Buying Leica IIIc, need advice to test it

[jtlns]

Hi,

I got in contact with a person who is selling a Leica IIIc + Elmar 5cm f3.5. The price (€300) is pretty decent I think. I'm going to visit him later this week and I'm looking for some tips to check if the camera + lens working correctly.

Thanks!
Jan

 

[jtlns]

FYI, this is the camera + lens I'm talking about.

 

[BAC1967]

• Test the slow shutter speeds, you can usually tell pretty easily if they are very far off.
  
• Bring a tape measure and check the accuracy of the rangefinder against the scale on the lens.
  
• Inspect the shutter curtain for holes or defects.
  
• fire the shutter with the lens out on a slow speed to watch the movement.
  
• bring a magnifying loupe to inspect the lens for scratches, haze, mold etc.
  
• Inspect inside and out for damage, corrosion and other problems.

 

[02Pilot]

Nice camera. The sharkskin pattern vulcanite is much grippier than the regular pattern.

A flashlight is useful for inspecting the lens. Ideally, you'd pull the casing off the camera chassis and shine a light through the curtains to check for pinholes, but that's probably outside the realm of possibility unless one of you is an experienced tech. Make sure the RF image is bright and clear; if not, you're looking at a mirror replacement. The hardest thing to check is if the shutter is capping at 1/1000 (and sometimes 1/500); slip a piece of bright white paper into the film gate and fire the shutter with the lens off and in bright light - sometimes this is sufficient to see if you're getting good coverage at those speeds.