peter_j._hanlon1

Saint John, New Brunswick (east coast of Canada)

Bill, for all intents and purpose they are the same. I have a Leica C and a Leica IIIa and yes I wear glasses. I can see no difference between the two viewfinders.

Greg,you have one of two possibilities: first, is the very early Summarons were made without "eyes" for M3's and bring up 50 frame AND work with the rangefinder BUT need an auxilary viewfinder; second is you have a lens that originally had the "eyes" but someone removed them, this will NOT work correctly with the rangefinder. The later lenses without "eyes" brought up the 35 frames and worked with rangefinder.

The answer lies in how orders were transmitted to factory from around

the world in the 1920's , 30's , etc. They are a short way to send by

cable (telegraph) a clear description of all the order in as short a

method as possible (therby saving on telegram cost). In the very

early catalogues they were described as such a code.

Bernd, there is only one place I've used to service my vintage Leica

gear and they're in Canada - Gerry Smith at Kindermann. I have no

hesitation in refering people to him - good work and an honest

fellow.As for the Summar, I currently have two and would suggest that

given their value, for a lens to use, it would be more cost effective

to purchase a "used" one in good shape rather than re-condition

yours. But, talk to someone like Mr. Smith and they can advise on

costs.

Just came back from a short visit in town. Shot some pics with Leica

C s/n 59000's circa 1931 with Elmar of same vintage. I am the third

owner of this camera, previous owner purchased it second hand in

London during WW2 and it was his regular camera until I acquired it.

I run a roll through it roughly 3 times a year, works wonderfully and

makes me slow down and enjoy photography.

I currently am living in the middle of a snow storm - Saint John, New

Brunswick, Canada. Greetings to the folks from Montreal et environs,

with any luck (if busses keep running) will be there tomorrow morning

to see Salon d'auto at the Big Owe.

When you put the lens hood on reversed, the needed cap is a 14033 to

fit over the "base" of the reversed hood and therefore cover or "cap"

your lens.

If Toronto Canada isn't too far for you, try Gerry Smith @

Kindermann. He does excellent work and if you call ahead he often can

turn the camera around very fast (days).

I use 3 different systems, LSM's for fun and M & N(ikon) for serious

stuff. My inclination is to try to have complimentary systems (better

bang for the buck) rather than simply duplicate lens'. For the M4-P I

have 35-50-90.For the N I use 28-50-200 with closeup tubes and 2power

multiplyer to give added flexibility. The only lens that is

duplicated is 50 and it is so handy that I don't feel it wastes $'s.

For anyone who wears glasses and shoots with a LTM camera, the reason

for the viewfinder (even with a 50) is simply that the auxillary

finders present a larger and easier to see image. If I remember the

image correctly the shooter does not wear glasses but even for those

with good eyesite the use of an aux. finder allows quicker framing.

One manufacturer of such style finders was Walz (looks a lot like the

one in the picture).

To our neighbours in the USA, our thoughts & prayers are with you

this evening. I spent the afternoon with our Emergency Measures

Group, preparing for flights redirected and to ensure that people

arriving on cruise ship from States arriving in our harbour would be

met by people trained to assist in such grief. This evening my family

attended church and offered our prayers to the families affected by

such horrible events. All peoples are affected by such terrible

events. We must strive to make the world better for our children.

Jeff, with either of the problem lens mounted, focus at infinity,

then run the focus all the way to 1 meter. Watch the bright frames,

if the weak side seems to come and go in intensity, then the internal

adjustment on the mask is a little off. I noticed this with my M 4-P

and mentioned it to the folks at Kindermann the last time I had it

serviced. They paid special attention to cleaning / adjusting the

finder and the problem is now gone.

Good day! I'm a civil engineer by profession. Been shooting photos

since grade 8. By 1972 I had sold enough of them to buy my first

Leica (secondhand M3 with dual range Summicron). Currently use Leica

C, IIIa, and M4-P (and sometimes borrow my wifes Nikon FE).

Unfortunately, I haven't set up the darkroom in just over twenty

years (but I've kept all the gear and will set it up someday).

Enrique, I had a similar problem a number of years ago with a M3.

Dispite the collar around the lens release button, I would sometimes

find the lens ready to fall off. My simple solution was to remove the

button (M3 had a screw in the middle of the button), check that the

tab was rectangular & not too worn smooth), stretch the spring a

little, reassemble and very slightly bend tab up so it clearly

engages lens. If I recall the M4 the button was very much the same

without the collar.

Jorge,

From my last trip to Montreal, there is no good choice there (the

place I used to use closed a number of years ago) but if you get to

Toronto or even Ottawa the selection improves. In Toronto try Vistek

or Alt, both are on Queen St. In Ottawa, try Camera Exchange 2 on

Bank St. All of these companies have web sites and I've delt with

each.I have no problems to report with any.