Leica Job Lot

[janrzm]

Well, it seemed like a "No Brainer" at the time.....

I've just returned home with a job lot of Leica gear for US$1500.00, I must admit it looked in better condition at the home of the seller but I'm still happy. So what do I have and what are the issues.

Leica M5 - Cosmetics good, Light Meter not working, Shutter is slow at all speeds and has what appears to be a small amount of mildew on it, also the viewfinder glass is cracked.
Leitz Wetzlar 35mm Summicron f/2 (219****) Exc++ No scratches or marks on the glass but there is the beginnings of fungus appearing on the front and rear elements.
Leitz IROOA Hood 1:2/50 2.8/50 3.5/50 and 1:2/35 2.8/35 3.5/35
Leitz Wetzlar 90mm Elmarit f/2.8 (221****) Exc++ No scratches or marks on the glass but there is the beginnings of fungus appearing on the front and rear elements.
Leitz 12575N Hood
Leitz Wetzlar 135mm Elmar f/4 (208****) Exc No scratches or marks on the glass but there is the beginnings of fungus appearing on the rear element.
Leitz Wetzlar 35mm New Style Silver Brightline Finder Exc
Leitz Wetzlar Filters for the Summicron (Green/Red/Yellow/UVa/Polarising/CR1.5) All in Plastic cases.
Leia Meter MC Exc++ Working
Leica Meter MR Good Cosmetics appears to be dead
OUAGO 1:4/90 Exc++
2no 16464K Exc
16472K Exc
16471J Exc
M5 Manual
Brown Leather Camera Bag - Well Used....

Visoflex III Mint
Bellows Mint
What I would describe as a small grey briefcase (Not sure what this originally came in)

Leicaflex SL Good, Mirror appears to stick in up position.
Leitz Wetzlar 35mm Elmarit-R f/2.8 (220****) Exc++ No scratches or marks on the glass but there is the beginnings of fungus appearing on the front and rear elements.
Leitz Wetzlar 90mm Elmarit-R f/2.8 (226****) Exc++ No scratches or marks on the glass but there is the beginnings of fungus appearing on the front and rear elements.
Leitz Canada TELYT 280mm f/4.8 (229****) Exc++ No scratches or marks on the glass but there is the beginnings of fungus appearing on the front and rear elements.
14127 Adaptor Mint
Leitz Wetzlar 28mm 12 007 R Finder Mint in Box
12501 Hood Mint (I know there was an M3 and 21mm Lens in this set at some point)
12564 Hood Exc++
14134-1 Adaptor Mint with Box
Leicaflex Guide various other books.
Black Camera Case - Well Used....

I'd love to here what peoples thoughts are on this but more importantly I need the details of someone in NZ able to look at this glass, most importantly the 35mm Summicron f/2 which is a Type 1 I believe, took a couple of shots with it earlier on the M9 and they are stunning.

Cheers

[tj01]

holy cow....

[Mr_Flibble]

Originally Posted by tj01

holy cow....

That! and "ZOINKS!"

[Sparrow]

Wow ... shame about the M5 though

[Jockos]

I think you should start by placing all of the lenses in the sun to burn off the fungus before it starts to etch the glass. This way you have a better chance of getting it all cleaned out later

[Steinberg2010]

Sounds like a sweet deal – I'm a big fan of the M5...

~S

[Sparrow]

... it's a big camera!

[pitadotcom]

Bro you are lucky as hell. good luck with the stuff eh.

[bfffer]

you have to give them a CLA now!!!

anyways, congratulations have fun shooting!

[Peter_Jones]

Great dealing - ever so slightly envious

[jsrockit]

Still a good price paid. No way you can lose money.

[janrzm]

By way of an update.....

Well, I decided to sleep on this last night.

Firstly, this may be down to ignorance on my part but the fungus, while slight is making me paranoid.....I have all manner of fantastic pristine glass in my M kit and I don't really want this stuff in the same house!!!

I am not a dealer, in fact I find it hard to part with anything camera related, even when I have promised too do so!!!! However today I contacted a dealer I know.

I am keeping the Version I 35mm Summicron f/2 (Still needs a CLA) the Hood and filters. Plus the working M Meter. The rest I am letting go for the price I paid. At the end of the day I want to take photographs not get bogged down in this side of things. It's been fun and I have a great lens out of this little adventure. I probably wont get a find like that ever again.......

Thanks for all the comments and feedback

Jason
______

[Keith]

Originally Posted by janrzm

By way of an update.....

Well, I decided to sleep on this last night.

Firstly, this may be down to ignorance on my part but the fungus, while slight is making me paranoid.....I have all manner of fantastic pristine glass in my M kit and I don't really want this stuff in the same house!!!

I am not a dealer, in fact I find it hard to part with anything camera related even when I have promised too do so!!!! However today I contacted a dealer I know.

I am keeping the Version I 35mm Summicron f/2 (Still needs a CLA) the Hood and filters. Plus the working M Meter. The rest I am letting go for the price I paid. At the end of the day I want to take photographs not get bogged down in this side of things. It's been fun and I have a great lens out of this little adventure. I probably wont get a find like that ever again.......

Thanks for all the comments and feedback

Jason
______

That's very sensible IMO!

[hausen]

Wow Jason where did you find all that? I got a guy in Auckland that does all my lens. I will email you his phone number. He is too old school to be online.

[janrzm]

Hi Dave, thanks for that. I have just emailed you.

Just got lucky, friend of a friend of a friend.....heard it was being sold so put me in touch. It belonged to a doctor and part-time photographer. Apparently he used to take his cameras with him when he travelled across to the East Cape treating Maori back in the day. I'm hoping to get hold of a few prints and post something on my site, work heavily influenced by Ansel Adams and pretty impressive. Had it been in better condition I would have kept it for sure, just got fungus fear...

[janrzm]

Well I drove up to Auckland and had the whole lot looked at by an expert. So here's the good news, everything looks like it can be dealt with and the cost to do the work is considerably lower than I anticipated.

The bad news is I'm now talking myself in to keeping various bits and pieces and renaging on my initial promise to sell the majority of the items.......

My initial plan was keep the Version 1 Summicron and just let the rest go and get my money back. I'm now thinking along the lines of keeping these items also -

• 35mm New Style Silver Brightline Finder
• 90mm Elmarit f/2.8 (221****) - The 90 Elmarit is I believe an early version and from what I have read quite prone to flare, my current 90mm lens is the VC Apo Lanthar f/3.5. I wonder how these compare??
• Leitz 12575N Hood
• 135mm Elmar f/4 (208****) - 135mm is a focal length I rarely shoot, currently I have the Hektor f/4.5, I've read the Elmar is optically superior, worth keeping???
• M5 - I spent some time today cleaning this up, cosmetically it's in incredible shape with the exception of the issues I mentioned (Crakced Viewfinder Glass, Light Meter not responsive, Shutter Speeds, only the speeds below 1/30 appear too slow I would say and of course there is the fungus on the curtain) In all honesty I have never been a fan of the M5 in the appearance stakes but it is growing on me and its great in the hand......

Almost every time I look at this gear it surprises me, what I described initially as a "Brown Leather Camera Bag" is in actual fact a Vintage Hasselblad Pig Skin Bag and quite beautiful......

Any pearls of wisdom greatly appreciated!!

Cheers

[Wouter]

Originally Posted by Jockos

I think you should start by placing all of the lenses in the sun to burn off the fungus before it starts to etch the glass. This way you have a better chance of getting it all cleaned out later

Fungus doesn't come off that easily. Professional cleaning is required here, and well worth it.

Congrats on the equipment, seems like a good deal to me.