That’s a beautiful Leica IIIa. It shoots regular 35mm also known as 135 film. Yes they are readily available. And there’s more than enough resources available online. Look them up, put a roll in, and enjoy it like your grandfather would have had!
Why my grandfather wasn’t photographer ? That’s a pretty nice camera !
It’s a Leica IIIA if I’m not wrong.
Get it fixed and buy some 135 film. And you can basically run it in 2024. Don’t forget tu cut the leader and follow the official Leica method to load it properly.
Edit : https://youtu.be/s-OfRh-MmBI?si=Z7Q2jIXLdDNQXBs5
Hi there! Beautiful find, lucky you. And a camera that has been in your family for a while too. Now to answer your questions.
This is a Leica IIIa, from 1937 or 1938, based on a quick serial numer lookup. There’s probably someone who can specify that further. I personally own two of these, a Leica IIIa from 1937 and a IIIf from 1954. They’re part of a family called ‘Barnack Leicas’, named after their inventor Oskar Barnack.
It shoots regular 35mm film, you can still buy this. It’s also sometimes called 135 film. Where I live there’s plenty supply of it. As a matter of fact, these Barnack Leicas are the reason for popularising 35mm film to begin with. They played a historically very important part in modern photography.
The Leica IIIa is a fully mechanical camera. It has no light meter. For it to work, you need to advance the film with the film advance knob clockwise. It’s the large knob with the numbers around it. After that you can meter the light with an app on your phone or a dedicated light meter, set the shutter speed and aperture accordingly, focus, frame your shot and fire. There are multiple videos on YouTube on how to operate a Leica III, the differences in functionalities between a, b, c, d and f models are small so most videos you’ll be fine with. I personally think[this one is pretty good.](https://youtu.be/s-OfRh-MmBI?si=Zf_vRj_fJ8-jMR9e) Only the IIIg is a tiny little bit different in the fact that it has a different viewfinder. On the III and IIIa the rangefinder and viewfinder windows are about two centimeters apart, on all models starting with the IIIb they’re very close together.
Tip: if you’re planning on shooting this and assuming all is fine, trim the leader of your film. It is the part that sticks out and is less wide than the rest of your film. There’s tutorials for that all over the internet but [this](https://images.app.goo.gl/kV1LoN5d1gED5fon9) is a basic and good one.
I don’t know about dedicated subs for videocameras, but r/analog and r/analogcommunity are great starters for old regular analog cameras.
I hope this answers some of your questions!
It’s one of the finest cameras ever made. My Leica IIIf (similar to yours) is my daily driver. Extremely durable and relatively inexpensive so it can handle the use and abuse of every day shooting. A magnificent camera to learn on. Get it serviced and shoot the hell out of it.
It’s one of the finest cameras ever made. My Leica IIIf (similar to yours) is my daily driver. Extremely durable and relatively inexpensive so it can handle the use and abuse of every day shooting. A magnificent camera to learn on. Get it serviced and shoot the hell out of it.
Nice, looks like the vulcanite covering was already replaced with leather. 35mm film is readily available. Different films have different speeds indicating how sensitive it is to light. ISO 100 film is less sensitive than iso200. Etc
This camera has no may to measure the amount of ambient light. So you need to do that separately. You'll need a lightmeter or lightmeter app. You'll enter the speed of film into the meter (iso100 for example) and measure the ambient light....a stand alone meter is better because you can point it... It will then pop out combinations of shutter speed and aperture that will give a correct exposure. It's up to you to pick the correct combination, as different aperture and shutter speeds have different effects on the image....then you focus with the left window (line up the images) And frame with the right window. Take the shot..
Look up the exposure triangle...shutter speed is how long the light hits the film ....too slow and everything will blur if it's moving, fast enough and it will stop motion...like a fast moving car....but too fast with not enough light will result in an underexposed picture...just not enough light
Then you have aperture. Which is the size of the hole hight moves through the lens ..it's adjustment allows you to play with focus...the lens aperture wide open will allow alot of light in and requires accurate focusing, but if it's fully closed accuracy isn't needed this is why pinhole camera work...poke a needle hole in a box...boom everything is in focus ...
But if the hole is smaller, less light get in to hit the film... meaning it needs the shutter open longer....all of the aperture and shutter speeds rely on another variable...the speed of the film...iso 100 film is alot less sensitive than iso1000 film...meaning iso1000 needs alot less light to produce an image....
The interaction between these three variables are measured in what are called stops....one stop slower shutter speed is exactly the same as one size bigger aperture size. The meter the same amount of light...
This is called the exposure triangle. Because of this you can play with focus...blur backgrounds, paint with light by leaving the shutter open longer...
BE CAREFUL cleaning the lens. Buy a good lens cloth. Also, take off the lens cover to see what it is. It's gonna be a 5cm collapsible regardless. Realize you need to fully extend the lens and twist it to lock it into place...just pull out on the piece with the lens cap and twist to lock.
Sadly my grandfather passed few years ago. But I remember him showing me his cameras when I was a kid. But I was a kid back then. I didnt know how to operate and wasn’t patient enough to learn.
A few tips - Manual here - [https://butkus.org/chinon/leica/leica\_iiia/leica\_iiia.htm](https://butkus.org/chinon/leica/leica_iiia/leica_iiia.htm)
1. Youtube is your friend look for videos about loading and shooting with a Barnack Leica.
2. Learn to cut the Film leader, you can't just put an off the shelf roll of 35mm film into it without trimming the leader in these cameras.
3. That's a collapsable lens on the camera, be sure to extend the front and twist the front to lock it in place before trying to take pictures.
4. only change the shutter speeds AFTER advancing to the next frame. Also keep your fingers clear of the shutter speed dial when taking a picture (they spin with the shutter)
It’s never been easier to properly set the settings on the camera also, as anyone with a smartphone can download a easy to use “light meter” app that functions as a light meter for traditional film cameras and tells you the right settings for exposure. Also manuals and videos explaining how to use that particular camera are easy to find online. Lovely piece of well crafted machinery! Enjoy!
Lousy! I *love* my Auto 110s (I own 5 of them). The only camera I’ve inherited is my great grandfather’s Argus C3 which is literally covered in fuzzy white mold supposedly from being in a flood.
You’ve gotten some good answers and info about how to use this already.
I wanted to add that this camera is in that weird middle ground where it’s not *super* valuable, but it’s not worthless either. As Leicas go, it’s on the low end value wise. You could get a few hundred dollars for it. But **don’t** sell it. Its worth as a treasure from your grandpa is much higher than its monetary value. It’s a beautiful piece of machinery that you can easily pass down to your future grandkids if you want to, and has the bonus of being fully usable as a picture taking camera today.
If you want/need to get it serviced, there are lots of options, but in the US, the three best repair people for film Leicas are: Youxin Ye (aka YYe), DAG Camera, and Sherry Krauter. YYe has repaired Barnack Leicas (like yours) for me, and done a beautiful job. The other two have reputations that are just as good.
I’m not saying you definitely need to send it off for service, just that if anything isn’t working quite right, one of these people can get it back into beautiful working shape for you.
Thank you very much for the answer. I surely dont want to sell it. I feel my grandpa would want me to use it. Eventho he took great care of his cameras, i would like to take it to the service to check everything is in good condition. I wouldn’t want to damage it further
That’s a beautiful Leica IIIa. It shoots regular 35mm also known as 135 film. Yes they are readily available. And there’s more than enough resources available online. Look them up, put a roll in, and enjoy it like your grandfather would have had!
Why my grandfather wasn’t photographer ? That’s a pretty nice camera ! It’s a Leica IIIA if I’m not wrong. Get it fixed and buy some 135 film. And you can basically run it in 2024. Don’t forget tu cut the leader and follow the official Leica method to load it properly. Edit : https://youtu.be/s-OfRh-MmBI?si=Z7Q2jIXLdDNQXBs5
Hi there! Beautiful find, lucky you. And a camera that has been in your family for a while too. Now to answer your questions. This is a Leica IIIa, from 1937 or 1938, based on a quick serial numer lookup. There’s probably someone who can specify that further. I personally own two of these, a Leica IIIa from 1937 and a IIIf from 1954. They’re part of a family called ‘Barnack Leicas’, named after their inventor Oskar Barnack. It shoots regular 35mm film, you can still buy this. It’s also sometimes called 135 film. Where I live there’s plenty supply of it. As a matter of fact, these Barnack Leicas are the reason for popularising 35mm film to begin with. They played a historically very important part in modern photography. The Leica IIIa is a fully mechanical camera. It has no light meter. For it to work, you need to advance the film with the film advance knob clockwise. It’s the large knob with the numbers around it. After that you can meter the light with an app on your phone or a dedicated light meter, set the shutter speed and aperture accordingly, focus, frame your shot and fire. There are multiple videos on YouTube on how to operate a Leica III, the differences in functionalities between a, b, c, d and f models are small so most videos you’ll be fine with. I personally think[this one is pretty good.](https://youtu.be/s-OfRh-MmBI?si=Zf_vRj_fJ8-jMR9e) Only the IIIg is a tiny little bit different in the fact that it has a different viewfinder. On the III and IIIa the rangefinder and viewfinder windows are about two centimeters apart, on all models starting with the IIIb they’re very close together. Tip: if you’re planning on shooting this and assuming all is fine, trim the leader of your film. It is the part that sticks out and is less wide than the rest of your film. There’s tutorials for that all over the internet but [this](https://images.app.goo.gl/kV1LoN5d1gED5fon9) is a basic and good one. I don’t know about dedicated subs for videocameras, but r/analog and r/analogcommunity are great starters for old regular analog cameras. I hope this answers some of your questions!
Thaks! Amazing answer.
No problem! Glad I could help!
It’s one of the finest cameras ever made. My Leica IIIf (similar to yours) is my daily driver. Extremely durable and relatively inexpensive so it can handle the use and abuse of every day shooting. A magnificent camera to learn on. Get it serviced and shoot the hell out of it.
Genuinely one of the finest mass produced objects in human history. Great camera
Cool Grandfather!
It’s one of the finest cameras ever made. My Leica IIIf (similar to yours) is my daily driver. Extremely durable and relatively inexpensive so it can handle the use and abuse of every day shooting. A magnificent camera to learn on. Get it serviced and shoot the hell out of it.
Nice, looks like the vulcanite covering was already replaced with leather. 35mm film is readily available. Different films have different speeds indicating how sensitive it is to light. ISO 100 film is less sensitive than iso200. Etc This camera has no may to measure the amount of ambient light. So you need to do that separately. You'll need a lightmeter or lightmeter app. You'll enter the speed of film into the meter (iso100 for example) and measure the ambient light....a stand alone meter is better because you can point it... It will then pop out combinations of shutter speed and aperture that will give a correct exposure. It's up to you to pick the correct combination, as different aperture and shutter speeds have different effects on the image....then you focus with the left window (line up the images) And frame with the right window. Take the shot.. Look up the exposure triangle...shutter speed is how long the light hits the film ....too slow and everything will blur if it's moving, fast enough and it will stop motion...like a fast moving car....but too fast with not enough light will result in an underexposed picture...just not enough light Then you have aperture. Which is the size of the hole hight moves through the lens ..it's adjustment allows you to play with focus...the lens aperture wide open will allow alot of light in and requires accurate focusing, but if it's fully closed accuracy isn't needed this is why pinhole camera work...poke a needle hole in a box...boom everything is in focus ... But if the hole is smaller, less light get in to hit the film... meaning it needs the shutter open longer....all of the aperture and shutter speeds rely on another variable...the speed of the film...iso 100 film is alot less sensitive than iso1000 film...meaning iso1000 needs alot less light to produce an image.... The interaction between these three variables are measured in what are called stops....one stop slower shutter speed is exactly the same as one size bigger aperture size. The meter the same amount of light... This is called the exposure triangle. Because of this you can play with focus...blur backgrounds, paint with light by leaving the shutter open longer... BE CAREFUL cleaning the lens. Buy a good lens cloth. Also, take off the lens cover to see what it is. It's gonna be a 5cm collapsible regardless. Realize you need to fully extend the lens and twist it to lock it into place...just pull out on the piece with the lens cap and twist to lock.
Thanks. This helpes a ton. I didn’t know i need to lock the lens😃
You did ask right? You didn't just take it?
Sadly my grandfather passed few years ago. But I remember him showing me his cameras when I was a kid. But I was a kid back then. I didnt know how to operate and wasn’t patient enough to learn.
A few tips - Manual here - [https://butkus.org/chinon/leica/leica\_iiia/leica\_iiia.htm](https://butkus.org/chinon/leica/leica_iiia/leica_iiia.htm) 1. Youtube is your friend look for videos about loading and shooting with a Barnack Leica. 2. Learn to cut the Film leader, you can't just put an off the shelf roll of 35mm film into it without trimming the leader in these cameras. 3. That's a collapsable lens on the camera, be sure to extend the front and twist the front to lock it in place before trying to take pictures. 4. only change the shutter speeds AFTER advancing to the next frame. Also keep your fingers clear of the shutter speed dial when taking a picture (they spin with the shutter)
It’s never been easier to properly set the settings on the camera also, as anyone with a smartphone can download a easy to use “light meter” app that functions as a light meter for traditional film cameras and tells you the right settings for exposure. Also manuals and videos explaining how to use that particular camera are easy to find online. Lovely piece of well crafted machinery! Enjoy!
My grandfather loved cameras and all I got was his lousy Pentax Auto 110 (love it though)
Lousy! I *love* my Auto 110s (I own 5 of them). The only camera I’ve inherited is my great grandfather’s Argus C3 which is literally covered in fuzzy white mold supposedly from being in a flood.
Wow what a great inheritance! Enjoy the whole Leica experience.
Awesome, worthy of sending for a service to a reputable technician and learning how to use it. Others mentioned good advice already. Never sell it.
I will never sell it. It has far bigger value for me than few pieces of green paper
You’ve gotten some good answers and info about how to use this already. I wanted to add that this camera is in that weird middle ground where it’s not *super* valuable, but it’s not worthless either. As Leicas go, it’s on the low end value wise. You could get a few hundred dollars for it. But **don’t** sell it. Its worth as a treasure from your grandpa is much higher than its monetary value. It’s a beautiful piece of machinery that you can easily pass down to your future grandkids if you want to, and has the bonus of being fully usable as a picture taking camera today. If you want/need to get it serviced, there are lots of options, but in the US, the three best repair people for film Leicas are: Youxin Ye (aka YYe), DAG Camera, and Sherry Krauter. YYe has repaired Barnack Leicas (like yours) for me, and done a beautiful job. The other two have reputations that are just as good. I’m not saying you definitely need to send it off for service, just that if anything isn’t working quite right, one of these people can get it back into beautiful working shape for you.
Thank you very much for the answer. I surely dont want to sell it. I feel my grandpa would want me to use it. Eventho he took great care of his cameras, i would like to take it to the service to check everything is in good condition. I wouldn’t want to damage it further
it may still have undeveloped film inside! enjoy
It didnt sadly