Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Leica III C

I picked up this nice Leica IIIC kit yesterday.  The price was a bit more than I usually pay for my old cameras, but still very reasonable.  The camera came in its original case; on it was mounted the Leitz Elmar f5cm 1:3.5.  The telephoto is a Hektor f=135cm 1:4.5.  The Tewe universal finder works with lenses from 35mm to 135mm.  I already had one of the old Weston bakelite meters, but this one works.

The seller was a very pleasant young woman.  She said the camera had been given to her many years ago by her great grandfather who was a doctor and an African big game hunter.  She never used it because it seemed too complicated, so she decided to pass it on to someone who would appreciate it.

In the camera bag in addition to the original manual were a couple pages of handwritten instructions on the operation of the camera and the telephoto lens.  An import certificate was tucked into a narrow pocket on the back of the camera case.  Everything seems to work properly, so we'll see what kind of pictures it can make for me.

4 comments:

Jim Grey said...

You are fortunate indeed! I look forward to seeing your work with this gear.

Mike said...

My main interest in the kit was the two Leica lenses which I will also be able to use with my IIIa. I do appreciate the surviving integrity of the outfit and the surviving bits of the story of the original owner and his obvious regard for the quality and potential of the camera.

JR Smith said...

What a great find Mike! I had one of these several years ago and shot several rolls with it. I ended up trading it in for my M2. These old Barnack Leicas are really amazing machines once you get past the weird film loading procedure. :-)

Mike said...

That's for sure. As much as I respect the quality workmanship that went into the Barnack Leicas it is the last camera I would recommend for anyone with only a casual interest in picture making.