Canbt wait for first roll from my IIIf RD TOMORROW

[Guest]

Well, I guess I should just wait until I can pick up the prints tomorrow but my first roll of Photo's from my Leica IIIf came out well enough to be printed. I also conceder this my first roll of true street photography as I normally don't do anything like street photography. I'm very curious as to what you guys will think (I'll post some on the website to view). Boy I hope my route takes me close to the lab tomorrow so I don't have to wait until after work to run in and pick them up. It's Ilford Super XP-2 a C-41 B & W I chose this for it's wide latitude since the camera has never been serviced and I'm sure the shutter is just a tiny bit slow. This roll was shot at Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA. and on the streets of Vancouver B.C. Last weekend. The guy at the lab said I had 27 good prints (about right since I pulled the roll early) I'm going nuts (can you tell does it show?)

The reason for the trip to Vancouver was to attend the big camera show there on Sunday. The following are some commets on the show.


I did pick up a very nice 3.5cm f3.5 Summaron at the show for approx. $256.00 USD. Along with a very very nice Canon 85mm finder for $32.00 USD (great price). I'll use it with my 9cm f4 Elmar. I really like these Canon finders they are so small and compact to the top of the camera. Since I prefer to carry my camera with a wrist lanyard (for safety and thief protection) rather then a neck strap, the less the finder protrudes the better.

The show overall was well attended both by sellers and buyers a few rude people and a couple of nice ones. I wish a few more sellers would have stayed near their tables as most of the items I asked about the person at the table had no clue. I lost out on a Braun lens Bubble I really wanted, by getting side tracked and not getting back to the table (it was in a $1.00 and up box but the 10 year old girl watching the table had NO CLUE)
Very very little Leica screw mount stuff to be seen. Mostly bodies and complete cameras. I only found two 3.5cm lenses in SM the Summaron I bought and a 3.5cm f3.5 Elmar that was in need of a cleaning before even testing It was cheaper then the Summaron but not enough to make up for condition and I really wanted a Summaron.

I have already made a deal with my repair guy to clean mine in trade for the electronics from a Canon AE-1P that I found on ebay being sold with a jammed advance. After I resell what's left after he gets his aprts off it I'll get most of my money back.

Vancouver was beautiful, the weather was near perfect, LOTS of crazy drivers, great great great food, the B&B was very nice didn't sleep a wink (bed to hard) but breakfast was great and very few tourists I guess few people thought Nov. 1-3rd would be so beautiful (clear skys in the lower 60's).

Our 67 Mustang behaved perfectly and made a quick trip up and down. Border guys were very cool both ways. We showed Drivers license's and Voter's registration cards no problems. The exchange rate was most favorable so we left as much money there as we could the wife doing most of her Christmas shopping on Saturday.

NOW I JUST NEED THOSE LEICA PHOTOGRAPHS I already have the color prints I shot with my Canon T-90. They are truly perfect except for one with some lens flare 24-45mm f3.5-4.5 Soligar. Nice lens but needs a better hood.

OK enough rambling Photos tomorrow fingers crossed

Mark W.

 

[Guest]

Well I have good news and bad!

When the shutter opens the camera (my IIIf RD) does real well the shots are nice and clear with usable exposure. The bad lens is that the shutter only opened 5 times on a rol of 36! So I need to get this one CLAed ASAP. I pulled the roll that was in it and watched the shutter and at the high spds the shutter just isn't opening It will at the slower spds (below 1/125th) but I prety sure that even this is slow (to narrow of slot) So great street photos will have to wait only one really came out good so I'll post it to the gallery at least.

Mark W

 

[Guest]

Where do you live Mark,

That will determine where the camera and lens go for a CLA.

Great camera.

Regards,

Justin

 

[Guest]

Justin I live in Oregon, USA who did you have in mind? My local repair guy knows Leica screw mount it's what he was taught camera repair on 35+ years ago. but I'm open to suggestions.

Mark W.

 

[Guest]

Mark,

From my experience I would use DAG. Tom Abrahamsson (Vancouver) uses a very good mechanic in Canada. That is not to say your repair guy isn't the one to use.

Never-the-less I send all my cameras, including screw-thread to Leica Camera AG at Solms where these days they remanufacture new parts for the older cameras.

If you go that route contact Gerald Wagner at the Service Department, his english is excellent and he is very helpful.

Let me know how you go.

Justin

 

[Guest]

Part of my decision will have to be made based on economics in mind. With now both of my Leica's needing service before I can get any use out of them.
I should probably get the IIIg done first and then when I can afford it the IIIf RD. Only one of my lenses still needs a clean up and that's this 3.5cm Summaron I just got. The others either didn't need anything or have been done. What out of curiosity does Solms charge and what would be an expected time frame. I don't mind making the investment in quality work. I just don't know if either camera needs any more then my local guy can easily handle.

So many little decisions. Makes one appreciate a forum like this with others experiance.

Mark W.

 

[Guest]

Mark,
The costs vary as you would imagine. My M2 needed a very normal CLA and installation of M4 flash plugs which all-up cost US$360.00. On the other hand my Leicaflex SL MOT needed major work (fungus in the prism viewfinder) a new top cover etc., hence cost US$970.00.
The screw thread cameras are not complex so I would expect under $360.00 however you do not have to accept the quote.
Turn-around up to three months.
Cheers,
Justin

 

[Guest]

Mark,

I had exactly the same problem with my IIIf RD ST. I had the camera fixed by a local Jakarta technician: a bit of a risk but he seems to have done a good job. There isn't much choice here but, where you live, you would naturally want to use a qualified Leica technician to do the job.

Before my camera was fixed, I experimented with it to see if I could understand the problem. I took the lens out of the camera, set the shutter speed to B and fired the shutter, holding down the shutter release button while, at the same time, putting some finger pressure on the main shutter speed dial and releasing it gradually, to slow the movement of the first curtain right down. I watched the movement of the first curtain through the lens mount and noticed that it moved sluggishly and didn't open fully. This led me to suspect that the problem was due to poor lubrication and/or a dragging first curtain brake. I think the first curtain couldn't escape properly from the second curtain, which caught up with it and effectively gave a zero-width slit. This was happening at 1/200, 1/500 and 1/1000 but at speeds of 1/100 and slower it was OK.

FWIW, I suspect this is a more common problem with IIIf RD cameras than with previous LTM models, i.e. the IIIf BD and earlier. In the IIIf RD, the shutter is lighter and has better braking, making it quieter and less prone to bounce. However, I think that this also makes it more prone to sticking, as lubricants dry out or things go out of adjustment.

You can see information on repairing LTM cameras at http://www.mediajoy.com/en/lrc/index.html with step-by-step instructions on shutter speed adjustments (and other things). It's interesting to see but I wouldn't suggest trying a do-it-yourself fix! In any case, the suggested procedure simply increases shutter curtain tension, which is more likely to lead to damage than anything else if it's a lubrication problem.

 

[Guest]

FWIW John Maddox did excellent CLAs on my IIIa and IIIf RD about 2 years ago. IIRC it onky cost about $100 each at that time. Turnaround was about one month.

Here's his contact info from an excelent Leica repair FAQ page [http://www.nemeng.com/leica/007e.shtml]:

John Maddox,
L & J Leica Repair
109 Royal Oak Road
Greenville, SC 29607
(864) 297-6931.
4-6 M-F, 10-6 Sat.