Leica II

[macfred]

How about my Video -- I show some actual prints taken with it !

Thank you for sharing, Mr. Elgar! Like you blowing the horn ...

 

[Pioneer]

How about my Video -- I show some actual prints taken with it !

Nice job with the Video. Love my little II.

Strap lugs aren't really necessary on these little Barnacks IMHO. You are supposed to keep it in hand for quick use. If you need to take a sip of beer then just stick it in a pocket.

And the little viewfinders are easy to get used to but they will scratch your glasses if you aren't careful. Besides, most of the time I am using hyperfocus anyway.

 

[abruzzi]

Besides, most of the time I am using hyperfocus anyway.

I have an early Zorki with the collapsible Industar 50/3.5. I just set it to hyper focal as well, it’s tiny, with the lens collapsed, it fits in my back pocket, and almost suffices as a point-and-shoot.

 

[guangong]

Nice job with the Video. Love my little II.

Strap lugs aren't really necessary on these little Barnacks IMHO. You are supposed to keep it in hand for quick use. If you need to take a sip of beer then just stick it in a pocket.

And the little viewfinders are easy to get used to but they will scratch your glasses if you aren't careful. Besides, most of the time I am using hyperfocus anyway.

A man of my own spirit.
Since I don’t wear spectacles, I can get my eye very close to viewfinder. However, to get 20/20 vision I wear a pair of soft lenses and a pair of hard contact lenses simultaneously.
Note, in my pervious post, I mistakenly typed IIIg when I meant IIIa. Size wise, IIIg not in same league with other screw mount Leicas.

 

[Gimenosaiz]

How about my Video -- I show some actual prints taken with it !

Hi!
Very good !! Well done Thank you for sharing.

Antonio

 

[cliveh]

Following my thoughts about the Leica II being the ultimate camera design, I removed my Leica II from its case and weighed it on electronic scales, as I wondered what Oskar thought about the ideal weight for this camera. With a 3.5 Elmar the weight recorded was 523 grams.Two or three seconds later the reading changed to 524 grams. Two or three seconds later it changed back to 523 grams. This change back and forth went on for the next five minutes. Do I have faulty scales? Or is this some form of magic where Oskar wanted it weigh both?

 

[MattKing]

Your camera weighs 523.5 grams, and the air is moving around it.

 

[cliveh]

Your camera weighs 523.5 grams, and the air is moving around it.

Matt, you have burst my magic bubble. There was me thinking it was the spirit of Oskar Barnack giving his camera a non definable weight.

 

[Ballinderry-Michael]

My Leica II does have strap lugs and is from 1934. Today I received it back from an engineer after a full service and clean and it looks like new. The lens has no serial number. Does anybody know if this sometimes happened? It is defiantly a Leica lens.

Clive, is the lens you're referring to a 5cm Elmar (1:3.5)? When I first bought mine I thought it had no serial number; but it turns out to be on the aperture selection ring, if you look closely. I hope the rather rough image I've just taken shows it clearly enough.

 

[eli griggs]

You might try to skeletonize a ready case and modify the bottom panel into a non-removable hinge, with two heavy snaps at the back, on a 2.5" - 3.5" flap, that can be unleashed for a quick bottom removal, and film change, swinging away toward the forward camera hinge.

I suppose old Fed cases could be donor leather, for mock-ups, but I would like to see an extra layer of full thickness cow hide added to the bottom flap for both protection and a more durable hinge and snap release.

IMO.

 

[cliveh]

Clive, is the lens you're referring to a 5cm Elmar (1:3.5)? When I first bought mine I thought it had no serial number; but it turns out to be on the aperture selection ring, if you look closely. I hope the rather rough image I've just taken shows it clearly enough. View attachment 237752

Mine does not have that and think it may have been rubbed off.

 

[Ray Morgenweck]

It’s too bad making the UR Replica into a functional camera is so difficult because it IS the sweetest Barnack Leica made. Smaller, lighter and equipped with a 6 element 42mm Summar lens which retracts into the body. And yes it has strap lugs

 

[cliveh]

When Oskar Barnack designed the Leica II, he was very specific about its weight and size. No other camera in the history of photography comes close to this tactile image recording machine.

 

[henryvk]

Probably sacrilege with a Leica body, but it's very easy to attach strap lugs, I've done it with a few FED/Zorki bodies. I use these brass eye bolts and cement them in place with J.B. Weld: https://www.ebay.de/itm/282923463546. Very easy to do but placement is key when it comes to balancing the camera. With collapsible lenses you probably want the strap lugs center of the side, with rigid ones more towards the front, otherwise the camera will tilt.

 

[guangong]

I have several small soft leather camera cases for Leica ltm cameras that allow camera to be easily and safely slipped into a pocket. Very handy, and work comfortably with a wrist strap.