Vintage Leica Black Paint, Olive Bundeseigentum and rare lens Photographic experience 古董徠卡相機: Vintage Leica III (1938~9) with 50mm F3.5 Elmar len 徕卡黑漆版古董老相机

The Leica III was produced from 1933-1939.

E. Leitz G.M.B.H.

Wetzlar Germany

Lens: f3.5, 50 mm Elmar, iris diaphragm to f18.

Screw mount.

Serial no. 310069 (1938).

Shutter: Focal-plane, speeds 1 - 1/500, Z. Speeds are varied by delaying the second blind.

Construction: Vulcanite covered metal body.

Format: 36, 24 x 36 mm exposures on 35 mm cine film held in cassette, film is re-wound into cassette.

Focusing: Helical to 1 metre.

Attributes: Coupled rangefinder, swing prism type, double image. Direct-vision (lens/lens) view-finder.

Auto-stop on film advance coupled to shutter. Film advance tensions shutter. Exposure counter.

The key differences between the Leica II versus the Leica III are:
1. Leica II has no slow speeds
2. Leica II has no strap lugs.
3. Leica II has a 1:1 RF image. It has a 1X magnification on the rangefinder, and the Leica III has a 1.5X magnification. So the Leica III is more accurate focusing, and easier to focus.

Within the Leica II families, there are variations:

It is interesting that these screw-mount cameras continued in production for nearly seven years after the arrival of the M3, the forerunner of today's Ms. The M3, with its quick-release bayonet mount and amazingly large combination viewfinder and rangefinder, was a superior camera but came at a superior price.

According to a collector at forum, at the time the IIIf and IIIg were still in demand because they were cheaper and probably preferred by owners of the old screw lenses.and Leicas would have ranged from £125 to £200. I imagine the IIIf (body only) would have been at the lower end of this range, equivalent to about £2,900, while the M3, on introduction, would have been around £180 (£4,200). These figures are based on the retail price index. However, looking at it from an average earnings perspective, the IIIf would have been over £7,000 and the M3 around £10,000. This shows just how desirable and exclusive Leicas were in the early fifties.

Why Leica III

1. Ultra-high quality images from the smallest and lightest possible camera

2. the least expensive ways to get into the LEICA system (Compared to Leica M cameras which have shot up in value in recent months/years, Barnack Leicas are quite inexpensive to buy).

3. The IIIa is a real Barnack-designed LEICA, designed and crafted in Wetzlar by a company that made more microscopes and precision instruments

4. The LEICA III works perfectly with all LEICA screw-mount lenses.

5. The LEICA III is quiet, compact

I came across this Leica III by chance and was attracted by its history; its all black paint body plus it comes with its original Elmar lens.This camera is almost 80 years old and it is still functioning, which is amazing. I would have love my M3 to be the black paint version but the price is incredibly high. Maybe one day. So, in the mean time, its this Leica III...

After some simple cleaning:

从历史上说, 莱卡是第一款135旁轴照相机。要知道，之前的摄影师都是后背取景的相机，摄影师将干板或者胶卷装在木质暗盒里，聚焦时则用一块黑色的布盖在头上，透过相机后方的磨砂玻璃把像调整清晰。这种相机非常笨重，根本不适合拍摄新闻之类的转瞬即逝的题材，而柯达等出产的小型盒式相机成像质量非常差，只能用作家庭娱乐拍摄。而莱卡相机将轻便与成像结合在一起，成为当时新闻、纪实摄影的利器。同时相比于柯达的家庭娱乐相机，莱卡结实可靠，是所有战地摄影师的首选。很多神一样的照片都是出自莱卡，很多新闻、纪实摄影界的泰斗也都青睐于莱卡相机。LEICA早期相機機身材質都為扎實的黃銅製造，質感非常好；尤其是早期黑漆的剝落、露出金光閃閃的黃銅，古典韻味十足.

據說每個Leica發燒友都希望擁有一部「黑漆」，Leica首部生產的相機是黑色的，機身是以黃銅製成，然後才塗上黑漆，由於機身上的漆油會磨蝕，在耐用程度上，及不上後來的鉻銀色相機。有趣的是「黑漆」卻遠比鉻銀相機貴，主因是前者的產量很少，廠方是專為一些有特別需要的人而設的，譬如前線記者和攝影師，由於這些前線工作人員需要常常外出拍攝，在陽光下銀色的相機很容易被他人發現，為了行事隱密和低調，因此廠方生產了一批黑漆相機，讓他們能做好自己的工作。收藏黑漆相機的人還會講究它是否「露銅,理論上露銅越多，表示越多人用過，正正因為越多人用過，所以證明了它在歷史的地位