Sold Charity Sale: a lovely "Leica" look-alike to feed the hungry

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Trader history for summicron1 (4)

summicron1

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Hey guys,

Thinning out the collection and trying to raise money for the Joyce Hansen Hall Food Bank here in Ogden, Utah. My wife volunteers out there and says the shelves are bare.

SO: If you want to help the needy and have ALWAYS WANTED A LEICA but didn't have the proverbial king's ransom to get one, this is the CAMERA FOR YOU!!!!

IMG_33771.jpg
IMG_33781.jpg


It can be yours for a mere $150 donation, which seems to be market rate on eBay for these. I pay the postage to you, ALL your money goes to the food bank.

And what do you get? Well, you get this lovely "Leica." It is a "Leica" in that it says, right there on the top plate, that it is a Leica. Would they lie?

Of course they would.

This copy of a Leica II was actually made in Kiev, Ukraine, during Soviet Union times. Or somewhere else. Who knows? That said, it's not a bad copy -- no wartime German military insignia or other crud that can get you in trouble. Just a nice shiny black paint job and a serial number that says it should be a Leica III, but it's not.

Does it work? Yes, it does, on all speeds. Shutter sounds good, Test shots show full frame, no issues.

Is it smooth like a Leica? Of course not. You can feel the gears rumble as you wind. The shutter travel ends with a satisfying "clunk!" The shutter button is stiffer than a Leica. The bottom plate feels rough coming off, the quality of construction in general is very Soviet. That said, it does work just fine. No light leaks, no hitches or catches. Frame spacing is even, no overlap. I'd take this over a Kiev 88 any day.

How's the rangefinder? Dead-on and very bright and contrasty.

How about the lens? Well, it's an "Elmar" which probably means a Jupiter or something. If you noodle around YouTube you'll find a lot of stuff about these lenses, almost all good. This particular example is coated, clear and scratch-free. It gives very sharp and vignette-free images. See samples below.

So, if you've always wanted a "Leica" to impress your friends, this is it. Also a very good and cheap intro to film photography in general. Despite what you may have heard, these are VERY easy to load if you trim the film leader correctly. Cut a 4-inch tongue and it drops right in.

I can take paypal at summicron12000 {at} yahoo.com. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

If you don't trust me, feel free to call the food bank (google Catholic Community Services Joyce Hansen Hall Food Bank in Ogden) and they can vouch for me. If you REALLY don't trust me, make the donation yourself and provide me proof of the donation and I will send you the camera.

Deal?

Thanks for looking

Charles Trentelman
Ogden, Utah



Sample Images:

leicasample_00101.jpg

leicasample_0007.jpg
 
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chriscrawfordphoto

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If that Elmar is a fake, they did a good job of it. The usual Soviet lenses that are altered to look like the Elmar are the Industar 50mm f3.5 and the aperture setting ring is different on the industar than the Elmar. This one has the correct Leitz aperture ring. The lens looks real to me.
 
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summicron1

summicron1

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If that Elmar is a fake, they did a good job of it. The usual Soviet lenses that are altered to look like the Elmar are the Industar 50mm f3.5 and the aperture setting ring is different on the industar than the Elmar. This one has the correct Leitz aperture ring. The lens looks real to me.

I can assure you it is not. The aperture blades are in the wrong place for an Elmar and when you remove it the quality of the machining on the lens innards is rather rough.

But as a lens it works very well.
 

Donald Qualls

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If you've got $150 to spare, this looks like a good gateway drug entry point to LTM cameras and lenses. The beauty of these Fed (etc.) Leica copies is that they'll take real Leica lenses, so you can get the optics without spending the price of a used car on the body. Not to mention you won't be afraid to take it out on the street to use it.
 

cmacd123

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At Least if Mr. Trentlman is selling a Camera he has actually verified that it works, perfectly
 
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