted with a flash socket somewhere in the 1950s) but the Rangefinder halfmirror is rather weak. And I think I've spotted a few pinholes.</p>

<p>Worst thing to do to a Leica, is to not use it.</p>

[paul_neuthaler]

<p>The wonderful, old Leica ltm's are edible. I chew on my 5 different models all the time -- delicious.</p>

[jackm1]

<p>Thanks all. Here's a shot of the camera pre-restoration:<br>

<img src="http://g3.img-dpreview.com/EB7EB06C19E04AEDA44D7BEC8E210372.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667" /></p>

<p>And here's a sample from the little comparison I did here: http://www.jmphotocraft.com/leica/leica.htm<br>

<img src="http://www.jmphotocraft.com/leica/cron_boat.JPG" alt="" /></p>

[steve_levine]

<p>The amazing thing is that you'll be able to leave it to your grandkids (assuming that film is still made).</p>

[Troll]

<p>I love my IIIf RD/ST, purchased new my first year in college.<br>

Your findings confirm my own observations.</p>

[fred_haeseker]

<p>I have the same camera and lens, from the same year. It was my father's, and the first serious 35mm camera I had a chance to use. Still going strong, a wonderful outfit for street photography.</p>

[aplumpton]

<p>I love my IIIf converted IIIc (c1948) for its small size and high build quality, but find the small VF the only down side to it (While I recognize its greater reliability, the Leica thread mount camera was years behind Zeiss in regard to a larger magnification less squinty VF with combined RF patch and longer base length RF mechanism. But the Leica LTM is a handier camera in operation in my humble opinion).</p>

[paul_neuthaler]

<p>Here's my baby -- clean as a whistle!</p><div></div>

[jackm1]

<p>Nice one Paul! And thanks for all the responses.</p>