christopher_junker1

<p>I was given a "no name" Kiev version of the Contax with 1.4 Nikon 50 and a 2.0 Carl Zeiss Sonnar 50 lenses. While the viewfinder is a it squinty, the rangefinder is fast to operate and accurate. It's all manual and you'll need a hand held meter, but it takes great pictures, especially if you like B/W images. For a more modern choice, the Minolta CLE with the 40 f2.0 lens is a great travel camera. See Ken Rockwell's internet review for comprehensive notes on the camera and it's features. I have the simpler Leica CL and use it a lot. The Minolta CLE has features that should make it a nice entry to the rangefinder film experience.</p>

<p>Looks in pretty good shape for an 83 year old Leica and lens. Demo, hire or loaner camera makes sense. Were the III's the first Leica bodies with ball bearing shutters or did you have to upgrade to that?</p>

<p>Anyone remember the Canon Pellix SLR? That was quiet with no mirror slap.</p>

<p>In 1961 I was still taking pictures with my Brownie box camera with 116 size Verichrome Pan. I was then give a Kodak Brownie Starflash 127 size film to take with me on scouting trips. In June 1960 I took my first Leica picture on a IIIg of my dad and sister graduating from college on the same day. I still have all the cameras and the graduation slide from which prints were made. I inherited that IIIg from my Dad and still use it. Marc, this was a great look back, thanks.</p>

<p>Sherry Krauter CLA'd and updated mine which is an early CL. She said there were a lot of internal changes as the CL went though production. The swinging meter arm holds a spot meter so you have to be careful when setting the meter needle. The rangefinder base is the shortest of all the M mount bodies but works ok especially with the 40 Summicron and a 35 Summaron. I've wasted a lot of film trying to use it with a 90 lens, too hard to focus. I kept the 50 lines as I like the area around it to be able to center moving subjects. The shutter release is now much better than before it went in for cleaning and updating, but I still use one of Tom A"s softie release buttons. When I travel it is my backup camera to an M3 and gets used when the light is tricky or failing. Sort of a meter for the M3. Nice carry around all day camera as it is very light. I've had mine for over 35 years and once rebuilt it has proved to be very reliable.</p>

<p>Gus Lazarri is about 3 months behind.</p>

<p>With reference to Wendell Kelly's comments, here is a bit more depth. The Leicaflex has external metering that takes size 625 batteries for which you'll need a Cris Adapter so silver oxide batteries @1.5 volts will be dropped down to 1.35 v for accurate metering. Although the Leicaflex has just a ground glass focusing screen, it is very bright with good eye relief. I use it with a 50 Summicron R and have had outstanding results. In very bright sunlight on snow, the 1/2000 shutter speed is useful. My purpose for keeping it is that it has a mirror lockup that I use when I mount a 21mm f3.5 Super Angulon R lens. However I have to use an auxiliary finder. The shutter release is one of the nicest I've used. Build quality? Like an "M" inside a SLR body. I still keep my two Honeywell Spotmatics in good shape as the spot meter is dead accurate and the 50 1.4 Takumar first version lens is outstanding. On a tripod the Pentax balances well with telephoto lenses. Well built camera, just not as smooth and quiet as a Leica.</p>

<p>Thirty years ago I wrestled with the same choices. As a result my three most frequently used 50 lenses are a late 60's Summilux, early 70's Summicron and a late 60's Canon f1.4 50. They are used on three bodies; M3, M4-2 and CL. Due to the M3's very bright 50 viewfinder making it easy to focus, I have my best results with the Summilux. The Canon is used on the M4-2 as I like the light weight. For moving subjects the 35 viewfinder on the M4-2 helps frame the Canon 50, it will work the same way on your M2. The Summicron, due to it's small size is a nice match for the light and small CL and gives great results. If cost is not an object and you need the low light speed, I'd go for the Summilux. If cost is a critical issue, but you still want to do low light work, I'd look for a good Canon f1.4 with a Leica 50 LTM-M mount adapter. If you don't do much low light work, I suggest the Summicron. The above comments on the Summarit f1.5 50 are accurate. I use it with B/W stopped down and always use a hood. It gives a slightly soft vintage image when printed using Tri-X.</p>

<p>Good shots Mukul, that 1.4 Canon works well for you. Your images give us a look at a slice of Indian culture we rarely, if ever, see. Thank you.</p>

<p>Please let us know how this works out for you. I have the same lens in Nikon.Contax mount and like it due to the classic images, and lens small size. Excellent indoor candid phot lens. Wish I had it in LTM mount, I'd have a lot more work for it. </p>

<p>In 1934 my Dad bought a used Leica Standard when he first went to work for Eastman Kodak and I have a Leica "selfie" of him using the camera. I am fortunate to have inherited his Leicas. He was well aware of the pre WWII Jewish refugee problem as EK had connections with both Zeiss and Leitz and a trickle of refugees came to Rochester. Our neighbors and family friends in Rochester were very lucky to get to the US through Italy in the spring of 1939. Dr. Franz Urbach was a research physical chemist in Vienna who had developed a phosphor that reacted to infrared light. The University of Rochester's Optics Department originated by Dr. Rudolf Kingslake and headed during the war by Dr. Brian O'Brien were trying to develop a viewing scope and camera system that could see through camoflage and detect hot metal underneath. The U of R project team knew of Urbach's research but had no idea of what had happened to him and needed his work. By pure good fortune, he had entered the US and eventually been placed as a lab assistant in the U of R physics department and the department head mentioned to one of O'Brien's staff that they had a research physical chemist named Urbach working as a lab assistant but didn't know what to do with him. After determining he was the same Urbach for whom they were looking, he was immediately hired to work on the project that resulted in the Metascope, an infrared optical system using Urbach developed infrared sensors. See online biography of Dr. Brian O'Brien.<br> It turns out that a number of refugee Jewish academics and optical workers ended up at the U of R, Kodak, Bausch & Lomb, Graflex and Wollensak through efforts to place these individuals in meaningful positions. Post war, Dr. Urbach was hired by Kodak and worked at EK research until his retirement in the late 60's. See references to his 1953 Urbach Rule which remains important to the development of semi-conductor materials.<br> I've read and own both of the books mentioned and have mentioned them to Dr. Urbach's daughter who was not aware of either the Leitz effort or her father's contributions.<br> Like others, I greatly value the background of the Leitz family and proudly use my Dad's Leicas (and mine) to this day. Hopefully my grandchildren will come to value them as I do. </p> <p> </p>

<p>I have used several of the mentioned individuals for Leica repair work. Fortunately I've been able to discuss what the cameras (and lenses) needed prior to contracting for repairs. The discussions have helped identify the problems and resulted in fine work being done. The services involved cameras and lenses that were 40-60 years old and none were in collector condition. Sherry K. has a reputation of being not only a skilled repair person, but an expert with the Leica CL series. I was willing to pay extra for her internal upgrade parts and services. Before Leica stopped LTM repairs, I sent a IIIf in for CLA with the understanding it was to be used for winter, very cold usage. At that time Leica would prepare a camera for extreme cold usage and it has worked well for that purpose. John van Stelten at Focal Point did good work to clean condensation out of a nice Elmar 50 2.8 and restored a scratched 50 1.5 Summarit to usable condition. I am happy to say all repairs were done at agreed upon cost, in the time promised and have held up over the years since. Now I have a IIIg that is one of the first 100 made and a user heirloom with an interesting motor sports history well known to Leica. I've known of the camera since new. The camera and it's Leicavit have seen over 2000 rolls of film in professional usage and it shows in the patina and wear. Once I've set aside the $$ to have both CLA'd, I'll be talking to one of the mentioned individuals about the process for the internal restoration to Leica factory specifications.<br> The above is to illustrate that the skills necessary to bring old Leica equipment back to Leica specifications require the same type of skills and work enviornments that high grade watch repair people have acquired through schools, apprenticeships and experience. Top camera and lens repair technicians have very specialized training and knowledge and have acquired the necessary diagnostic equipment, lubricants and tools to properly do your repairs. I applaud their willingness to continue applying their skilled professions on our behalf as I'll need their help in 2015.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Bela, the f1.5 50 Sonnar is a Zeiss lens, so Leica lenses are still perfectly made. Bob, the lens mount engineering on the 4 element Elmar f3.5 50 goes much further back than the 50's. Max Berek and the Leitz works designed the lens in the 1920's so we are still using a lens with a design and construction dating back 90 years. Post WWII the Elmar's have coated lens elements so the above advice to send it out for a professional CLA will be money well spent as you got it free anyway. The Elmar 3.5 50 takes marvelous color images.</p>

<p> A Leica IIIg. Leicavit with nice f3.5 Elmar. My dad bought it from 1950's Road & Track photographer Alex Lafontant, a personal friend. It is worn, with a couple of small dents, vulcanite chipped, strap marks but the memories and racing pictures behind the camera and lens make me smile every time I pick it up. I also have the box of Leica casettes that came with it as Alex loaded and developed his own film. </p>

<p>What did he charge for his services?</p>

<p>Mukul, you are correct with your depth of field comment. There is a very good chance that the focal lengths of your Jupiter and Canon lens differ which will effect depth of field. There may also be a difference between what you believe is in focus via the rangefinder and what focal point actually hits the film plane corners due to possible focal point shift. That aside, I did a test like yours years ago using an M3, various LTM 50 lenses, a Leitz LTM/M converter and a new 50 Summicron M as a control lens. Ignoring what actually was in focus or not as they were all set at infinity, the most noticeable difference was in contrast. From oldest to newest: f3.5 Elmar(uncoated), f1.5 Summarit (coated, scratched and dirty), f3.5 Elmar©, f2.8 Elmar©, f2.0 Summicron(ver.1 C), F1.4 Canon©, f1.4 Summilux M© and the control rigid Summicron. The exposures were done at f5.6 and f8. All lenses had hoods. The uncoated Elmar and Summarit were as expected, lowest in contrast with the Summarit far the worst followed by the three Elmars. As a result I had John van Stelten polish and recoat the Summarit front element, rebuilt the lens and although noticeably improved it's still low in contrast. The collapsible Summicron, Canon, and Summilux were all very close in that order just slightly behind the new rigid Summicron. Not scientific with so many variables, but the contrast comparisons were much broader than I had expected. All except the Elmars and the Summarit see regular use on the M3.</p>

<p>With the above posts in mind, there is a wide angle Leica alternative that is hundreds of dollars cheaper than the suggestions. Consider the Leica CL with the 40mm Summicron f2.0 lens. It even has a built in meter that when working is accurate. The 40mm Summicron is tack sharp. There is also a Minolta CLE which is an advanced version that still uses Leica M mount lenses. The CL and Minolta CLE both use the standard M bayonet mount which means you can mount any additional M or Leica Thread Mount lenses using the M adapters. Often thought of as a Leica stepchild, I've had very good results after Sherry Krauter rebuilt mine with upgraded parts and a new meter. Although the viewfinder shows the 40mm lines, the entire viewfinder image area covers the 50mm field.</p>

<p>If your favorite focal length is 50mm, you may wish to look for a user M3 as the viewfinder is designed for that focal length and the image is almost 100%. Its very bright finder makes composing and focusing easy even in low light and I can even use it wearing glasses. In addition to 50mm the viewfinder also has bright image lines for 90 and 135mm focal lengths. If you shoot a fair amount of 35mm focal length, the M4-2 is a good choice as the finder has 35mm bright lines and the body I use for 35mm focal length work. A 50mm Summicron in good repair is a great B&W lens on any of the described bodies. Welcome back to film.</p>

<p>For M4 loadinig I use both Alex and John's comments. With 36 exposure rolls, I also make sure to backwind with the rewind crank to put a slight tension on the film leader before I reset the advance/rewind lever. The tension helps to keep the film fully seated in the wind sprockets and you will be able to see if the film is correctly loaded as the rewind crank will move as you shutter release advance the leader. I've never had a problem with the M4-2 when using a baseplate winder as there appears to be a guide rail to help seat the film leader. </p>

<p>You received good solid advice from the above posters. As noted, it can be fully restored as can the lens. George Milton rebuilt two old Leica Meters for me with new cells but modern hand held meters are more accurate. There is a chance your camera might have been put away with film in it, pull up the small rewind knob on the left hand side of the body and if there is any resistance when you backwind, there may very well be film remaining in the camera. The lightmeter indicates it is set at ASA 6 which back in the 1950's could have been a color slide film or fine grain black and white. There is an onlne owners guide to Leica M3s which will tell you how to remove film. You have an all time classic great camera and the 50 Summicron lens, once cleaned up remains a very high quality lens. Your parents bought one of the very best cameras and lenses available in the early fifties. </p>

<p>It takes a little getting used to two viewfinder magnifications, but I practiced and now use both an M3 and an M4-2 with both eyes open. The M3 with either a Summicron or Summilux 50 is so easy to use right eyed. Leaving both eyes open I find less tiring than trying to shoot with one closed.</p>

<p>Edward, Thanks for your post. Your comments really helped as I've just had eye surgery and everything vision wise has changed for camera use. My laser pointer will be getting new batteries and going into my camera bag.</p>

<p>Robin, Eddie's almost looks like Kodak yellow. Nice shot. JDM, nice to see someone else is using a "Kiev" Contax II. It's long base accurate rangefinder makes up for the squinty viewfinder and less than smooth shutter release. On mine, Tom A's "softie" shutter release button made a big improvement in shutter release control. Really good week for everyone, thanks.</p>

<p>Paul, glad you found a good home for the "pass it on" Leica items. I hope she is amenable to your visits with old Leica friends. As for screw mount Leicas, I just finished running a roll through my IIIg/Leicavit/50 Summicron collapsible with the addition of a 50 finder. Perfect for me being a lefty with small hands. Perhaps she will visit this forum from time to time.</p>

<p>Allan, nice shot. The focus appears right on even without the auxilary rangefinder. The Leica Standard is doing well for a senior citizen of 80.</p>