I am not sure if I am ready to sell these, as I am not really sure what I could get for them, but I want to gauge the interest in order to help guide a decision. If this is the wrong forum, I apologize. Basically, I would need to find a Linhof collector to sell these, and I figure we may have a few here.
I have two original three-lens-kit Super Technika III's.
Kit one has numbers-matching 90/150/240 kit with cams and separate focusing scales for each lens. Kit two has a numbers-matching 90/150/360 kit with cams for each lens, and one combined focusing scale for 90/150, but no focusing scale for the 360.
Kit one was barely used. It was bought by a guy who was a well-to-do hobbyist. His daughter told me that he would buy really nice cameras and then rarely use them. As such, it is cosmetically outstanding, but everything is stiff, and the metal needs to have a thin film or tarnish (not rust or pitting) polished away. It could use to be loosened up by a good CLA. The shutter of the 240 lens does not work (won't cock). Do these few simple things, add a zoom finder and a mint aluminum case, and this is a museum piece, no joke. I did not do all this because while I love and lust old cameras, I am really a shooter, and was always unsure of my commitment to having a camera that is truly a museum piece. It has a left hand anatomical grip in white. It has a wire frame for the front, but no eyepiece for the back. It has some original Linhof literature, and an on-camera flash and an extension flash with dimpled reflectors. And it has a tan Super Rollex 6x7 back. Some pix I took when I first got the camera: Dead Link Removed
Kit two has obviously been used. It is more worn, but fully functional, and not completely hammered. There is a small chip gone from the edge of the body at the door joint, the latch doesn't operate as well as it should (though it does work), and the leather is stained in areas. It also had patches of fuzzy mildew on the leather and bellows when I got it, which I have cleaned off. But the upside is that it still looks good, and, even better, everything works more smoothly than kit number one, because it was used. It has a great custom-made carrying case made from a Craftsman tool box covered in green vinyl and lined in green corduroy, with special compartments and holders that fit the entire kit perfectly. And it has an optical zoom finder. It does not have an anatomical grip or the mount for it, but it has a left hand leather strap.
Both of these kits have not been broken up or added to since they were purchased new, except for the possible addition of the 6x7 roll film back to kit #1. And both have been Los Angeles cameras for life. I also have a file box full of b/w 4x5 negatives shot with camera #2 by the original owner.
Finding kits like these is the way to make a Linhof III usable hand held with a variety of lenses. Otherwise, with non-matching cams and lenses, you need to have custom cams made...and Linhof no longer does this for the III. Richard Ritter does.
I am most inclined to sell #1 to a collector and keep #2 for shooting. However, I really don't need #2, as much as I love it. It would be a great camera for someone who will honestly use a luxury hand-held press camera to make their work.
I also have a gorgeous 1954 Pacemaker Speed Graphic that works like a charm. It is my baby, but I have not used it much since getting the Linhofs. If I could get good money for it, I may sell it. It is in outstanding condition, and has a Vulcanite case. It has an Ektar 127 lens, in a Suermatic X, with a solenoid, and is tuned to operate with class-M bulbs like a charm. I have several flashes and reflectors, including the original three-cell flash and 5 inch reflector that came with the kit. I added a cosmetically flawed (a dime-sized green corrosion spot) 7 inch reflector which I also keep in the case in it's intended space. The other flashes (maybe four or five) are Graflex and H-R, including several sizes of reflectors for the H-Rs (one huge one and a few 5 inch ones), and at least one H-R extension flash, maybe two. All the other flashes come in another Vulcanite Graflex case, but a later model case, I believe, with a plastic handle. Lots of synch cables as well. And two medium-sized plastic crates full of flashbulbs (probably at least 2 or 3 hundred dollars worth of flashbulbs). The only cosmetic issues on the camera are a very slight "smearing" of the detailed pattern on a few of the edges of the hump on the front door, and the same thing on the folding focusing hood...and one slightly bent dark slide clip on the hood. Also, the lens has a tiny bubble in the front glass, but is still sharp as nails in 20x24 prints. The shutter is not mint, but it works well and looks good. And the lens board might have a scratch or two. If you are a real nut, each one of these parts could be replaced with a mint example. (Just transfer the serial over to the bed of the donor camera, add a mint focusing hood and a mint lens board and lens.) I also have a boxed 6x9 Adapt-A-Roll holder with the original templates, mounting hardware, instructions, and additional "short" dark slide for 6x6 shooting. This holder looks like it has not once been used.
It is one of the cleanest Graphics I've ever seen, and I managed to keep it that way, even though it was my main 4x5 field camera for some time. It is well taken care of cosmetically, and also maintained to be a perfectly-functioning workhorse. It is pretty much the only camera that I have ever used with an extreme amount of care at all times, and it shows.
If anyone out there is a collector of super clean press cameras, and are willing to pay good money for these cameras, drop me a line and we can talk. I don't use them as much as I should, due to a busy schedule and a move away from large format for most of my work. But I would love to see them in great hands, not off into the abyss of E-Bay.
I have two original three-lens-kit Super Technika III's.
Kit one has numbers-matching 90/150/240 kit with cams and separate focusing scales for each lens. Kit two has a numbers-matching 90/150/360 kit with cams for each lens, and one combined focusing scale for 90/150, but no focusing scale for the 360.
Kit one was barely used. It was bought by a guy who was a well-to-do hobbyist. His daughter told me that he would buy really nice cameras and then rarely use them. As such, it is cosmetically outstanding, but everything is stiff, and the metal needs to have a thin film or tarnish (not rust or pitting) polished away. It could use to be loosened up by a good CLA. The shutter of the 240 lens does not work (won't cock). Do these few simple things, add a zoom finder and a mint aluminum case, and this is a museum piece, no joke. I did not do all this because while I love and lust old cameras, I am really a shooter, and was always unsure of my commitment to having a camera that is truly a museum piece. It has a left hand anatomical grip in white. It has a wire frame for the front, but no eyepiece for the back. It has some original Linhof literature, and an on-camera flash and an extension flash with dimpled reflectors. And it has a tan Super Rollex 6x7 back. Some pix I took when I first got the camera: Dead Link Removed
Kit two has obviously been used. It is more worn, but fully functional, and not completely hammered. There is a small chip gone from the edge of the body at the door joint, the latch doesn't operate as well as it should (though it does work), and the leather is stained in areas. It also had patches of fuzzy mildew on the leather and bellows when I got it, which I have cleaned off. But the upside is that it still looks good, and, even better, everything works more smoothly than kit number one, because it was used. It has a great custom-made carrying case made from a Craftsman tool box covered in green vinyl and lined in green corduroy, with special compartments and holders that fit the entire kit perfectly. And it has an optical zoom finder. It does not have an anatomical grip or the mount for it, but it has a left hand leather strap.
Both of these kits have not been broken up or added to since they were purchased new, except for the possible addition of the 6x7 roll film back to kit #1. And both have been Los Angeles cameras for life. I also have a file box full of b/w 4x5 negatives shot with camera #2 by the original owner.
Finding kits like these is the way to make a Linhof III usable hand held with a variety of lenses. Otherwise, with non-matching cams and lenses, you need to have custom cams made...and Linhof no longer does this for the III. Richard Ritter does.
I am most inclined to sell #1 to a collector and keep #2 for shooting. However, I really don't need #2, as much as I love it. It would be a great camera for someone who will honestly use a luxury hand-held press camera to make their work.
I also have a gorgeous 1954 Pacemaker Speed Graphic that works like a charm. It is my baby, but I have not used it much since getting the Linhofs. If I could get good money for it, I may sell it. It is in outstanding condition, and has a Vulcanite case. It has an Ektar 127 lens, in a Suermatic X, with a solenoid, and is tuned to operate with class-M bulbs like a charm. I have several flashes and reflectors, including the original three-cell flash and 5 inch reflector that came with the kit. I added a cosmetically flawed (a dime-sized green corrosion spot) 7 inch reflector which I also keep in the case in it's intended space. The other flashes (maybe four or five) are Graflex and H-R, including several sizes of reflectors for the H-Rs (one huge one and a few 5 inch ones), and at least one H-R extension flash, maybe two. All the other flashes come in another Vulcanite Graflex case, but a later model case, I believe, with a plastic handle. Lots of synch cables as well. And two medium-sized plastic crates full of flashbulbs (probably at least 2 or 3 hundred dollars worth of flashbulbs). The only cosmetic issues on the camera are a very slight "smearing" of the detailed pattern on a few of the edges of the hump on the front door, and the same thing on the folding focusing hood...and one slightly bent dark slide clip on the hood. Also, the lens has a tiny bubble in the front glass, but is still sharp as nails in 20x24 prints. The shutter is not mint, but it works well and looks good. And the lens board might have a scratch or two. If you are a real nut, each one of these parts could be replaced with a mint example. (Just transfer the serial over to the bed of the donor camera, add a mint focusing hood and a mint lens board and lens.) I also have a boxed 6x9 Adapt-A-Roll holder with the original templates, mounting hardware, instructions, and additional "short" dark slide for 6x6 shooting. This holder looks like it has not once been used.
It is one of the cleanest Graphics I've ever seen, and I managed to keep it that way, even though it was my main 4x5 field camera for some time. It is well taken care of cosmetically, and also maintained to be a perfectly-functioning workhorse. It is pretty much the only camera that I have ever used with an extreme amount of care at all times, and it shows.
If anyone out there is a collector of super clean press cameras, and are willing to pay good money for these cameras, drop me a line and we can talk. I don't use them as much as I should, due to a busy schedule and a move away from large format for most of my work. But I would love to see them in great hands, not off into the abyss of E-Bay.
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