My $50 Leica

ME Super · Mar 30, 2016

Made you look! OK, ok, it's not a Leica camera, but it was made by the same company. It's a Leitz Wetzlar Pradovit 250 Color projector that I picked up off the big auction site. Winning bid was $25, plus another $25 to ship it. The only problem with it is that the bulb is burned out (I confirmed this with my handy dandy voltmeter - 24V across the socket, bulb tests as an open circuit). I fully expected the bulb to be messed up during shipping. Turns out the bulbs appear to be available for about $2 plus shipping online. I may see if I can get one locally 1st because I really want to project some slides and not have to fight constant jams like I do with the Vivitar 2000 AF projector.

I did put some slides in the tray and run them through the projector and guess what - not a single jam. This thing is built like a tank and the slide advance appears buttery smooth. I think I'm gonna like this projector!

Fixcinater · Mar 30, 2016

Nice find, solid price. Slides are fun, even if you put them into the tray the wrong way.

ME Super · Mar 30, 2016

Agreed. I have one tray that holds 36 slides that came with the projector. Looks like I'll be buying some more trays soon, because it looks like it's pretty hard for this projector to jam the way the trays and slide claw are designed. And in the event of a jam, the whole top comes off so I can probably still get the slide out that way if I have to.

Fr. Mark · Mar 31, 2016

I saw a leitz projector at Salvation Army a while back but I have a nice Kodak carousel one so I let it go. Saving $ for other photo toys.

chip j · Mar 31, 2016

I bought my Pradovit RC in 1973 new, amd it' never even tried to jam.

Steve Smith · Mar 31, 2016

A friend recently bought a very nice condition Leica III with lens for... £25 in a junk shop!

Steve.

ME Super · Mar 31, 2016

Wow, 25 pounds for a Leica III in good condition? What a steal!

mehguy · Mar 31, 2016

Oh wow nice click bait .

Haha I'm joking but nice find!

ME Super · Mar 31, 2016

Yeah, the click bait was intentional . I should have a bulb for it tomorrow. Can't wait to actually see the pictures on the screen instead of staring at the projector in wonder at how it feeds the slides perfectly without jamming.

The internet is both awesome for finding cool stuff and getting it delivered, and horrible for the budget. Oh well.

chip j · Mar 31, 2016

ebay is my very good friend.

randyB · Apr 1, 2016

If you are interested I have several trays for sale (cheap) for this projector. I had one that I picked up at a pawn shop for very little money. I was great for the 30 minutes that it worked, the transformer blew, the repairman said the parts were quite expensive, so I chucked it. I kept the lens and use it as a loupe. PM me if your are interested in the trays. The light quality and image sharpness from a Leitz projector is far superior to any other brand, good luck with yours.

calebarchie · Apr 1, 2016

You didn't make me look thanks to the new mouse over pop-up features

ME Super · Apr 1, 2016

Got the bulb I needed today and ran a tray of slides through. It was wonderful. Aligning the bulb in the projector was easy too.

My $50 Leica

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