Leica IIIf red dial w/ self timer

[David Silver]

Over a month ago I was surfing through eBay, just happened to stumble through the new listed items, when a Leica IIIf (red dial version with self timer) with nice Summarit 50mm f1.5 lens showed up. I may have been the only person to see it! There was a "buy it now" price of $199 that included shipping if payment was made immediately through Paypal. The seller had great feedback, the camera was well described, and it appeared pristine in the picture. So I bought it. Well, not like I had to think all that much...a pristine Leica IIIf RD ST with that particular lens is worth a LOT more than $199, even if it doesn't work at all! So I hit the "buy it now" button, made the Payapl transfer, and received a message from the seller a couple days later telling me all was well. The camera was..."on the way".

Once again, that was OVER a month ago.

The camera arrived this past Saturday. During the interval, I contacted the seller several times to ask how the package had been sent, and he repeatedly told me to not worry because it was definitely..."on the way".

Delivered by slow yack, you may ask? Pony express? Slow boat to Timbuktu? Nope! When he found out I was in San Francisco, he decided to wait for some friends of his, who he knew were planning a trip here, to deliver it for him in person!!! Apparently that was his definition of..."on the way"!!!

Well, it DID arrive, and here it is:



Cosmetically gorgeous, darn near mint, with sparkling clean and accurate rangefinder, and one of the nicest Summarits I've seen in years. Unfortunately, the shutter doesn't work. The action sticks and lurches and then fires on the same speed no matter where you set it. Typical "improved" red dial shutter. Bah! I'll take the old black dial over the red dial anyday! But the curtains look fine, and it's certainly a prime candidate for a simple CLA to get it working again, so I'm darn happy with my $199 purchase. Worst case scenario, I can eBay it and probably triple my money just the way it is. There are lots of other camera goodies I could buy with the profit.

But next time I'll pay for my own @#$%^&*!!! shipping!

Dave

[vintageslrs]

Dave

very interesting item. nice purchase!
Happy to hear you can turn the profit from selling it into other camera purchases....I like how that works.
strange way of shipping though eh?
talk about a slow boat!!
and all the seller could say was "it was definitely on it's way"
you can meet some interesting folks on ebay.
I've meet some weird ones too....but more good than bad!
good luck with it.

Enjoy
Bob

[kamera]

Definately looks like a nice piece of machinery; just a beaut. I would be happy even to have it in an unworkable condition and just display it. Of course, it is best when you can have both; great cosmetics and great working condition.

Ron Head
Kalamazoo, MI

[David Silver]

Yes, it's a beauty. However, I look at cameras from two (occasionally complimentary) points of view. Either a camera is a shooter that I know I WILL use with some regularity, or it has historical significance worthy of collecting and preserving. This Leica IIIf could have gone both ways IF it was fully functional AND it had a more appropriate lens (the Summarit is older than the camera) or came in its original box with papers. I'm actually tempted to switch an Elmar onto the camera for the eBay sale and keep the Summarit to play with on my current user Leica IIIf (I've started a thread on it in the 35mm rangefinder section, and THAT one has the box, the right lens, and works perfectly!) because I haven't had a decent example of that lens in some time. A few years back I had about 40 Leicas in my collection, dozens of lenses, and tons of accessories. I sold all of it to pay down some heinous bills that were stalking me. No regrets. I was a "closet collector" of Leica gear, never publicly promoted it, but folks in the field figured it out when they realized I knew waaaaaay more about Leitz than some of the top experts. The knowledge I get to keep, at least until my memory goes (uh, what was I saying...?), but the gear had to go. That was then. Now I pick up the occasional Leica to appreciate and shoot, usually sell them back through eBay later, and I've kept just a couple of historically significant pieces for my collection. Once again, this Leica IIIf is certainly a beauty, I snapped it up hoping to have some fun with it, but I've lost any interest in repairs, and it really belongs in some dedicated Leica collector's display case. What I'd really like to pick up, just for fun and possibly to keep, is a nice original black Leica II, with a matching nickel Elmar, that's still in working shape. Now there's a classic for you!

Dave

[rover]

That was a great deal, I would love to find a Summarit like that. I also have watched a couple "functioning but in need of a service" IIIfs with the thought of having them repaired, but they sold in the $150 range which was too much for a project in my mind.

Ebay is funny, sometimes there are a couple bumps in the road, but you really can find some great deals along the way.

[kdwall]

David, you had over 40 Leicas? At one time?? Good grief! I've owned one, and it happened to be just like the IIIf you show here, but I had a 50mm Elmar lens. It was a well worn find on eBay that the seller insisted was in perfect working condition despite its outward appearance. It was! And I was very pleased with the $185 I paid for it. It arrived with rotten covering, and there was a lot of dust and dirt in the nooks and crannies of the chrome. I shot with it like that for a while, but wanted to fix it up. I went over the chrome with a soft tooth brush and a tooth pick for the tight spots, and bought a sheet of pebble grain covering from Fargo. The covering was a pain to figure out, I wasted the entire sheet until I did it right, and the sheet is more than enough to usually cover four of these cameras. But my Leica looked like a completely different camera when I was done! I sold it on ebay for nearly $400 last year, and that money has since gone towards other gear. While I had it, I really enjoyed it. But 40 Leicas? Now you, sir, are a collector of the highest order! Amazing!

KD