Mr_Flibble
All-Pro
- Location
- The Lowlands
- Name
- Rick
Looks really beautiful! Is Leotax anywhere near Leica in terms of build quality, rangefinder accuracy, optical performance etc.?
The Leotax F is slightly bigger, and somewhat heavier than my Leica IIIg roughly from the same period. Presumably to create a bit of room for the flash synchronisation.
The camera certainly feels very solidly built and operation feels and sounds as smooth as the IIIg.
The shutter curtains appear to be a bit snappy so I suspect that they move at about the same speed (1/50th of a second) as the IIIg, as opposed to 1/30th or 1/20th of older Leica models.
As it was capping on 1/500th I gave one curtain spring an extra half-turn, but am still testing that roll, so I can't say if it helped.
Rangefinder/Viewfinder optics are similar in layout to the Leica IIIb, IIIc and IIIf models.
The accuracy of the Rangefinder is the same as the base-length is the same.
Adjustment can be done the same way as with the Leicas. It was slightly out of whack when I received the camera.
The 5cm f/3.5 Simlar appears to be direct copy of the Elmar, with a 1-1-2 layout of the elements and the aperture sitting between the front two groups.
Can't comment on the quality of optical parts themselves, but the build quality of the lens certainly feels just as good as a Leitz lens.
It renders very similar to the Elmar as well in my opinion.
Only problem I ran into, quality wise, is light getting into the film chamber through the openings in the top of the shutter crate through the viewfinder/rangefinder optics.
The openings are there for the flash sync wires to go through. If this is due to missing seals or baffles from a previous repair job, I can't tell.
The chrome plating appears a little more sensitive to wear.
I'm currently running a roll though it, after (hopefully) sealing the light leak. I'll share some results here when I'm done.
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