Nicca Porn

[flip]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2318/3844642744_eeab1a61f8_o.jpg

IIIL + Universal Finder

[gerbilthemistake]

beautiful camera...there's a little curly-q on the left side of the book :)

[bawang]

here's a little curly-q on the left side of the book :)

I can't help it but --- > :)

[flip]

watermark ;-)

[flip]

They are indeed hens' teeth. Excellent paralax-correct 50 ramelines in a 1:1 combined viewfinder. It's like an uber-barnack in some ways. I'm glad I bought them in spite of the occasional Yashica YF chintzy faceplate comments. This thing is a tank. It confirmed my impresion about Nicca: they made great quality gear but were bought by a more cost-conscious competitor, Yashica. [I say "them" - I have 2 IIIL's for which I fought some nasty bid-wars. (^-^)v I'll likely sell the other to fund the purchase of more esoteric camera purchases. :-D]

The universal finder isn't bad either. I wish it had framelines, but it is parallax-correcting and covers all but the very wide lenses nicely.

[flip]

They're not too common in Japan, either. I've seen 3 and bought 2 of them. One site says that YF's are #'d 450xxx - 49xxxx. Another, http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://corsopolaris.net/supercameras/nicca/nicca.html&ei=73hkSq-dFYzq6AOsm82eDw&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=3&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dnicca%2B3l%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26c lient%3Dopera%26rls%3Den%26hs%3DaVE, indicates relative numbers of 10000 vs 2000. Who knows? I just know that I like to shoot 50mm LTM lenses and this is a nice fit. :-)

In fairness to the Yashica, I have never handled one. I'd like to, though.

[mlangley]

Here's mine...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3193/3027756520_c88d954f96.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3245/3026921783_10a18faee6.jpg

[Al Kaplan]

Yashica bought out Nicca to get the focal plane shutter machinery, which they then used in their first SLR. I think it was called a Pentamatic. I had a YF for awhile in the early 60's but it only had 50 and 100mm frames and they both were a bit undersized.

[flip]

Yashica bought out Nicca to get the focal plane shutter machinery, which they then used in their first SLR. I think it was called a Pentamatic. I had a YF for awhile in the early 60's but it only had 50 and 100mm frames and they both were a bit undersized.

Thanks for the info. I read the description on CQ and was intrigued. The framelines seemed like a potential advantage (in terms of flexibility) or disadvantage (clutter), but it's hard to know without giving it a test-drive.

It's a beautiful camera in that picture above....

[digitalintrigue]

I just picked up this one, said to be unused...we'll see when it arrives. ;)

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/5/4/9/8/4/4/webimg/288578978_o.jpg

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/5/4/9/8/4/4/webimg/288619057_o.jpg

[NiccaFile]

My trusty old Nikon D50 with it's small but mighty AFS 18mm F1.8 is on loan (It always is), and the D90/AFS 105mm VR, just is
way too big for the backpack. Therefore, I had to take this old girl out for a walk. The results were very good.
I might even buy a roll or two of non-WalMart film next week.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost-classifieds/data/3/large/DSC_5842.jpg

[tennis-joe]

I have three Niccas/Tower cameras and I love them. Not as silent as Leica IIIf's that I have but just as good for taking pictures.
Joe

I have increased my inventory to 5 Tower/Niccas.

[digitalintrigue]

They don't come any better than this...from the looks of the inside bottom plate, I'm not sure this one has ever had film...this is as it was received. Just a bit of leather dust here and there from the case...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2641/3815673776_9328a569c0_o.jpg


More pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjagitsch/sets/72157622022064132/

[mabelsound]

watermark ;-)

No, further left, there appears to be a pube lying there. This is what your clone tool is for, people!

And no, I don't mean that "clone tool"

[tooffy]

Here's mine:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2485/3982868785_1acd56a0d9.jpghttp://farm4.static.flickr.com/3491/3982862399_325dc5dcc4.jpg

[kshapero]

I would say the Nicca 5L is the ultimate screw type mount camera.
http://www.cameraquest.com/jpg5/nicca1.jpg

http://www.cameraquest.com/jpg5/nicca3.jpg

http://www.cameraquest.com/jpg5/nicca5.jpg

No Leica screw type had these features.

[flip]

I have a couple of 5Ls - a tower and a nicca. The only drawback I have found is incompatibility with leica accessories. But I guess that fights GAS. :)

[ZorkiKat]

Got this as a junker with missing parts, and fixed it to working condition:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs050.ash2/35865_399706244233_632264233_4324821_3073798_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs119.snc4/36337_400256954233_632264233_4338303_1060500_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs049.ash2/35815_401284054233_632264233_4368486_650032_n.jpg

Replaced the shutter. Most the of the critical parts were there. The missing parts came from surplus FED, Zorki, and even Leica parts. The perfectly fitting baseplate was from a FED.

[SimonSawSunlight]

Got this as a junker with missing parts, and fixed it to working condition:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs050.ash2/35865_399706244233_632264233_4324821_3073798_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs119.snc4/36337_400256954233_632264233_4338303_1060500_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs049.ash2/35815_401284054233_632264233_4368486_650032_n.jpg

Replaced the shutter. Most the of the critical parts were there. The missing parts came from surplus FED, Zorki, and even Leica parts. The perfectly fitting baseplate was from a FED.


very nice =)

[richreidjr]

how much should I expect to pay for a Nicca in decent condition?

[dexdog]

I recently acquired a Nicca IIIL, as seen in the first post on this thread (thanks, Flip).

Can anyone tell me how to extend the black rewind knob at the left edge of the camera? I have seen an old Japanese brochure that shows the knob extended. I am able to spin the knob in a clock-wise direction, but that it about it so far.

Thanks!

[farlymac]

Just grip it, and pull up. I've got the YF, but it's been so long since I used it, I can't rememebr if you need to pull it all the way until it clears the top deck of the camera, or just half way. I need to send it to Mark Hama for an overhaul.

PF

Sorry, just realised Yashica changed the design of the rewind, so I have no idea how it works on a IIIL.

[Kent]

OMG! They really look like a Barnack! (Not the one in the first pic, though.) ;)

[farlymac]

Here is what Yashica did to the IIIL. Granted, mine has a Canon lens on it.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6168/6198120251_9d7a14acd8_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7699588@N07/6198120251/)
Yashica YF (NICCA) with Canon 50mm f1.8 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7699588@N07/6198120251/) by br1078phot (http://www.flickr.com/people/7699588@N07/), on Flickr

PF

[L David Tomei]

I love this 1954 Nicca 3S and especially the then optional f/1.4 Nikkor-S lens.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8014/6991837220_0ab2d79b1a_b.jpg

[astro8]

Tony, that is a beautiful camera.

[flip]

Just grip it, and pull up....

Sorry, just realised Yashica changed the design of the rewind, so I have no idea how it works on a IIIL.

It works differently.

On the IIIL, you need to roll your thumb against the edge of the knob and camera in such a way as to rotate the knob clockwise. After a few rolls, it will come up on its own. A reverse action lowers it.


The 100% 1:1 viewfinder of the IIIL is great - like a dedicated 50mm version of the Canon P finder, but with projected lines.

I mostly use a Tower 5 with Diax 35 1:1 finder and Hexanon glass as my daily. Just another great Nicca camera.

[dexdog]

Thanks, Flip. I tried this method a number of times, but could not get the knob to pop up. After some careful investigations of the rewind knob and internal film rewind forks, I am pretty sure that the spring the lifts the knob is missing, or not installed correctly. I have sent the camera to Ken Ruth for an overhaul and repair.

[L David Tomei]

Tony, that is a beautiful camera.
Thanks Greg. These Nicca's are jewels.