Expert: David Silver - 9/26/2006

Question
Hello Mr. Silver,
  I've been hunting around for days trying to figure out the enigma behind a peculiar Leica IIIf I recently acquired.  I figured I would seek your discernment on the issue.  The camera in question is s/n 610614 with a Summarit 1078701. "Judging by the s/n this could very well be a IIIf/ELC Midland Ontario," I thought, making this a black dial IIIf.  The shutter speeds are however, that of a post s/n 611000 red dial- 1/25, etc.. Was there ever such a thing as a black dial to red dial conversion that you know of?  That sounds like a pretty intensive makeover to me, if not impossible.  Also, on closer inspection, I didn't find any 'Made in Canada' markings. It says 'Germany' on the top plate under Leica D.R.P Ernst Leitz Wetzlar Germany. I know that some Portugal plant Leicas sometimes also were engraved with the Wetzlar mark, though assembled in Portugal, did the Canada plant have a similar policy with some models? Also, the s/n is preceeded by 'No.' versus the 'Nr.' I am more familiar with. While I have seen both before, I have never heard any clarification on the matter. Thoughts? What else, oh yes: there is no self timer. This coupled with the s/n led me to believe that this was maybe a transitional red dial from erratic post war production.  Did all of the red dials have a literal red dial around the shutter dial?  How might I know if this is a clever fake or a hybrid?  Any insight and identification tricks or tips you may know of would be most appreciated.  I am not a collector by any means, I am a beginning Leica user trying to get a little more knowledgeable about these fascinating cameras.  Thanks for taking the time to read this!
Regards, Jess

Answer
Hello Jess,

First of all, since there's absolutely no advantage or monetary gain to be made from whatever sort of "fake" you are theorizing, you can forget that possibility altogether...

Secondly, 5367 out of the total of over 180,000 IIIf cameras produced were assembled in Canada, BUT only a very small fraction of those were marked as such.  One theory is that an undisclosed small number of random top plates were damaged in transit, or deemed flawed for some other reason, and new ones were made in the Midland, Canada, plant before final assembly.  Another theory is that there were a limited number of remaining "black dial" body carriages sent over from Wetzlar, Germany, in 1952, and only these were given Canadian made top plates.  In either case, whatever the case, any IIIf marked for Midland, Canada, is actually a rare bug and worth considerably more than any German assembled version as well as any Canadian assembled version that says Wetzlar, Germany.  Your example is therefore very much the norm, and NOT any sort of exception or hybrid.

Thirdly, a "red dial" is simply (or not so simply, depending on how you look at it) an indication on the camera that it has the later improved Leitz focal plane shutter.  Changing the sync numbers beneath the shutter speed dial from black to red was a clever way to delineate.  However, the shutter would otherwise have fit within the IIIf body, and function, just like an early "black dial" version.  So if somebody wanted to upgrade a "black dial" to a "red dial" (more likely, if they wore out the shutter on their "black dial" and wanted a complete overhaul rather than having to buy a completely new camera), the Leitz factory would have just removed the old shutter and plopped in a new one.  Poof!  Nothing to it!  Internally your "black dial" is now a "red dial".  That's certainly not "impossible", and not even all that "intensive".  In fact, it was eventually mandatory.  You couldn't get an older "black dial" shutter overhauled by Leitz after 1954...too much work and no replacement parts...they simply replaced the shutter mechanism altogether.  The shutter speed dials were changed as well.  Big deal, they had box loads of those available at all times.  Whether the factory went so far as to repaint the sync numbers from black to red, I'm reasonably certain they never bothered.  None of this applies to your example, however, because...

Lastly, there are erroneous records reproduced all over the place, primarily due to one initial mistake in print by a respected Leica expert that has been copied indiscriminantly by secondary sources ever since, indicating that the last 1000 "black dial" models (serial numbers 610001 to 611000) were assembled in Canada.  Nope, actually the first 1000 allocated serial numbers for the "red dial" version were 610001 to 611000, and those were, as you know, assembled in Canada.  Blame the internet!

As for the "No" versus "Nr" issue, the former was abandoned for the latter in 1952, and those "red dial" cameras were the first to wear the new lettering.  Hmmmm, you mention the self timer...with or without actually doens't mean a thing because there are many "black dial" models that were equipped later.  Ah, and if you don't really know what "black dial" and "red dial" means (since you asked me about a "literal red dial", I thought this might be the case), it refers to the paint fill in the flash sync numbers on the camera body right beneath the shutter speed dial.  If the numbers are in black, it's a "black dial" model.  If the numbers are painted red, it's a "red dial".  Once again, this was just a nifty way for Leitz to distinguish which shutter the camera had, and was only used for the IIIf, the IIf, and the If, the three models that spanned that period of shutter improvement.

Best wishes,

David Silver