Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/06/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]James, Go for it! I'd reccomend an early screw Leica, I take mine on my hols each year. I started with a model II (D in US talk) and if you don't need slow speeds, then that's OK, prior to the IIIc the lens mount was built seperate to the rangefinder housing, some folks think this presents more oppurtunities for misalignment between the two, for myself I've never had that problem and I've had a III and a IIIb as well. Get a IIIc or IIIf if you want that reassurance of structural stability in the camera (and flash sync with the f) but they are a few millimetres longer, the IIIg is larger again, not to mention expensive. Use a 50mm lens if you want true portability otherwise you're into using finders and they make the camera unpocketable (well, knobbly!) if you do go down the wider angle / larger d.o.f. route then try and get a Leitz finder for that single focal length though they're v. expensive. They're a better shape (less knobbly) than the multi-finders Leitz produced. If you buy another make of finder, check you can return it, I've had some 'foriegn' finders which were so off-centre in their image, I lost nearly half the picture. Check the framing on the first roll carefully. I did have a Zeiss 35 finder which was good. Lenses to reccomend are various but the last generation of screw lenses were great, the 35/2.8 Summaron stands out in my memory as being v. sharp, and as you probably know there are also new (non-Leica) screw lenses being made today. Jem ========================= From: "James Burris" <jabu@direct.ca> Howdy, Sorry for the subject title, I really should get out more. Anyways, in my search for a more pocketable Leica, a fellow LUG member (kw) gave me a great idea . Why not a III screw-mount? Well as compared to a P/S, I want to know what other users think. What is the film loading like? Is it a nightmare, or does one eventually get the hang of it? Also I'll be wanting a 35mm lens for it. What's the best one? Speed isn't a huge feature for me, but it would be nice if it performs as well as the slower options. What about viewfinders? Thanks, James P.S. or maybe I should just go out and by one of those scale-focussing (yuck!) Rolleis.