Film test - Leica iiic
Russell asked me to run a quick roll through a Leica iiic. I have never ever shot one so i happily agreed. He specified quick so quick it was! The dreary weather saw me reach for an Ilford HP5+. Russell had dug out a hood and filter combo and i had the right size glass filters to fit.
Initial observations were clean and tidy, while not immaculate everything was where it should be, lens was clean and moving in all the right places. Skin was complete well stuck down with no marks. There was no dints or serious scratches in the metal work just a little character brassing in the right places. Worth noting Russell informs me it’s serial number is early, dating it to 1940.
There are a few Leica quirks to manage, first loading needs to be thought about and remembering to advance film before setting shutter speed. The range finder and viewing window are directly adjacent and take a little getting used to. Over all I found it fairly straight forward to use, shutter caught me out a couple of times but that’s just practice. I kept the camera out of its leather case and in hand for the duration the get as much light on the body as I could.
Once developed it was pleasing to see nice even gaps between
frames, no light leaks and even exposures. The scans were good, the frames shot
without filters were quite low contrast probably a lens characteristic. Focus
appears bang on and shutter speeds are good where I got it right.
Post adjustments were limited to dust removal, straightening
and basic levels.
All in all a good well-presented camera.
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