Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/07/04
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 04:44 PM 7/4/2007, Tom Schofield wrote: >I have a prewar III with a Summar. Is that what he was thinking of? > Leitz was trying to break out of the box in the later 1930's and developed the Leica IV, a thread-mount camera with features which would later be found on the M3 and M2. The build-up to War caused this program to be put on hold (though the camera does make a fictional appearance in Sir Arthur Clarke's SANDS OF MARS), and a strengthened Leica III was produced as the IIIc, introduced in 1940. The IIIc was slightly larger than the earlier bodies which explains its being called, "the long wheel-base model". The minute the War ended, Ernst Leitz II set up two development teams to develop future camera designs. One team produced the IIIg and the other the M3, and the rest is history. Marc msmall@aya.yale.edu Cha robh b?s fir gun ghr?s fir!