Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/10/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Last night a LeicaMeter that I had misplaced about 25 years ago suddenly reappeared out of the mist. (I had given it to a friend about 10 years ago when I temporarily left the fold, and had forgotten about it. He was good enough to remind me about it and return it.) As I recall, I bought it in the mid 60s with my first IIIc. (The thief who stole the camera was nice enough to leave me the meter.) It is the first version of the LeicaMeter complete with the Booster, each in its own leather case, all in close to mint condition. The amazing thing is that it works. Perhaps being in the dark in its case for a quarter of a century preserved the selenium cell. I have not had a chance to test it outside in bright light, but using light sources in my house last night, it seemed very close to my Sekonic. Question: I would really like to try to use the meter with my IIIf. Is there anything that I can do, or have done reasonably, to try to restore it? Is opening it up and trying to clean the cell and contacts an option or will I instantly create a dummy meter? According to Marc's article in a 1995 issue of _Viewfinder_ the first LeicaMeter was produced in 1951 and then the 2 and 3 shortly thereafter. Did production of the LeicaMeter cease at this point? Mine certainly does not look forty-six years old -- especially the cases which appear almost new. One other item appeared with the meter: A Summitar "barn door" folding shade in nice condition. As this gives me two and I would be interested in trading it for comparably valued items for my IIIf or M3 .. perhaps filters or the Nooky(?) close-up device for a Summitar. If anyone is interested, please get in touch with me directly by e-mail. Steve