Antique Leica

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Death Pony

Death Pony

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 6, 2007
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Fredericksburg and Newport News, VA
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I took my first photography class this semester, and it was a darkroom class. I do have a nice DSLR, but I got the chance to use something that camera junkies lust over. This is a little something I inherited from my grandfather, who used it in the Korean War. This thing is 60 years old, or so, and it still works perfectly!

Here it is, the Leica IIf Black Dial

50mm lens

Leica IIf by Wire Man, on Flickr

Leica IIf top by Wire Man, on Flickr

Leica IIf w/50mm lens by Wire Man, on Flickr



Since it's a rangefinder camera you don't see through the lens. If you want to use a different lens other than the 50mm you have to use this, an external viewfinder.

Leica viewfinder and case by Wire Man, on Flickr

Leica viewfinder by Wire Man, on Flickr

And how you find the proper exposure and metering, the external extinction meter. Sadly, this doesn't work that well anymore.

Leica-Meter by Wire Man, on Flickr



Leica extinction meter by Wire Man, on Flickr

Leica IIf w/ 50mm lens and extinction meter by Wire Man, on Flickr

The 35mm lens. It looks so cool!

35mm by Wire Man, on Flickr



35mm by Wire Man, on Flickr

Leica IIf w/ 35mm lens by Wire Man, on Flickr

Knurls by Wire Man, on Flickr



This is probably the best lens, the 90mm true Leica lens.

Lecia IIf w/ 135 lens by Wire Man, on Flickr

Leica IIf w/ 90mm lens by Wire Man, on Flickr

Leica 90mm lens by Wire Man, on Flickr



This lens weighs more than a Chihuahua, easily! It weighs more than the actual body of the camera! It's a solid glass and aluminum 135 lens.

Leica IIf with 135mm lens by Wire Man, on Flickr

Leica IIf w/ 135mm lens by Wire Man, on Flickr

It telescopes a lot when focusing.

Distance Focus by Wire Man, on Flickr



Close Focus by Wire Man, on Flickr

135mm Detail by Wire Man, on Flickr

So, there it is, arguably one of the best cameras ever made. It doesn't use any batteries and you have to do everything manually, but the clarity of the images is incredible and it operates so smoothly!

If you have any cool antique or vintage cameras feel free to post them here too.
 
thats an awesome camera. I'm old enough to remember cameras without auto this and auto that. you had to actually know something about exposure and lighting to make a great photo. today, photshop and auto everything makes it so much easier. I love digital, but sometimes I yearn for my old Minolta srt's.
 
I love the old Minoltas! My dad still has his, but it needs some work to be usable again. I want to get it repaired because he still has this massive 300mm lens. Maybe I can find a lens adapter....
I hate all of the auto functions that make great photos easier. It takes the art out of a perfectly exposed photo. I have mixed feelings about the Lytra light field camera. It's awesome that you can save a perfectly composed photo that is slightly out of focus, but it will make everyone who has one look like a pro, or they'll think they are.
This thing is one of the most difficult cameras I've ever used. It has 2 separate view finders, one to focus and one to compose, it's very difficult to load the film into it (bottom loader, the back doesn't open), the exposure meter doesn't work and I have to use another camera to get proper metering, it's heavy, not all of the lenses work with the rangefinder focusing device, and you have to compensate for the distance between the viewfinder and the lens. But the results are incredible and the shutter is so smooth!!! The first time I released the shutter I didn't know that it actually took the photo. There's no mirror that has to flip up, so there's no shake. It's like a functioning gemstone. I could look at it for hours because of the design and craftsmanship. Lucky, film is making a bit of a comeback among photo enthusiasts.

I'll put up some photos as soon as I get my portfolio back from grading. The details in texture this thing can capture is amazing. Considering that this camera survived the Korean War, landing on aircraft carriers and ground missions in such condition is even more amazing.

Lucky for us, Leica still makes rangefinders with their digital models. Their really expensive, but almost as good. I'm seeing a lot of these old ones show up online for sale now, too.
 
I'm going to take photos of the photos I took with this thing tonight. That sounds so weird.... Anyways, we haven't had much sunlight lately, so I'm going to setup my plant lights to get a good amount of light on the photos. Hopefully the E-5 can do the Leica justice.
 
how about showing us a sample pic you took with that camera? BTW, does it takes color pics?
 
It can do color, but it's much harder to develop than B&W. It actually still had color film in it from when my grandpa last used it, which was at least 20 years ago. I managed to get it developed, but it's really, really faded.
Pics will be up in about 3 hours.
 
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