Leitz halfbreed

As a consequence of my brother having recently gone digital, I am the lucky recipient of an orphaned Leitz Elmar lens that had been gathering dust in his drawer for the last couple of decades. Having mentioned this to my "CLA Guy", he pulls out a mint condition Fed 2E in the original box from underneath the counter that someone had left some years earlier. He let me have it for $30. Although I'm very happy to have gotten a "Leica" so cheaply, and am satisfied with the Fed, I would appreciate recommendations as to which Leica body would be the least costly to pursue.

Among Leica collectors, the IIIa is the least regarded, because it was produced in the largest numbers of any screw-thread Leica. A good usable example is still going to cost £200 or more on e-bay and may need a servicing as well. There are of course also the Cosina/Voigtländer cameras to consider (many previous threads on APUG).

Regards,

David

As I CLA every camera I buy, a little servicing is not unexpected. I'm mostly interested in the classics like the A you've recommended, but since you mentioned it, would my collapsible Elmar work on a Voigtlander Bessa L?

maiko9 said:

As I CLA every camera I buy, a little servicing is not unexpected. I'm mostly interested in the classics like the A you've recommended, but since you mentioned it, would my collapsible Elmar work on a Voigtlander Bessa L?

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Yes, I have used this combination - no problem!

There is a user IIIa for sale at the moment at RFF classified. $175 No connection with seller, etc.