Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

By Kodachromeguy

Since childhood, this little Leica IIIC was a member of the household. My dad bought it in 1949 when he worked for the US Navy on Guam. It came with a 5cm f/2.0 Summitar lens. He had owned an American-made Perfex 35mm camera during the war years but had wanted a Leica for a long time.

After the war, one of the ways a war-ravaged Germany began to rebuild its economy was to export precision optical equipment, such as the famous Leica cameras. My dad took the opportunity of low prices at the post exchange on Guam and bought this body and lens. As I recall, he said they cost $150.

A few years ago, Sherry Krauter in New York cleaned and checked the Summitar lens for me. Mine is pristine and never suffered the scratches in the soft coating that plague so many 1940s lenses (old-time photographers cleaned their lenses with their neckties).

The shutter in the iiic had been troublesome for over a decade, but Don Goldberg (DAG) in Wisconsin did a fantastic job overhauling it mid-2017. He replaced the main roller with a new-old-stock genuine Leica part. For how many other consumer products that are almost seven decades old can you still get factory replacement parts (possibly some watches or Rolls Royce motorcars?)? The chrome on mine is pitted because in the early post-war era, chromium was hard to buy and many German cameras had poor plating.

Viewfinder and top plate of Leica IIIC

On modern standards, this camera is a bit fiddly to use. First, the viewfinder has two windows. The way I use it is to first look through the right finder, which shows the complete scene covered by the 50mm lens. If I like the scene, I shift my eye to the left window and focus on the object that is most important. By the way, it is a remarkably accurate focus arrangement considering the short base length. Then I shift back to the right window, do the final framing, and take the picture. Really, it is easier in practice than to describe in text.

Second, the film needs to be trimmed with scissors to have a long tongue before you insert it in the take-up spool and slide the 35mm cartridge and take-up spool into the body from the bottom. Leica once sold a trimming guide, but you do not need it. Just use your Swiss Army knife and trim about 8 or 10 cm from the tongue, and it will work. Once loaded, turn the rewind knob gently to remove slack. Then, when you advance the film, make sure the rewind knob is turning in the opposite direction to be sure the film is truly advancing. Again, it is easier to do than to describe.

At the Parthenon, Athens, Greece, approx. 1953. Kodachrome slide.

My dad used this little Leica for many years, taking family photographs when we lived in Greece and southeast Asia in the 1950s and 1960s, and I used it in the 1970s and 1980s. For a trip to Nepal in October of 2017, I decided to use this little IIIC with black and white film and skip the obligatory digital camera entirely. It was a great success (and what a relief to not be fooling with hundreds of digital files).

Chiwong Chhyang-Chhup Chhyoling Monastery, Solu Khumbu, Nepal
Bhachchek Village, Gorkha District, Nepal
Schoolgirls, Nepali, Gurkha District, Nepal

Many Nepalis were amazed that I could use a mechanical camera almost 70 years old. It was a tension-breaker to let people look through the viewfinder, but I had to explain that there was no LCD screen for them to see the results. These examples are on TMax 100 or TMax 400 film, developed by Praus Productions in Rochester, New York, using Xtol developer. For exposure, I used a Gossen Luna Pro Digital meter, usually in reflected mode but sometimes in incident mode.

Thubten Chöling Monastery, Solu Khumbu, Nepal
Tools at the Serlo Monastery, Solu Klumbu, Nepal

The kitchens and workrooms in monasteries were really interesting. I especially liked the way the Summitar lens made the shiny objects glow against the background. The Summitar lens is a bit quirky. My example (and maybe all of them?) has a field curvature, so the edges of a flat object will be fuzzy. But I barely notice it in landscapes. A typical scene with the subject near the center has smooth out of focus area around the edges, or the infamous “bokeh”. Twenty years ago, almost no one thought about it, but nowadays, digital photographers are obsessed with the topic. The newer Type 2 and Type 4 50mm f/2.0 Summicron lenses that I use on my Leica M2 body are “better”, but I rather like the old Summitar.

Rice below Bhachchek Village, Gurkha District, Nepal

It feels good to have my dad’s camera in operation again. He would be pleased

Thank you, Hamish, for letting me contribute. For more film and Urban Decay: https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com

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About The Author

By Kodachromeguy
Retired coastal and marine geologist, photographer since the late-1960s. Current resident of Mississippi, USA. Cameras in rotation: Leica M2, Leica IIIC, Pentax Spotmatic, Voigtländer Vito BL, Rolleiflex 3.5E, Hasselblad 501CM, Fuji GW690II, and (rarely) a Tachihara 4×5".
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Comments

Terry B on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 10/02/2018

What a lovely story about the history of this camera that has been in your family from new. Lovely images, too, from the film/developer combination. I particularly like the warm tone. Thanks for sharing.
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Stig Starr on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 10/02/2018

Lovely story and review at the same time, reall great photos as well, many thank for posting !
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Ken Davis on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 10/02/2018

What a lovely article, it is so good to see your 'family member' in such good form; you have looked after it so well. The photos you took on your trip are very good indeed and again show the value of the Leica in capturing such moments, it is so effective even in this digital age.
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Kodachromeguy replied:

Comment posted: 10/02/2018

Thank you and all the other commenters for the kind words. I think you hit it on the head: a film camera like this is especially effective in capturing the mood in this digital age. In my opinion, the fact that you need to plan (think) before each frame makes all the difference.

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Jim Grey on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 10/02/2018

What a lovely tribute to your dad's camera -- to do such wonderful work with it in Nepal!
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StephenJ on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 10/02/2018

Thanks Andrew, some good memories for you, a beautiful camera and some great new work from Nepal... I like the giggling schoolgirls, ain't it the same all over the world?
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Sergio on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 10/02/2018

Bellissima la Leica IIIC, io uso ancora con soddisfazione la IIIG, elogio della lentezza in fotografia.
Ciao
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ScottP on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 11/02/2018

Wow.
These are not "pictures" or "snaps." These are photographs, and they are very fine.
Thanks for sharing them.
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jeremy north on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 11/02/2018

A lovely set of images here Andrew. The low contrast and softness of the lens works really well with the subjects you've picked out. Excellent travelogue!
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Richard Richter on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 11/02/2018

Great story and great images!
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Dan Castelli on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 11/02/2018

Andrew,
Your Dad would be pleased and so proud of the work you've produced. Your images remind me of the work made by the early Magnum photographers after WW2 and the late 1950's. The world was simpler and more trusting back then, and you've managed to capture that quality. Very nicely done.
Dan. flickr.com/photos/dcastelli9574/
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David McI on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 11/02/2018

A wonderful family history behind your camera. Excellent photography, both the Parthenon image using much-missed Kodachrome, but more relevantly, your excellent Nepalese images. Thanks for writing this article.
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Martin Bruntnell on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 08/03/2018

Wonderful photographs,just look after these cameras and they will pay you back for generations as it has for you.
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The Olympus Trip 35 taught me to be (a little bit) more spontaneous photographically - By Andrew Morang - 35mmc on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 05/05/2018

[…] I bought it is a bit of a story. In preparation for a 2017 trip to Nepal, I sent my Leica IIIC off for repair. But in case it would not be ready in time, I bought three inexpensive compact 35s […]
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The Yashica Electro 35CC - a mini review by Andrew Morang - 35mmc on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 31/05/2018

[…] As an aside, my Leica IIIC that I mentioned above was repaired in time. I wrote about it here on 35MMC a few months ago. […]
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janourda on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 15/11/2018

What a nice review. I can feel the passion for such a great piece of a camera!
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Flavio Colker on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 04/12/2018

Beautifull pictures!!
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Richard Moore on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 10/02/2019

I think we're travelling a similar journey. Having made the inevitable move from film to digital I'm revisiting my youth learning about film all over again. My late father (an inveterate gear addict) had one love and that was old Leicas. I have here a Leica 1 , 3 and 3F (based on the serial numbers). I have just started shooting the latter camera which needs a RF adjustment soon but otherwise is an object of beauty.
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Kodachromeguy replied:

Comment posted: 10/02/2019

Richard, that is good news that you have put your dad's cameras back into regular use. He would be proud and gratified. And once you go back to film, digital seems sterile and unrewarding. If I can make a suggestion: have all three of your Leicas overhauled, cleaned, and adjusted while there are still experts who work on these cameras. Sure, it will cost a bundle, but so what? What other 70 or 80 year-old instrument can you use regularly with a chemical-based sensing technology that is over 100 years old? It's really fantastic.

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Compact Excellence: A Review of the Voigtländer Vito BL by Andrew Morang - 35mmc on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 05/04/2019

[…] I almost stopped using my digital Fuji and have been using 35mm film instead. And although I have a Leica IIIC, Leica M2, Yashica Electro 35CC, and Pentax Spotmatic at home, one can never have too many classic […]
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frank on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 05/09/2019

love the story and the images.
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In Praise of Kodak Tri-X; Five Decades and Counting - by Andrew Morang - 35mmc on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 06/05/2020

[…] where my family and I lived in the 1950s. My father took black and white photographs then with his Leica IIIC using emulsions that are no longer available (Ansco and others). I decided to use film to emulate […]
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Dilemma Dilemma: What Shall I Use, Color or Black & White? A Short Comparison - by Andrew Morang - 35mmc on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 15/05/2020

[…] Ason Tol, Kathmandu, Nepal (Kodak TMax 100, Leica IIIC, 5cm f/2.0 Summitar […]
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Thomas on Leica IIIC Review – A family member back in operation – by Andrew Morang

Comment posted: 02/09/2023

Funny, here is a Leica IIIc with serial 479057. Right now for overhauling at a service center in Bologna, Italy. Greetings from Italy.
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