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I'm holding my breath waiting for a "Leica II" from Moscow. I'm wondering if anyone knows much about the manufacture of these "relics"? The condition of mine is "excellent" but many others listed in Ebay say "new". A lot of different models are available with Leica typeface and not the usual Russian cryllic. Some have the 3rd Reich eagle and designations such as "luftwaffe" or "kriegsmarine". This leads me to believe they may be in current production and aimed mostly at our market as "collector" pieces.I'm not a very serious photog as my digital and 35mm SLR hardly get touched--but this camera looks like fun and a good learning tool for getting a grasp of guessing/making manual exposures.
Any insights appreciated.
Follow Ups:
Hi,These things generally cost US$40 to $50 as a Zorki or Fed, and approx double that when stamped Leica. They all come from one of two different manufacturers/factories between the 40's and mid 50's.
If you are lucky, you'll get one that does not require work - no shutter banding, correct shutter speeds, no pin-holes on the shutter curtains and speeds that operate at all settings. The problems that one encounters with them are probably no different to a genuine Leica (IId, IIf, IIIc and IIIf) of similar vintage. It boils down to economics - is it worth while spending US$150 to 250 for a full CLA (clean, lube, adjust) on a $50 to $100 camera as opposed to ones costing btwn $300 to $500.
I have the practically whole range - Zorki 1, Zorki 3, Zorki 4 and various Kievs - 4a, 4am, etc. Mechanically, they are not as good or as consistent as their German bretherans - poor quality control, inferior parts, odd smell from the grease and glues used, etc.
Optics are reasonable. On 4x6 Walmart (ie machine) prints, you cannot tell much difference from pictures taken with mass-produced zoom lenses from Nikon, Canon, etc. However, when enlarged to 8x10 or scanned, Russian optics are not as good as prime (non-zoom) lenses from Nikon, Canon, etc. Less resolution overall, out-of-focus areas may not be smooth enough, poor corner performance with larger apertures, etc.
Mike,
Melbourne, Australia
and ran a roll of color prints through it. They came out okay as I have no light meter and had to guess with those funky f/stops and shutter speeds.The camera seems to be working with the exception of what looks like internal fingerprints on the rangefinder and viewfinder. It doesn't prevent using the camera but it is distracting. I wrote the seller in Moscow and referred to my camera as "new" rather than "used excellent". He said it may very well be fingerprints.
The "new" comment made me wonder if someone is still making them? The ones sold from USA addresses are sold as new and all have 3rd Reich engravings of some sort. The one I have is marked Leica with none of 3rd Reich markings. I'm not sure how old it is or who made it. It is a nice looking conversation piece, though.
No, they are not "new" - simply reworked from 50 year old carcasses :). It is not difficult to take the top plate off and have it refinished - sanding, painting followed by engraving."As new", "Shutter speeds are appropriate", "Mint!!"....these are familiar phrases from Russian/Ukrainian sellers. How good the actuall item is depends on your luck. I have several cracker condition ones cosmetically, but mechanically they were about 90%.
during the Leica I and II era? It couldn't have been very fast since my lower shutter speeds are 20, 30, 40, 60, etc.I got a roll of 200 ISO and set the shutter speed to 1/200 and eyeballed f/8 between f/9 and f/6.3. Came out pretty good for a starting point. Seems like 200 might be the ticket for outdoor snapping around.
a separate hand held light meter is a Godsend. My Minolta IV F gets a workout, even though I own a fine Auto everything Nikon F5.Should be able to find an excellent one on ebay for $150 or so.
This way to all you could want to know . . .
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