Re: [Leica] Help Needed for Leica IIIf purchase!!!

["Dan Post" <dpost@triad.rr.com>]

The price they are asking is definitely too high- try to get them down to a
more reasonable level. the problem is that they may have the camera 'on
consignment' and the seller or original owner has set too high a price.
If you are looking for a good user IIIf, try to find a nice clean IIIf red
dial- they have ball bearings in the shutter, and the shutters are smooter,
more quiet, and are more accurate if you choose to use slide film. The
Summitar is a pretty good lens, but a nice collapsible Summicron would be
better, and then if you should like the RF type camera, later you will want
an 'M' body, and the Summicron wil work well on an M with an adapter ring,
so you can upgrade at minimum expense.
Since most LTMs, in my experience, need a good CLA before they are usable, I
would consider that expense in buying one- the suggestion to look on eBay is
a pretty good one- just make sure the seller has a good feedback, try to get
one that has had a CLA, and ask about return priviledges. Look to spend
between $450-500 USD for a good IIIf RD- try to avoid the self timer model-
usually they are overpriced as they are mostly sought by collectors, and
using the self timer mechanism adds wear to the shutter emechanism- and you
never know how much the self timer was used- as a result the shutter may or
may not be overly worn.
The LTM is a fun camera to use, and you will enjoy the experience immensely,
but don't go overboard- check around. you can do better than that price, and
save a lot of money to buy lotsa film!!!
Dan
- ----- Original Message -----
From: "ioannis mylonakos" <i_mylonakos@hotmail.com>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2001 6:59 PM
Subject: [Leica] Help Needed for Leica IIIf purchase!!!


> Dear friends hi,
>
> I have recently joined the LUG as the result of my search on the net for
> information about the Leica IIIf, a camera which I intend to buy in the
near
> future.
>
> I am an amateur photographer myself and my main photographic interests are
> in B&W photography. My photographic experience involves mainly SLR cameras
> and at the moment I own a MINOLTA T-101 (inherited by my father) and a
NIKON
> F-70 (N-70 in the US) which I bought some years ago. I have a quite good
> knowledge of the SLR cameras and accessories' market since I have been a
lot
> of times around looking for new or used pieces of equipment for myself or
> friends. However, I never had the opportunity, nor the money, to consider
> buying or even looking to buy a Leica camera, up to now. The increased
cost
> of a Leica SLR along with the cost of a decent range of 2-3 lenses that
> would be required to complete my photographic needs did not allow me to
> "taste" a Leica before.
>
> About one and a half week ago I visited the local Autorised Leica dealer
as
> part of my montly visit to the various second hand photographic
dealerships
> in the city where I leave. There I saw and I fall in love almost
> immediatelly with a second hand Leica IIIf. Not knowing too much about the
> camera itself I stayed at the window staring at it trying to figure out
its
> condition and its technical characteristics from what was written on the
> body and the lens. The camera looked realy clean and after a word I had
with
> the dealer has been on the self directly from its original owner. The
dealer
> showed me also the original receipt of purchase which dated back in 1950s,
> somewhere in Germany. I checked the camera and the condition of it seems
> really good. It is a Black Dial Model and comes along with a Summitar
50mm,
> f2 (I hope to describe it correctly)lense, which is in the same condition
> with the camera. The price the dealer asks for the set (body and lense)is
> 795 British Pounds ($1,150).
>
> After my first encounter with the camera, I tried to find information
about
> it on the internet and have managed to read some things about it on
several
> sites. However, I have not the experience to understand whether the amount
> of money the dealer is asking for this camera is within a reasonable
range.
> On the same window (of the shop) there were displayed two more IIIf's, one
> with Red Dial and Timer mechanism and the same exact Summitar lense, whose
> body and lense were showing evidencce of extensive use, priced at 450
> British Pounds ($650) ; and another one almost brand new, with a Summicron
> lense 50mm, f2 (hope to display this info right too!!).The price for the
> latter was 1,000 British Pounds ($1,440). Searching through the internet
in
> sites like eBay, Jessops and other on-line shops I found the same camera
at
> prices around 300-450 British Pounds ($430-650), some of which showed
> evidences of bad use, but some of them were pretty ok.
>
> I am really keen on buying the camera I found, even if this means that I
> have to live in a tighter budget for the rest 3-4 months. I just wanted to
> know from anyone that has bought such a camera in the past or is aware of
> the market (US or UK preferably) for these, whether the price of 795
British
> Pounds (about $1,150) is reasonable or not for the body/lense set of the
> Leica IIIf described above. I would also appreciate any comments on what
to
> take into consideration before the purchase, or any information about the
> technical cahracteristics of the camera ( or even relevant internet
sites).
>
> I am sorry if I have been too long.
>
> Regargs,
>
> Yannis.
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