[Leica] Leica IIIF ?

[langeratcarleton at gmail.com (Mark Langer)]

Bill,

If you are used to a Canon, you might think twice about getting a
IIIf.  I have a IIIf, a couple of IIIcs and a Ig.  All nice cameras,
but you will find the bottom loading to be a bit of a pain in these. 
If you don't plan on using flash a lot (and I suggest that you don't
with the screwmount Leicas), you might want to save yourself some
money and get a IIIc, which is otherwise functionally identical to the
IIIf.

Now, let me suggest some other cameras that you might want to
consider.  A Fed 2 lacks slow shutter speeds, but has a fabulous
combined range/viewfinder that is basically lifted from a Zeiss
Contax.  It has a removable back that would be familiar to a Nikon
user.  And the Fed 2 is dirt cheap.  The Tower 45/46 (depending on
whether it comes with the Nikkor 50/2 or 50/1.4) is a Leica lookalike
made by Nicca (later became Yashica) that has a lever wind and a flip
up back door a la M Leica.  This is much easier to load than
screwmount Leicas.  Make sure that you get one with a takeup spool as
the inner diameter of the spool is smaller than on a Leica.  There was
also an earlier model of the Nicca that is knob wind, but has a door
on the back for easier loading.  This door opens to the side.  On both
these Nicca/Tower models, the base comes off as well for loading. 
There are other Japanese Leica clones that offer similarly easier
loading, such as the Minolta (but only the last version of this has a
standard full frame for the film) and the Tanack.  However, neither
has the quality of the Niccas, Canons or Leicas (or Leotax for that
matter).

As for putting a wide angle Nikkor lens on your screwmount, for a
couple of years I used a wide angle Pentax mount lens on my Leicas,
using a P to Canon breechlock mount adapter, mounting that in the
Canon to LTM adapter and, when using it on a M camera, mounting that
in a LTM to M bayonet adapter.  Oddly enough, this worked very well. 
However, SLR lenses are a lot bigger than those made for rangefinders.
 When I finally got a 20mm f2.8 Kobalux lens in LTM, which is pretty
big by Leica lens standards, I couldn't get over how much more compact
and convenient it was to use.  So the answer is that your Nikkor lens
may adapt nicely to LTM use, but eventually you will opt for a
dedicated LTM  lens.  There are a number of nice ones -- the CV, a
used Kobalux, the Soviet 20mm -- that are modestly priced.

Mark