I've just inherited a Leica 111b complete with several lenses ect. Can i buy preloaded film cassettes for this or do I have to load the film cassete in the camera, Help what film? where? how?

-- Dave Muttram (dave.muttram@blueyonder.co.uk), April 07, 2002

Answers

Look under http://members.fortunecity.com/canoneos/manuals/leicaf.html for a complete manual for your every day tasks with this camera.

Greetings Joachim

-- Joachim Oberhauser (joachim.oberhauser@epost.de), April 07, 2002.

Dave, I had a model D for a while. The D preceeded the IIIb. I had no problems loading it using standard film like Fuji or Kodak. Many users of Leica thread-mount cameras say they need to re-trim the leader with scissors to lengthen the tongue a bit. I think I may have done that with the model D--I can't quite remember. At any rate, you shouldn't have to roll your own if you don't want to.

Another source for instruction manuals is John Craig at john@craigcamera.com. He also has a website, www.craigcamera.com

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), April 07, 2002.

Here is something I did. I placed a small piece of velcro cut to the shape of the thing that holds the canister into the chamber. I believe that years ago the cannisters were longer, so the shortened verions of nowaday sit lower in the chamber and the image can land on the film crooked as it did with me at first in my IIIf. problem solved.

-- mike (thearea19@aol.com), April 07, 2002.

I have a IIIa and a IIIf and I use standard 35mm cassettes in them with no trouble at all. I use an ABLON template to trim the leaders, but a pair of curved cuticle scissors works fine. Just extend the leader to about double its length.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), April 07, 2002.

I've had no trouble with loading a IIIc using standard (pre-loaded) modern cassettes. I've been trimming the leader according to the instructions in the manual (in my case a Hove reprint bought for about £5 from one of the classic camera shops in Pied Bull Yard near the British Museum in London - see http://www.hovebooks.com/Instruction_Books.htm). I use a small pair of straight scissors that happen to be on a pocket multi-tool (http://www.leatherman.com/products/tools/micra/default.asp - the essential accessory for all LTM users!). Take care not to damage any of the sprocket holes - i.e., make the cut cleanly between two of the perforations. You want to end up with about 23 unpaired perforations and two further pairs of perforations protruding from the cassette.

-- Richard Williams (richardw@icr.ac.uk), April 07, 2002.

Dave, there's a similar question from Geoff Quaile a little further up the list. Same recommendation: check out www.ozdoba.net by Swiss photographer Christoph Ozdoba which has comprehensive advice on screwmount Leicas. Christoph will also be happy to correspond directly.

-- David Killick (dalex@inet.net.nz), April 08, 2002.