Mr_Flibble
All-Pro
- Location
- The Lowlands
- Name
- Rick
I picked up a Leica IIIf Red Dial with matching Elmar 50mm f/3.5 last month as a project camera. Mainly to see if I could fix it up myself. It wasn't expensive so I wouldn't be too much out of pocket if I totally screwed up the repair.
It looked like someone had been at it with a hammer after it had fallen face-first onto the concrete.
Before Picture
And there was plenty of stuff wrong with it; RF ring missing, RF eyelet cracked, dented top cover, rewind knob was sitting at a slight angle, plastic VF/RF cover at the back was disintegrating. RF patch was very dim. Something was rattling inside the lens. And that skin looked horrible. The shutter was operating unreliably and the slow speeds were not there at all.
I started with taking it apart to the shutter crate.
Inside I found some broken and stripped screws around the shutter crate. Also the reason for the non-functional slow speeds became apparent: There was no slow speed gear train inside the camera!
Checking the serial number I found the camera is actually a Leica IIf that's been upgraded to a IIIf, but someone's taken out the slow speed escapement.
No big deal, I thought, I'll just revert it back to a IIf.
So I picked up some replacement bits from Surplusshed, DAG Cameras and Aki-Asahi. And I found a spare take-up spool at the Dutch Photographica Fair......
....And managed to make it look like a halfway decent camera again.
Of course, after I had put it all back together I learned the IIf actually did have a simplified slow speed escapement for the 1/25th of a second setting. Without it the slowest speed would be 1/30th instead. Not a big deal, but I'd need to keep it in mind.
The first roll showed that the camera was working fine, but the lens clearly needed some more work:
Two small commemorations are held every year at the Distelberg Woods for the soldiers of the Black Watch who fell in battle on the 6th of November 1944, Another soldier of the 51st Highland Division who died in October 1944 and two children who died in February 1945.
1. The drop off of sharpness is clearly visible on the right of the image
2. Grade school children reading poems at the monument for Ivor Calvert and the two boys who died nearby
3. Honor Guard at the monument for the 7 Soldiers of The Black Watch who died during the attack on the bridge across the nearby canal
4. The last post
5. The mayor paying her respects
6. Damaged negative, Nephew with Ipad
I need to tweak the rangefinder a bit more on the camera. And I also still need the shutter base cover with the loading instructions (DAG has those I've noticed).
Currently the Elmar lens is getting a bit more attention.
Unfortunately I couldn't get the inner lens tube out of the housing. I wanted to hammer the front lens ring back into shape. At least I can get at all the surfaces this way.
The project continues....
It looked like someone had been at it with a hammer after it had fallen face-first onto the concrete.
Before Picture
And there was plenty of stuff wrong with it; RF ring missing, RF eyelet cracked, dented top cover, rewind knob was sitting at a slight angle, plastic VF/RF cover at the back was disintegrating. RF patch was very dim. Something was rattling inside the lens. And that skin looked horrible. The shutter was operating unreliably and the slow speeds were not there at all.
I started with taking it apart to the shutter crate.
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Inside I found some broken and stripped screws around the shutter crate. Also the reason for the non-functional slow speeds became apparent: There was no slow speed gear train inside the camera!
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Checking the serial number I found the camera is actually a Leica IIf that's been upgraded to a IIIf, but someone's taken out the slow speed escapement.
No big deal, I thought, I'll just revert it back to a IIf.
So I picked up some replacement bits from Surplusshed, DAG Cameras and Aki-Asahi. And I found a spare take-up spool at the Dutch Photographica Fair......
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
....And managed to make it look like a halfway decent camera again.
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Of course, after I had put it all back together I learned the IIf actually did have a simplified slow speed escapement for the 1/25th of a second setting. Without it the slowest speed would be 1/30th instead. Not a big deal, but I'd need to keep it in mind.
The first roll showed that the camera was working fine, but the lens clearly needed some more work:
Two small commemorations are held every year at the Distelberg Woods for the soldiers of the Black Watch who fell in battle on the 6th of November 1944, Another soldier of the 51st Highland Division who died in October 1944 and two children who died in February 1945.
1. The drop off of sharpness is clearly visible on the right of the image
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
2. Grade school children reading poems at the monument for Ivor Calvert and the two boys who died nearby
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
3. Honor Guard at the monument for the 7 Soldiers of The Black Watch who died during the attack on the bridge across the nearby canal
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
4. The last post
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
5. The mayor paying her respects
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
6. Damaged negative, Nephew with Ipad
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
I need to tweak the rangefinder a bit more on the camera. And I also still need the shutter base cover with the loading instructions (DAG has those I've noticed).
Currently the Elmar lens is getting a bit more attention.
Unfortunately I couldn't get the inner lens tube out of the housing. I wanted to hammer the front lens ring back into shape. At least I can get at all the surfaces this way.
The project continues....
