Ninety Years of Excellence with a Leica iii

A gloomy sky over Big ben makes for a moody photo. Kentmere Pan 400.

If you know anything about cameras you will have heard of the name Leica. The Rolls-Royce of cameras, they are coveted by many and often rank highly on dream lists of collectors and enthusiasts but naturally they also come with Rolls-Royce prices. Not something the average person can afford new or even second hand depending on the model. Their immense popularity also brings a great deal of detractors who lament that their high price tags are not justified by what you pay for in comparison to more the more ordinary fare of Nikon, Canon, Sony and the rest. Admittedly I too was mystified by these cameras and couldn’t really understand why people would pay so much for them, other than as some kind of status symbol. And then I held one in my hands.

Lambeth Bridge, even with cheap film you can get good tonality with this 90 year old lens. Kentmere Pan 400.

Vauxhall Bus Station. Kentmere Pan 400.

Inside The Tower of London, even pushed to ISO 800 the levels of detail remain good even wide open at F3.5. Kentmere Pan 400 Pushed to ISO 800.

It was a Leica M6 to be precise and one of the originals ones, not one of the new reissues. Body alone will set you back around £2000 but that a steal compared to paying just shy of £5000 for the new bodies. On the surface that seems pretty outrageous for a 35mm film camera in 2024 and to be fair it really is. But as you turn it over in your hands, you’ll begin to see where all that money has gone. The build quality and heft were nothing short of exquisite, it really felt like camera without any material compromises, it was small and easy to carry around and all the buttons and dials had an amazing tactile feel. Though there was no way I could afford one, it still got me thinking. Was there a more affordable way to Leica ownership?

Walking around the Tower of London. Kentmere Pan 400 Pushed to ISO 800.

Soldiers marching by at the Tower of London. Kentmere Pan 400 Pushed to ISO 800.

Looking on to the Tower of London from the ground of the Tower of London. Kentmere Pan 400 Pushed to ISO 800.

The Leica M Series is by far the most famous, starting with the M3 in the 1950s all the way through to the present day but even though those earlier cameras are seventy years old, they still don’t come cheap. Even worse the lenses can be eye-wateringly expensive given they can still be used with the digital M Series cameras today. But going back further into Leica’s history took me to the original pre-war screw mount cameras and I finally found something in my price range. Not long after that I was the proud owner of a Leica iii, purchased in excellent condition from Peter Lloyd in London with the original kit lens – an Elmar 5cm F3.5 (uncoated). I decided to pay a bit extra for a camera with a six-month warranty and to also buy on condition rather than model. Many incremental improvements followed but my Leica iii was the earliest and most spartan. Though there were also the cheaper Leica and Leica ii that lacked features such as rangefinders and slow shutter speeds.

My Leica iii came with its original leather case which still holds up well decades later. This velvet-lined case is designed for the Elmar 5cm F3.5 lens. Other cases were available in period for different lenses and external viewfinders.

As well as the case, the camera itself is in almost mint condition and functions perfectly. Note the slow speed dial on the front of the camera.

Looking on the rear of the camera you can see the separate rangefinder (L) and viewfinder (R).

A close-up of the original Leica Elmar 5cm F3.5. The non-standard F stops are based on the base F3.5 aperture, this was changed on later versions of the lens.

Looking at the serial numbers my camera body is likely from 1934 and the lens from 1933, so we really are looking at camera gear that is almost a century old and yet it still holds up well today. It certainly has its limitations over the more modern M Series, but that Leica build and image quality is still there. When I first opened the box I was really shocked by just how small these cameras are, tiny even in comparison to other 35mm cameras and it’s helped by a lens that collapses into the body.

The top plate with all the controls. The counting disc on the left has to be manually reset after you load each roll of film.

Looking at the bottom of the camera where the film is installed. The film must be slotted between the small gap at the top of the camera internals. Note the message on the bottom plate advising on cutting the film leader the correct length.

The lens fully extended for use.

The lens fully retracted for transport when not in its case.

A big part of why these cameras can be so small is the radically different way film is loaded. On later cameras from other manufacturers, you simply open up the back and load up the film. On Leicas you remove the bottom plate, connect the end of the leader to the take-up spool and carefully slot the film in behind all the internal camera mechanisms. On these screw body Leicas you also have to cut the leader longer than standard in order for the film to fit. This was not required for the later M Series cameras, which also had a flap that opens on the back to ensure the film was properly seated. However, with a bit of practice I’ve not had any major issues. The one essential trick I’ve learned is to wind off any slack in the film before advancing when it is first inserted. Typically I get thirty eight shots on a roll but if I am sending it into a lab I need to advance one more frame to ensure the first image isn’t ruined when it goes into the machine, giving me thirty seven images.

Horse armour inside the White Tower at the Tower of London. This and the next image were shot at 1/20s at F3.5. The image quality is remarkably good wide open and the heavy camera and small size gives plenty of inertia to comfortably shoot handheld at slow speeds. Kentmere Pan 400 Pushed to ISO 800.

Using the contrast created by artificial light to create a striking image. You wouldn’t know this image was shot on a 90-year-old 35mm camera just by looking at it. Kentmere Pan 400 Pushed to ISO 800.

What really blew me away was just how sharp this small and old lens is. Even wide open it gives very impressive results and stop down to F6.3 or F9.0 the results are much sharper again. Why such random aperture numbers? Well, the lens is so old it was made before modern standardisation. It operates in one stop increments based upon the starting aperture of F3.5 and was changed on the later lenses. I believe those two apertures are the sweet spot for my lens, diffraction is definitely an issue at F18 and the jury is still out on F12.5, at the very least I don’t think the image quality is really increasing at that point. Even though the lens is uncoated colours are still rendered well and I’ve had nothing like the issues I had with my Kodak pocket camera when it came to flare.

Down the side of the National Theatre, this camera gives a really wonderful retro look, especially with grainy black and white film. Kentmere Pan 400 Pushed to ISO 800.

The front of the National Theatre which is about 30 years younger than this Leica iii. Kentmere Pan 400 Pushed to ISO 800.

Perhaps my favourite image from the dusk walkaround on the Thames. Very noir, just a pity about the more modern looking gate. Kentmere Pan 400 Pushed to ISO 800.

However, you’ve probably noticed that the images on this blog don’t have any settings and that’s because this is the first film camera I’ve owned where I don’t write them down. I decided to have one camera where I just worry less and shoot more. Made easy by the fact the camera is so compact. It’s become my go to camera for days out and short trips, and I’ve already taken it to Berlin and America. It’s simply so fun to use. Normally everything I buy comes with a week or so of buyer’s remorse before I understand how best to use it. Not here, I loved it from day one.

A good old fish & chips van, if only the people in the queue were wearing 1950s clothes. Kentmere Pan 400 Pushed to ISO 800.

Another very retro looking shot of these old streets lamps which would have been in place when this camera was new. Kentmere Pan 400 Pushed to ISO 800.

Ainu Woodcarvings at a recent exhibition at Japan House London. Once again even with an F3.5 lens, by being able to shoot at 1/20s you can still shoot in dim conditions with fast film. Kentmere Pan 400 Pushed to ISO 800.

Ainu Ita - traditional carved wooden trays. The big fall off in light makes them pop against the background. Kentmere Pan 400 Pushed to ISO 800.

The one thing that took a little bit of adjustment was the separate viewfinder and rangefinder, but given how small the viewfinder is (it’s tiny like the camera, it makes the viewfinders on my Agfa Record iii and Kodak Retina iiiS feel big and that is saying something), that is actually a stroke of genius. The rangefinder had a greater magnification of 1.5x which means you can more easily and accurately focus before switching your eye over to the viewfinder for final composition. The greater magnification means it’s actually easier to focus than some more modern Leicas. Just bear in mind though that this viewfinder is designed around the 50mm (or 5cm) focal length and if you decide to purchase other lenses you will need to buy the appropriate external viewfinder that will sit in the cold shoe.

Moving onto colour film, I captured this grey squirrel at a London park. Fujifilm C200 Expired 2019 Shot at ISO 160.

Despite the lens’ age and the lack of coatings, the colours are still true to life even if they are a bit muted. Fujifilm C200 Expired 2019 Shot at ISO 160.

This heron stood still long enough for me to take this shot. I was impressed by the colour and details. Fujifilm C200 Expired 2019 Shot at ISO 160.

One other interesting quirk with these cameras is that the slow shutter speeds (1s – 1/20s) have their owner dial separate to the standard ones (1/30s – 1/500s). Given the inertia of this camera I am able to shoot at 1/20s handheld and get a sharp image nine times out of ten. Great for low light and indoors photography when the lens only open to F3.5. However, any speeds slower then that will need a tripod or the poise of a venerable Buddhist monk. Even if you don’t use those slower speeds, make sure to exercise them every now and again just for the sake of the camera’s health.

Cambridge has plenty of old and attractive buildings to photograph. The rendering of colour photos with this camera reminds me of the photos I’ve seen in older National Geographic articles from the 1960s and 1970s. Fuji Superia 200 Expired Shot at ISO 160.

This photo of the ceiling at King’s College Chapel was underexposed but it was still salvageable given I was able to shoot at 1/20s and negative film has a good exposure latitude. Fuji Superia 200 Expired Shot at ISO 160.

The Mathematical Bridge in Cambridge with gondolas swooping underneath. Fuji Superia 200 Expired Shot at ISO 160.

All in all, it’s really special to own a piece of photography history. Oskar Barnack’s genius gave birth to an entirely new branch of photography that is still the dominate force today and it feels even more special to have a camera made while its creator was still alive. For those who suffer from less romanticism than I do there are many much cheaper Russian and Japanese copies available which offer mostly the same quality. This is easily the most copied camera in history, helped by the release of German patents after the Second World War. Though bear in mind these are copies of the cheaper Leica ii without the slower shutter speeds and never had any of the later improvements such as a timer dial. For me though I wanted the real McCoy and as it’s a camera I will own for many years to come, I don’t regret stumping up the extra cash one bit. Expect to see plenty more content about this camera in the future.

A shop front display for the Abroad in Japan book. This gives a good example of the muted colours this lens typically produces. Fujifilm C200 Expired 2019 Shot at ISO 160.

This bamboo grove was shot wide open at F3.5. Even though the lens is not very fast, when focusing up close it still produces very good bokeh. Kodak Pro Image 100.

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