Leica IIIb + elmar 5cm for 600 CAD

[LeicaFoReVer]

I was in an auction today for a leica IIIb which was from a collection of an old photographer in Brighton, ON. I was expecting I could buy it for around 150-200 CAD and have it fixed and enjoy but no!!

The starting price was 100 CAD and in 5 sec it was sold for 600 CAD! Isnt it crazy?? I had a quick look the camera but not throughly. It seems ok physically but I am sure It needs CLA as the viewfinder was foggy and etc...

I dont think people were so much aware of the photo equipment but it was the respect for Leica name...

Do you think this set worth of that much money even in bad condition?

[Al Kaplan]

No, I don't, but there's no telling what somebody might pay.

[LeicaFoReVer]

I think the same, it was crazy! According to my search on internet the IIIb (serial number 323xxx) plus elmar 5cm is max ~500$ in expensive stores in germany...

[colyn]

Most buy the IIIb because they think (??) it's only collectible and not for use. Me on the other hand....I still use mine..

[easyrider]

I have a IIIb. I will sell it for $600. :D

It still works. I think $150 is a more likely price at any of the Toronto camera shows. Obviously, funny things happen at auctions, especially in Brighton, Ontario.

[LeicaFoReVer]

easyrider, please let me know if there will be any future auctions or camera show in Toronto!! I am new to the area so I dont have connections. Where can I find information?

[Vince Lupo]

While living in Toronto, I found many of the shops that had Leica equipment to be asking nutty prices (like Henrys and Vistek, who now seem to be the only ones left!), so it doesn't entirely surprise me.

Back in the '80s and early 90's things were much more plentiful in that town (i.e. when Gallery Cameras, ALT Cameras, Broadway Photo, Toronto Camera and Queen Street Camera all existed), but maybe their scarcity in camera shops has driven the prices up?

I've never seen a Leica at an actual auction (at least not in my area!), so I can't speak to the prices they fetch that environment.

[Dave Wilkinson]

Most buy the IIIb because they think (??) it's only collectible and not for use. Me on the other hand....I still use mine.. - I still use my treadle-power fret saw! :D

[john neal]

Collectors think IIIb's are rare and desireable - maybe they are, to collectors.

They are no better than any other III series body, just less plentiful. let the collectors pay the silly money for them and leave the IIIc's to us users ;)

[Graybeard]

It is possible that the purchaser had no photographic or collecting interests at all and actually was an antique dealer or would-be speculator with an somewhat inflated idea of the value of the camera. The Leica name is known in the antique world, and often little else.

I once stood next to a buyer at a flea market who shelled out $400 for a dirty IIIA without ever attmpting to fire the shutter or extend the lens (looked to be an Elmar but it was hard to tell as the buyer didn't remove the lens cap either).

On another ocassion, at the same flea market, I was looking at a Speed Graphic 4x5 outfit. Someone came up and asked me if it was a Leica.

[BillBingham2]

Collectors think IIIb's are rare and desireable - maybe they are, to collectors......

I wonder about my IIIa, should be worth more than a IIIb, it's older!

Just one of those blips in the market, the luck bugger who sold it.

B2 (;->

[LeicaTom]

Collectors think IIIb's are rare and desireable - maybe they are, to collectors.

They are no better than any other III series body, just less plentiful. let the collectors pay the silly money for them and leave the IIIc's to us users ;)

Hahhaahaha! yeah, John,

.....see what we need to let them know is the "K" stands for
KAPUTT :D
and that any IIIC`s with a K behind the serial number and on the shutter curtain, they should just send to either one of us for permanent evaluation, we`ll send them a few bucks for the old junk! ;) LOL!!!!

Tom