Playing with the old toys- the leica if

[Zaradashte]

I was very carious about old Leicas if bodies, and wanted really to see how they do in the field, a very manual rangefinder cameras, a great macro heavy well build cameras, a lot of company at that time try to copy old leicas (Canon is the best copy of Leica at that time around 1935), brass body and lenses. The one I got build in 1951 (S/N: 564962) and has a collapsible lens and it called Leica if with no view finder (for framing the subject) ,nor range finder (to focuses upon distance). Leica made those cameras for scientific propose. I was so happy to win the bid on Ebay for such an excellent camera (well I find out that it has a light leak, so I had to send it back for repair to install a new curtain and have it CLA’d). The Body is if body and the lens is an Elmar lens.



And I tell you friends.. it is a very compact small camera, and Off course a full-fram camera as you know. No battreis no light meater, If I want to photograph in a sunny day, I just use "the sunny 16" mathod, which is place the lens on f/16 and use a film with 100 iso and the shutter speed would be on 100 always, well in the shade I would increase 1 to 2 stopes.



My second trip I had to do is to find a viewfinder (an eye for my camera), so again on Ebay I won an auction of an original Ex+ view finder model E.LEITZ WEITZLAR the father company of Leica.



Here come the last trip which is finding a rangefinder for the camera, the one that measures the distance from the lens to the subject and focuses upon that number. I got that also from Ebay and it is a war-post rangefinder also from E.LEITZ WEITZLAR.



You could see the photo bellow how you first look through the rangefinder and roll the wheel to focus on the desired subject and later fix that number on the lens focusing ring.
How could you focus on the subject: Say you want to photograph a street pole, at the rangefinder stick, you would see 2 poles instead of 1, than you have to roll the wheel to gather these 2 poles to be 1 pole, now you know that the focus is on the pole exactly, then you should read the wheel choosen number, say 20m (meter), than you should set the lens on the focusing ring to 20m.



Cannot wait to see the result of this great mechanical camera, with a load of a 50 Velvia.
By the way I also bought a Luigi Leica half case for it under a special order, I would post the photo of that later.

Good luck with your hobby