[Leica] Advice needed: Buying Leica IIIf and 50mm lens

[vick.ko at sympatico.ca (vick.ko@sympatico.ca)]

In my opinion:

You have to ask yourself two things:  
- what the important criteria are for the usability of a camera, and 
-what attributes the camera brings to the images you produce.

1)  Usability:
The IIIf or any thread mount Leica has very unique usability constraints, 
such as the separated viewing/focus windows, and rear loading where the film 
must be trimmed.  The M series has a door access to the back that solves the 
need to trim film.  The LTM series do not have that, and loading an LTM is 
tricky.  For rapid focusing and viewing, I found the separated windows 
totally frustrating to the point of unusable.  I was trying to capture my 
baby son with it.  Travel and weddings are situations where rapid camera 
ergonomics are needed; I would shudder if I was restricted to a Leica LTM 
for those situations.  And none of the LTM's have a meter.  I bet you are 
now used to the super-fast handling of the M7 and CLE AE, or even the 
benefit of TTL metering withe the CLE.  Are you ready to revert to a 
handheld meter?

2)  attributes of the camera, namely - the lenses.  
Having a Leica LTM opens the door to entire families of LTM lenses and their 
unique signatures.  There are reams of discussions on the qualities of 
Summars, Hektors, Elmars, etc.  One viable option is to buy the LTM to M 
adapters and use those lenses on your CLE/M7 and obtain the signatures of 
those lenses.

...in my mind.
Vick

> 
> From: Colin J <smcj35@yahoo.com>
> Date: 2005/10/19 Wed AM 09:50:45 EST
> To: lug@leica-users.org
> Subject: [Leica] Advice needed: Buying Leica IIIf and 50mm lens
> 
> I am a very enthusiastic user of two Leica M7
> bodies, a Minolta CLE and and nine lenses (seven
> Leica, 2 Voigtlander) shooting mainly black and
> white and Kodachrome 64 slide film.  I shoot
> travel and architectural subjects and weddings
> for a living.  I have a digital SLR but work
> almost entirely with film.
> 
> I need to fund a film/slide scanner and re-equip
> my darkroon following purchase of a Focomat V35. 
> So I will be selling one M7 and the Minolta CLE.
> 
> However, I still want to use two bodies and am
> considering buying a screw mount Leica body and a
> 50mm lens.  I would also use this body with
> Voigtlander 12mm and 15mm lenses.
> 
> Is it viable to use a 50+ year old screw mount
> body for paid work?  Is it possible to get
> reliable, repeatable results from a IIIf?  I ask
> about the IIIf because it seems good value, with
> black dial versions selling at very attractive
> prices.
> 
> Would there be a better choice than a IIIf?  What
> would I need to do to ensure that a used IIIf
> could become a reliable professional tool?
> 
> I also need advice on which would be a good
> choice of 50mm lens.  I currently use a
> collapsible Tele Elmarit (Leitz Canada) but would
> be selling this and buying a good screw mount
> 50mm.
> 
> I will be grateful for any and all constructive
> comments.
> 
> Colin J