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1933 Leitz Leica II

This black lacquer Leica II is an absolute masterpiece. It’s a  35mm coupled rangefinder German camera, which accepted interchangeable screw mount lenses. Introduced in 1932, it was produced by Leitz and production continued in various guises until the late 1950’s. The Leica II & III and its arch rival the Contax, established the importance of 35mm photography to the world. Superb, light and modestly sized, a Leica could be taken anywhere. Even today, a well maintained Leica is a reliable companion and a true joy to use. I have owned and used many fine cameras but the Leica II is at the top, of my top ten list of enjoyable vintage cameras. 

 These photos were taken with 1933 Leica II which we enjoyed servicing and having in our shop. It’s fitted with its original nickel plated Leitz f3.5/50mm Elmar lens. The little Elmar is a preeminent lens of the prewar era  and created a look that captured an era. The current owner hails from New York and he was kind enough to share his photos with us which demonstrate this 85 year old camera works very nicely with modern color print film. These photos were taken in New York. Copyright 2016 Ray Vickers. All rights reserved.

The photos on the first row were taken with the original 50mm nickel elmar lens. The second row wwere taken with a modern (and rather rare) Voigtlander 2.0/50mm nickel-plated Heliar.  And the photo on the third row was taken with a wide angle Voigtlander 4.0/21mm Color-Skopar.



 

Photos produced with its original nickel plated Leitz f3.5/50mm Elmar lens

Photo produced with a modern screw mount, Voigtlander 2.0/50mm nickel-plated Heliar

Photo produced with a wide angle Voigtlander 4.0/21mm Color-Skopar