Win my Leica

Win my Leica!

By / 105 Comments / / News & Events / News, Photography Competition

Win my Leica! – I’ve decided to give away my Leica iiic as a prize in a 35mm point and shoot compact camera photo competition!

If you would like to be in with a chance of winning my Leica iiic, all you have to do is email me a photo you have taken on a 35mm compact point & shoot camera. To make it a little more interesting, the camera and film must cost no more than a total of £10. (15usd, 13.5eur, 1025rub, 1815jpy etc…)

Some of my favourite cameras cost this sort of money – Think Olympus AF-10 Super, Riva Pano, Canon Prima 120, Ricoh ff90 etc. If it is auto focus, made in the 80’s or 90’s predominantly plastic and regarded by most as a bit crap, you are on the right lines!

edit – A lot of people have been asking about and entering photos taken with non-AF cameras, Oly xa2’s, some old compact rangefinders, a few things like argus c3s etc. These sorts of cameras are fine. Don’t worry too much about the camera, as long as it is cheap, takes 35mm film, is a compact by definition, and was largely designed for the consumer and not the pro it will be fine.

The idea is about harnessing something a bit on the basic side to take a photo that belies the cameras basic nature. if this was someone else’s competition and I was entering, I would enter this photo:

Olympus AF-10 Super

It was taken on my Olympus AF-10 Super, yet had I taken it on my Leica and 35mm cron I wouldn’t have been any happier with it! I would have done nothing different to the framing or focus even if I would have had the power over the camera to make more choices. Hope that makes sense?

Along side the photo I would like to see a photo of the camera it was taken on and a little bit of info about where is was bought, how much for etc. I’d also like to know a bit about the film, and how it was developed.

The prize will also include the Industar-61 lens pictured above and a roll of film.

I’ll run the competition until the end of Feb, at which point I will select my ten favourite images and put them up on the website to be voted on. The person’s photos with the most votes after a week or so will win the camera.

After the competition I would also like the winner to write me a blog post containing a selection of the photos shot on the first roll of film… But we can talk about that when the time comes…

Competition Rules

  • One entry per person.
  • The camera AND film must cost no more than £10 in total.
  • The camera must be a 35mm compact point & shoot
  • The photo must be between 1000px and 2000px on the long edge.
  • The photo must be accompanied with info about the camera and film in was taken on.
  • Think market value – Just because you got lucky and found that Contax T3 in a bin of crap in a charity shop for £1, that doesn’t count! The spirit of the competition is to post a photo taken with a camera thats worth less than £10!
  • Don’t cheat and send me a picture taken on something fancy, I’m not stupid, but even if I do fall for it others might not. And if you do win, karma will come and get you … you have been warned! 😉

I might add more rules, so keep an eye out… but thats about the meat of it!

The back story

Not so long ago I was on the hunt for a 50mm Leitz Elmar. I spotted this camera on ebay sporting one and took a punt bid for the two for a price I didn’t expect to win. I did win! So, I got my Elmar but ended up with Leica iiic to go with it. I already have a iiia that I spent some money having CLA’d so I don’t want to replace that. Initially decided I would put the iiic back on ebay. But, then I remembered that just after christmas a very kind man got in touch with me to give me a Rollei 35se and b35.

One good turn deserves another, so I decided I would give away this Leica iiic. But who to give it to? … And thats where the idea of a competition came from…

Good Luck!

Hamish

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About The Author

I started taking photos at the age of 9. Since then I've taken photos for a hobby, sold cameras for a living, and for a little more than decade I've been a professional photographer and, of course, weekly contributor to 35mmc.

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105 thoughts on “Win my Leica!”

    1. Hamish Gill

      how much did you pay for it? It’s a bit hit and miss since they usually go or around £30, so even if you did get it for less than a tenner, it could be said to not be fair.

      Reply
  5. Exo Des

    Does Pentax Espio 135m qualify for this? The range of it price on ebay is around 15 USD. But I inherit mine from my father.

    Reply
  6. Blinx

    Do recent photos count or do they have to be taken specifically for the competition? I shot some stuff over Christmas on an Olympus Mju 38-80 zoom with Poundshop film.

    Reply
    1. Hamish Gill

      It doesn’t have to be taken for the comp specifically. As long as it fits within the rules, it doesn’t matter when its from.

      Reply
  9. Patrick

    Hum, does it have to be Market Value or what I picked it up for? I sourced myself an XA2 that served me well for about $15 CAD (8pounds). Would that be allowed?

    Reply
  15. Luis Calderon

    I’m a beginner photographer and I recently developed a roll and I took it on a Minolta x-700. Does that qualify?

    Reply
  16. Ehpem

    Well this sounds like fun. But now I have to make a choice. Sadly my XA2 was 20$ Canadian, which is just over 10 pounds and that is without film. My XA was 10$, but the market value is much more than that, and it is not quite point and shoot since you have to focus it, and choose an aperture. Ditto my Pen half-frame which I have taken some of my best photos with – $3 but worth much more than that.
    Maybe the AF-10 Super would be good – I think I paid $3 for it. The Mamiya-U film take up doesn’t take up or it would be a good candidate. As I run down the possibilities is seems like maybe I should try another that is waiting in the wings – like the Yashica AF Motor. I have not put a roll of film through it yet, so it could serve two purposes, and it was $5. Don’t know how well it works, but I notice the focus lock, which does lock the focus, prevents the shutter from firing, so that will limit the kind of shot it can handle.

    As to film, something cheap obviously. I have lots of expired CN film that I have paid very little for – 25 to 50 cents a roll and processing is $5.05 (do I have to include processing in the cost?).

    This is going to be interesting.

    Reply
    1. Hamish Gill

      I think a mju-ii is a step too far. Though I would allow the first mju

      Same as I’d be happy with an xa2, but a xa is too highly regarded …

      Reply
  18. blinkx

    The Mju is a weird one. I have a MjuII which I bought new in the 1990s and still fetches good money on ebay. On the other hand the zoom mju’s are mostly available for around a fiver and frequently sell for 99p reserve. I’ve owned a Mju80 zoom for a few years and never got round to putting a film through it till this Christmas. The results were better than expected and the camera is I hope, in the letter and spirit of the competition.

    Reply
  21. Alexandra

    Does a disposable Kodak camera count? I used to take photos with them and send them off to a lab to be developed. I don´t have the camera anymore and cannot take a photo of it. The I have taken with that camera have now been scanned… do I qualify?

    Reply
  22. Carl

    Hi Hamish. Just entered, unfortunately had to use my hotmail account so check your spam! Love the site and the reviews, i’ve used an infinity mini ( cheap mju knockoff )

    Reply
  25. jojonas~

    oh, you can take old photos too?

    well, I’m gonna give it my all and load up a camera to try and get something special shot just for this first 🙂
    if I don’t get anything satisfactory or not the roll developed fast enough then I’ll revert to something of old.

    Reply
  27. Jakkapat

    How about Vivitar T201 Lx? It’s a bloody cheapo camera; fixed focus, fixed aperture, fixed speed, but weirdly I saw somebody selling it for 9.99 GBP on ebay. So would it qualified?

    And what does exactly ‘The camera AND film must cost no more than £10 in total’ mean? Does it mean I can only use single roll of film, or as many as they’re still under 10 GBP in total, or whatever but when combined the cost of a single roll and the camera, it has to be under 10 GBP?

    Last question, if the combination of the camera and film is qualified, can I use with other fancy expensive stuff, like slaved flash, or I have to keep it as simple as possible?

    Thanks

    Reply
    1. Hamish Gill

      1. Definitely … its crap and 35mm, it couldn’t be more appropriate!

      2. It just means that if you are going to use portra, it will need to be in a very crap camera. Im trying to keep the playing field relatively level

      3. Sounds like you are over thinking this … the idea is to take a photo with a crappy camera. Read the post again, especially the bit around my example photo

      Reply
      1. Jakkapat

        Oh…I thought it’s like DigitalRev’s Pro Tog Cheap Cam that one has to try to get the most out of the crappy camera. But that’s all right, I’ll try to joint if I have time.

        Anyway, thanks for answering my questions.

        Reply
  28. Paul Foreman

    Hamish, I’m in with my $5 nikon one touch. gonna load it right now with some HP5.
    oh, yeah, i’m paulfish4570 from RFF …

    Reply
  30. Randa

    Hi hamish, does the rollei prego-af with fixed 35mm lens count? i got it cheap from local auction.
    Thank you in advance. 😀

    Reply
  31. Armin Rebihic

    The deadline for submissions is on February 28th, correct? Heh, if so, I don’t have much time. I got a sweet deal on amazon for 12$~ that includes a like new Polaroid 3000 AF 35mm camera with the owner giving me a roll of film and the batteries. Problem is that the latest date it would arrive by is the 24th, so I’m hoping it comes much earlier.

    Reply

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  36. VALME

    Hello. First of all, let me tell you that I love the idea you had.
    And now, let me ask you. I’m not sure if I can use any of these cameras I have:
    – “Certex Königer 9702” (It’s a Spanish camera that my grand-aunt let me. She told me she bought it in installment with a newspaper).
    – “Nikon EF300” (It was a present when I was 10 years old).
    – “Olympus Pen EE-3” (My dad’s camera since I was a kid).
    What do you think? Which one can I use?

    Thank you!! =)
    Valme

    Reply

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  39. Adam

    Cheapest I can possibly find is a Vivitar ultra-compact for $15… its really hard to find cheap crappy cameras in Australia, nothing under $15 anyway.

    Reply
      1. DM

        No, but I don’t own any cheap 35mm cameras. Just a Pentax Spotmatic and an iffy Nikkormat that sometimes works. Plus I like the sprocket hole effect I can get without buying an overpriced LOMO ‘sprocket-rocket’.

        In any case, forget I even asked. So much for making creative use out of a camera that uses rare film that cost about $15 a roll, which is 3X what I paid for the camera.

        Reply
  45. George

    To be honest, I would like to win your Leica, but in fact I only need it’s shutter guard….Maybe it will fit to my IIIf whch doesn’t have it…:) 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Reply
    1. Hamish Gill

      So, you aren’t entering then?
      I’m not sure I would give it to anyone who is going to take it apart, I am currently paying for it to be cla’d

      Reply
  51. Valentin

    Hi! I just sent you mine, it’s not really a point and shoot, as it’s a Belomo Vilia… but a really cheap camera :). Hope it counts!

    Reply
  52. Jasper

    Hamish, you rock! Glad I found out about this competition this last day. Now sorting trough my XA2 and AF600 OneTouch scans (both are ok, right?). I was thinking I had to wait another 20 years to own my first Leica but this now sounds within reach 🙂

    Reply
    1. Hamish Gill

      Yeah, the af600 especially I think. That camera manages to be crap in almost every way but its output, so really is quite perfect for this!

      Reply
      1. Jasper

        Cool! the viewfinder, the expensive battery, the plastic feel and the amount of electric noise are horrific but the lens is king!

        Reply

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      1. Jasper

        Take your time. I can already give you my post address if that helps? 🙂
        Ontopic: I think this contest is really great! We should do it more often, Leica’s or not.

        Reply

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  58. Brady

    Is this contest over? I just stumbled across it while looking up reviews of a Contax T3. I’m guessing it’s over but just wanted to see 🙂 such a cool concept for a contest. Take care.

    Reply
    1. Hamish Gill

      Hi, yes it’s well over. I am thinking of doing another similar with an m Leica at some point though – so keep your eye out if you’re interested 😉

      Reply

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