Possible design of Leica II

[cliveh]

I sometimes wonder if it is possible to improve on the Oskar Barnack design of the Leica II by designing a camera of the same weight and size (tactile handling), but incorporating a M2 style viewfinder (with 50mm frame lines only) and a leaf shutter. Would such a design be possible?

 

[Chris Lange]

so like a IIIG with combined RF/VF and a leaf shutter...sure...but I think I would rather have the focal plane shutter regardless.

 

[cliveh]

so like a IIIG with combined RF/VF and a leaf shutter...sure...but I think I would rather have the focal plane shutter regardless.

Why?

 

[snapguy]

Not sure

I am not too sure a leaf shutter would constitute an "improvement." There are lots of cameras around if you want something different. There is a Canonet with a leaf shutter that takes fabulous photos and syncs at any speed up to 1/500 with strobe. A friend of mine used one professionally from time to time. He wanted to flash fill some portraits at 1/500 of a sec. and most 35mm camera of the time synced 1/60 of a second or so.

 

[summicron1]

I sometimes wonder if it is possible to improve on the Oskar Barnack design of the Leica II by designing a camera of the same weight and size (tactile handling), but incorporating a M2 style viewfinder (with 50mm frame lines only) and a leaf shutter. Would such a design be possible?

several companies made this very thing, such as Ricoh, but they didn't take off -- if you have a leaf shutter you lose lens interchangability.

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

I sometimes wonder if it is possible to improve on the Oskar Barnack design of the Leica II by designing a camera of the same weight and size (tactile handling), but incorporating a M2 style viewfinder (with 50mm frame lines only)

Yes, it already exists. It is called a FED-2. An SLR exists as well. Look for an early Zenit.

 

[MartinP]

several companies made this very thing, such as Ricoh, but they didn't take off -- if you have a leaf shutter you lose lens interchangability.

Not necessarily . . . have a Google for Werra rangefinders

(Though you'd be very lucky to find any lenses apart from the standard one, it is technically possible to make, and sell successfully, such a camera).

 

[Alan Johnson]

I have Fed-2,Fed-4, Zorki-4,Zorki-6 that have the larger viewfinder but they are all quite a bit taller than my Leica ii.
IMO Leica ii with 50mm auxiliary finder looks better.
You can get Leica ii that was converted to flash sync and if ND filters are used on the lens this allows shooting at wide aperture to get out of focus background which is the same effect that can be got with leaf shutter so there is no need for leaf shutter.

 

[summicron1]

Not necessarily . . . have a Google for Werra rangefinders

(Though you'd be very lucky to find any lenses apart from the standard one, it is technically possible to make, and sell successfully, such a camera).

and the Voigtlander Prominent, Kodak Retina and a few others, but in general they didn't do well, the lenses were less sharp because they required too many compromises, and were usually born of efforts to make a camera that got around the Leica patents. The Leica design is far superior.

 

[Ian Grant]

It's quite nice to have a camera with a choice of shutter either a Focal Plane or leaf shutter, In my case I have a couple of Speed Graphics and an Ihagee
Zweiverschluss Duplex, of course these are large format (5x4 & 9x12).

My IIIa has had flash synch added, works fine. In the 70's I met a local Councillor (here in the UK) who's first job was camera repairs after WWII in fact he said most of his work was adding flash synch to cameras like Leica's. A good repair man should be able to do it today.

There's an intriguing flash synch for the 1931 Compur on my Ihagee Zweiverschluss Duplex, it's strange but works probably DIY.

I can't see why a pair of lens cells couldn't be mounted to a Compur shutter with a Leica srew mount, but where would the focus helical go . . . . .

Ian

 

[Peltigera]

several companies made this very thing, such as Ricoh, but they didn't take off -- if you have a leaf shutter you lose lens interchangability.

Carl Braun made rangefinder cameras with interchangeable lenses and a leaf shutter - the Paxette IIM.

 

[frank]

I prefer the Barnack design!

 

[Ian Grant]

Sat in front of me is a front mounting shutter with flash synch, this one's a bit to large to use with a Leica but I have others, smaller. It would be easy to front mount a leaf shutter to a Leica lens.

Ian

 

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