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[jjinyoko]

New to board, seeking information.  Will post here first before specific category/topic.  I stumbled across a Leica lllg with a Leicavit winder attached.  I believe the curtain is still functionable from the sound only.  In the short research I have done, the winders were prone to breakage, correct??  Is there a way to confirm this??  Any advice (or ridicule) will be accepted on trying to see if this camera still functions, via manuel assistance or advice.  Thanks in advance.  

[Stephen]

Both items are, these days, scarce, and very expensive collectors items, a Leica IIIg will fetch good money, dependant on condition.
With cameras at this high level it is best to get it examined by a professional Leica specialist repairer, or a Leica agent. It is one of a handful of top class models, the camera is not delicate, it was a professional workhorse, or prized possession of a very serious amateur photographer.

The Leicavit is another matter, some like them, a lot of people don't. They can go wrong, and damage the camera. Treated carefully they work, but the point of them was rapid wind, so people tend to push the operation hard.

If it is in good general order get it checked over by the Leica agent, actually fitted to the IIIg.

Don't forget such service is going to cost a lot, Leica are most expensive cameras made.

There are few corners you can risk cutting with a service on them. Genuine Leica agent service will always quote for the work required.

It is not enough to approach a normal repairer, where they can still be found, and trust he knows enough about the servicing. It takes years to train service men to Leica standard.

Now after saying all of this any competent mechanically minded person can give a basic external examination, as to whether the camera is in working order, it is difficult to cause damage to the IIIg.

The operation of the cloth shutter can be observed by removing the lens, and looking into the camera, start with low speeds, and increase to 1000th , all should run evenly and quietly in a Leica. Generally check over the outside screws and see if they are damaged by heavy handed unscrewing, all holes have screws in them, and there are no Dings or bending of the body.

Wear and tear on a Leica is permissible to collectors, "brassing", and very slight marks make no difference to it's performance. They do, however, reduce potential sale value.

Stephen.

[paulhofseth]

Hmmm, the most expensive? I thought the hand made Swiss Alpas always were dearer?

And the company making the Leica, which at the time of the IIIg was still Ernst Leitz GMBH, was extremely finicky about their repairs. Not only screw heads with obvious signs of mistreatment were replaced. Even the internal screws which they themselves undid were replaced by new ones, since once tensioned, they would not behave the same way if reinserted.

p.

[Stephen]

I did not say they were the most expensive, just that they are scarce, and very expensive collectors items, dependant on condition. New, Alpa were indeed more expensive.

I think Leitz's point about screws was due to the damage to the head of the bolt, and internal screws like grub screws are replaced because the screw driver strained the tiny slot.

Screws do not stretch in internal fully threaded holes, and if done to high standards, the fit does not stress the body of the screw or the thread form.

But when an old grub screw is withdrawn, the slot in the top distorts, and spreads, and if the screw is re-used it risks damaging the thread form in the wall of the hole.

I worked for many years in scientific equipment, and lens manufacture, where some tolerances are zero!, and I was taught a lot of camera repair work by a maker of specialist cameras, who could strip a Leica in under an hour, and not a mark on the screw heads! Several internal screw were replaced, all grub screw types. Cleaned and lubed, assembled and tested in about 4 hours, and all to Leica standards or better. A repair bill from him, unlike, say, a garage bill, reflected not the time taken, but a lifetimes training and experience.

It is very rarely "a faulty Leica", more often dust clogged, attacked by moisture, rust, or physical damage from drops.

Stephen.

[paulhofseth]

You may well be right. The stress explanation was the one I was given by the gentleman at Hausertorwerk in Wetzlar who gave me my Leica back, together with the bill detailing that all loosened screws had been replaced.

And I can vouch for the robustness of the elderly Leicas after once being caught out in torrential rain which destroyed an Olympus OM1 while the Leica service afterwards measured everything and declared that my M3 was in perfect shape.

p.