I have a friend at work that was going through a deceased relatives photography collection and they found a Leica IIIF camera with 2 lenses. The camera looked like it was in excellent condition and the lenses looked to be authentic to me (granted, I don’t really know much about them). I did tell him that Leica cameras were fairly valuable and he should do some research before selling them. I considered buying the set myself, but would like a rough range on the value of the camera and lenses. Could you guys get us in the rough price range?
Check out Ebay.
Originally Posted By knowledgegreen:
Much appreciated Penguin,
Looks like a good site. I think that will get me started.
It is a great site. Lots of good people that know a lot about rangefinders. It's easy to become addicted over there!
A IIIf isn't likely to be hugely valuable as they were sold in large numbers. There are some variants that can be depending on condition and how rare it is. The same goes for the lenses.
There are also a lot of fakes out there, especially anything that's engraved "Luftwaffe" or similar. A real IIIf is a post-war camera and there were a lot of copies such as the Soviet FED camera that fakers like to dress up.
If your camera actually says "IIIf" on it, then I think it is likely to be a fake because real Leicas of that era didn't indicate the model on the body - you have to figure it out by serial number. Here is a list:
http://www.cameraquest.com/ltmnum.htm
There was a time when I would have killed for a leica, but now it would just be a shelf ornament. I've gone digital and I'm not going back. The thought of time in the darkroom use to excite me, but not any more. I bet someone will want it though. Sorry, I'm no help with value.
Originally Posted By FlashHole:
There was a time when I would have killed for a leica, but now it would just be a shelf ornament. I've gone digital and I'm not going back. The thought of time in the darkroom use to excite me, but not any more. I bet someone will want it though. Sorry, I'm no help with value.
You do know that Leica has gone digital.
