The Leica model IIIc was introduced by Leitz in 1940 and discontinued in 1951. This model IIIc camera is a postwar version with a serial number in the low end of a range that was assigned in 1946-47. The f/3.5 50 mm Elmar lens was bought separately and has a serial number from 1946. The Leitz factory was located in the American zone of occupation and a great deal of the production at that time was for the Allied occupation forces. The civilian export market really didn't get going again until currency reform and the creation of the Deutsche Mark in 1948. The US list price of a Leica IIIc with a standard f/3.5 50 mm Elmar lens was $332.50 in 1948. It was an expensive camera when it was new. By 1950 the list price had dropped to $285.00 In 1951 the same combination was closed out at a still expensive list price of $259.00.
The wartime IIIc (1940-45) differs in a few details from the postwar IIIc (1946-51). The most visible differences in the wartime version are a step in the top plate where the advance-rewind lever is positioned and a different shape of the range finder focusing lever. The wartime cameras also have many variations in materials and finish. Leitz made about 33,000 of the wartime version and about 100,000 of the postwar version.
Leica is a long running line of cameras. The first Leica camera was designed by Oskar Barnack (1879-1936) about 1912. It was further developed as a commercial product and introduced for sale in 1925. Originally the Leica came with a non-interchangeable lens. The first version with interchangeable screw-mount lenses came out in 1930, and the bayonet lens mount came out in 1954. Leica digital cameras are still in production today. The screw-mount Leica is one of the most imitated of cameras. Cameras inspired by the Leica were made in the USSR, Japan, China, the UK, France and the USA. Some lenses and other parts were interchangeable among the various makes. My camera happens to have a Canon (Japan) take-up spool. Canon and Nikon lenses in Leica screw mount are well regarded. Soviet lenses range from good to "won't even fit".
The top of the camera has the rewind knob, the focusing lever for the rangefinder eyepiece, the accessory shoe, the fast shutter speed dial, the film advance/rewind lever, the shutter button, the film advance knob and the exposure counter. The front of the camera has the slow shutter speed dial, the lens mount and the windows for the range finder and viewfinder. The back of the camera has the range finder and viewfinder eyepieces. The bottom of the camera has the base latch and the tripod socket. There are strap lugs on the left and right sides. The metal parts are chromed and the black covering is textured vulcanite. There is a little brassing on the knobs where the chrome has worn thin.
The Leica is a bottom loading camera. There is no hinged back (like most 35mm cameras) or removable back (like the Zeiss Ikon Contax) to make loading easier. The base plate comes off for loading film. The film should be trimmed to half width for about 4 inches to make a leader and hooked onto the take-up spool before the spool is placed inside the camera. You need to thread the film between the pressure plate and film gate and get the perforations onto the sprocket wheel by feel. The advance/rewind lever should be in the advance position to take pictures. When you advance the film you should see the rewind knob spin counterclockwise. The small black dot on the shutter button also spins around. You should advance the film twice, then set the exposure counter to zero. The exposure counter will count the number of pictures taken. There are templates available to help in trimming the film, but it is easy enough to cut freehand with scissors. The rationale for the solid back is that it makes the camera body more rigid.
Street signs near Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Kodak Portra 160, f/3.5 50 mm Elmar
The f/3.5 50mm Elmar lens was designed by Dr. Max Berek (1886-1949) at Leitz about 1922. The screw mount version of the lens was introduced in 1930 and discontinued in 1959. It was the standard lens for Leica screw mount cameras. It has four elements in three groups, resembling a tessar design but with the aperture diaphragm between the first and second groups instead of between the second and third group. My lens has anti-reflection coatings. The lens mount has a 39 mm right-hand screw thread with a 26 threads-per-inch pitch. Supposedly the thread pitch is from a British standard for microscope objectives. Leitz made microscopes long before it made cameras, so this seems reasonable. Inside the camera body is a roller that rides on a cam inside the lens and transmits the focus distance to the range finder. The focusing lever on the lens locks at infinity. To focus closer you press in the knob to unlock the lens and rotate the lens to focus. The closest focus is 1 meter (3' 3-3/8"). A small tab on the front of the lens sets the aperture. The aperture scale is marked from f/3.5 to f/16 (3.5, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16). No click stops are provided, which lets you select intermediate apertures. There is a depth of field scale on the lens barrel. The Elmar lens is collapsible to allow the camera to fit inside a generous pocket. To collapse the lens you rotate the barrel counterclockwise until it unlocks and push it in. To extend the lens you draw out the barrel and rotate it clockwise until it locks. You need to make sure the lens is extended and locked for picture taking or else your pictures will be badly out of focus. The lens will take 19mm diameter screw-in filters (E19) or 36mm diameter slip-on filters (A36). A Kodak No. 18 Series V filter adapter will screw onto the lens, and a Kodak 1-13/32" Series VI filter adapter will slip on. An A36 slip-on filter or a Series adapter covers the aperture dial so you have to take off the filter or adapter to set the aperture.
The shutter is a horizontally running rubberized cloth focal plane shutter. Winding the film advance knob advances the film and cocks the shutter. Shutter speeds from 1/30 to 1/1000 second are set by lifting and turning the top shutter speed dial. Slow speeds are set on the dial on the front of the camera. The shutter needs to be cocked in order to line up the correct setting with the index mark because the shutter speed knob rotates when the shutter fires. The top speed knob should be set to "1-30" to use the slow speeds. The front speed dial should be set to "30" to use the fast speeds. The front speed dial will lock at "30" to prevent an accidental bump from changing the shutter speed. You press a small stud above the dial to unlock it. The IIIc is not synchronized for flash. Several different add-on flash synchronizers were available from Leitz and third party suppliers. Some synchronizers took advantage of the fact that the shutter speed knob rotated to fire the flash at the correct time. The shutter was synchronized for flash at 1/30 second with these attachments. The succeeding model IIIf Leica (1950-57) had flash sync built in.
The Leica is a bottom loading camera. There is no hinged back (like most 35mm cameras) or removable back (like the Zeiss Ikon Contax) to make loading easier. The base plate comes off for loading film. The film should be trimmed to half width for about 4 inches to make a leader and hooked onto the take-up spool before the spool is placed inside the camera. You need to thread the film between the pressure plate and film gate and get the perforations onto the sprocket wheel by feel. The advance/rewind lever should be in the advance position to take pictures. When you advance the film you should see the rewind knob spin counterclockwise. The small black dot on the shutter button also spins around. You should advance the film twice, then set the exposure counter to zero. The exposure counter will count the number of pictures taken. There are templates available to help in trimming the film, but it is easy enough to cut freehand with scissors. The rationale for the solid back is that it makes the camera body more rigid.
To remove the film from the camera you switch the advance/.rewind lever to the rewind position and turn the rewind knob clockwise until all of the film is wound into the cassette. Then you can take off the base and remove the cassette.
The viewfinder and range finder have separate eyepieces, with the viewfinder on the right. The field of view of the viewfinder matches the field of view of the standard 50 mm lens. An auxiliary viewfinder for a wide angle or a telephoto lens fits into the accessory shoe. The rangefinder is a coincident type. When the double image in the eyepiece merges into a single view the camera is in focus. The range finder eyepiece magnifies about 1.5 times and has a focus adjustment for the clearest view of distant or near objects.
To use a standard cable release you need a "Leica Nipple" adapter that replaces the collar around the shutter button. The same style adapter was used on some Yashica and Nikon cameras. The tripod socket takes a 3/8" diameter thread. You need a 3/8" to 1/4" adapter to use most modern tripods.
The peacetime Leica IIIc probably is the most affordable Leica as a user camera. The wartime IIIc cameras tend to be expensive collectors' items. Photographic technology has advanced quite a bit in the 70-80 years since the IIIc was new, and the camera is decidedly quaint. It is definitely finely made and it still is a good picture taker.
Street signs near Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Kodak Portra 160, f/3.5 50 mm Elmar
