Pimped Leica III

[geebeewien]

So I just got a new beautiful toy from a garage sale:



According to the Serial Nr. 128930 it is a Leica III from 1934. It is a nickle version and coming with an nickle Elmar without S/N.

But throughout its life the camera got some upgrades:

- upgraded shutter speed to 1/1000th (IIIa), unfortunately coming with a chrome shutter speed dial
- upgraded flash synchronization. Interestingly the synch-numbers are directly on the rangefinder housing, and not on a separate plate as it was done with chrome upgrades. So maybe also the rangefinder housing has been replaced with that upgrade?

Basic operation is fine, and all works, but when the camera was disassembled I noticed that the first shutter curtain is showing quite a few holes. I don't feel comfortable replacing them myself yet, so it will go to Will van Manen....

The Elmar is surprisingly clean and shows only a very tiny amount of haze, but it feels as if the felt that puts friction on the lens barrel is missing....So I think also that one will go for a CLA

But all in all I am quite happy, especially as the black ones are not so super-common

[geebeewien]

Closer inspection of the top cover inscription seems to harden the evidence that the rangefinder cover has been replaced at some point:

It carries the old S/N but it says

Leica
DBP
Ernst Leitz
Gmbh
Wetzlar
Germany

in a modern font, and in front of the S/N it says Nr instead of No.

[FrankS]

A garage sale? Wow. How much, if I may ask?

[John Shriver]

The top cover was obviously replaced at the factory in the III to IIIf upgrade. Of course the shutter mechanism is probably IIIa, not IIIc/IIIf.

Any black screwmount Leica with 1/1000 top shutter speed is a nice camera.

[xayraa33]

The VF window surround is of the later IIIa type.

[Dralowid]

Nice. Postwar factory conversion to IIIa syn (Erik will confirm nomenclature)

You should move this to the 'Conversions' thread.

Michael

[Simon Bruxelles]

Yes it's a Leica IIIa syn (synchronised). The original camera was a 1934 III which was upgraded in the factory in the late 40s/early 50s. What a nice find!

[geebeewien]

Thanks all! Shutter defenitely remainde IIIa, as the slow speed escapement is still of that "plugin" type...

Frank, it was not garage sale type cheap, the guy knew that a leica is not something to throw away, but I paid EUR 150 which seemed fair, and it also included 3 A36 yellow filters (1-3) + 3 A19 Elpros in their original boxes...

[Simon Bruxelles]

That was a fair price given that the service, lens clean and replacement curtain will cost you as much again - something often forgotten when putting a value to an old camera!

[L David Tomei]

A wonderful find. Congratulations. It appears to have been upgraded some time after late 1953 (when inclusion of GMBH was mandated by German law) but it retains the early shutter speed progression (IIIa). Note that the engraving is filled with paint, as well, and not the metal filling (niello).
Also, it's hard to tell from the images of the camera but it appears that there is some separation of the rear two lenses in the Elmar. This may not be a serious problem but I'm sure whoever does the CLA will tell you. David