I am a retired camera repair technician ( over 40 years repairing ) . I have serviced many Leica rangefinder cameras . This instruction video is an excellent example of how to teach the disassembly and reassembly of a Leica !!

Thanks Hans, I just CLA'd my IIIC following your tutorial. The slow speeds were hanging up. I cleaned and lubed the escapement and it works perfectly. Just one note about the two screws that hold the escapement in place... One is a tiny bit shorter than the other. If they are installed the wrong way around, as I did, the screw will lock up the clutch and the slow speeds will all be at 1/30. The shortest screw is the one on the right, looking from the front as in your video. There was a small mark on the clutch arm but fortunately no damages. Thank you very much Hans for a comprehensive and easy to follow video...👏👏👏

@hansstahl1887

4 жыл бұрын

Glad I could help! Thanks for catching that detail about the screws, I'll put a note about that in the video description

If you have serviced your iiiF, and now the 1/10 and 1/15 slow speeds are at around a second, just watch at 30:00. On the inside of that "Slowspeed plate" there ist a lever. When installing the plate, you have to get it on the other side of the lever coming from the slowspeed escapement, so it is under tension and controlls the slowspeed escapement. I just wanted to get this information out there. This video helped me so much. Thanks man!

@philmtx3fr

5 ай бұрын

Hi Jones, are you sure it s at 30:00 ?

I will probably never own a a leica, but I find these videos so fascinating

That's great to see Hans, it's good you share your video to help other people to fix there cameras :-) because there are not so many repair shops left. I subscribe :-). Cheers Kenneth

Hans is a gift to us all; I really do not understand why he only has 500 subscribers. The beauty and simplicity of Oscar Barnack's design is discussed ad nauseum by so many "creators," yet captured here so skillfully. Comically, Hans reminds me of the character Syler from the TV show "Heroes." I would not attempt this CLA myself, but I am here because I am finally beginning to understand the iiif and iiig. It is clearly obvious why Leica kept selling this, even after the introduction of the M3. I do, however, want to find someone, perhaps it is Hans, that can clean my iiif's rangefinder so I don't have to get one of those "hi contrast" focusing filters. "This part is very tricky." That's code for just let anyone else but me repair this wonderful camera! Well done Hans!

man that looks like some work amazing to see you take the camera appart thanks for sharing this with us really enjoyed watching this

Thank you so much for this guide Hans. Gave me the confidence to open up my IIIf and helped me avoid some novice mistakes.

Thank you! Guys like you so kind and pro to share such a knowledge are true helping rookies like me...really nice work!!

Awesome ....this makes carburettor rebuilding look easy...tops dude ....loving the old stuff.

@jonlouis2582

4 жыл бұрын

Right, carburetors I can handle, German cameras not so much.

Thanks mate! I have two Leicas; a 1936 Leica II which has given me several years of flawless service & a 1953 (red dial) Leica IIIf which arrived with gummed up slow speeds. The IIIf has spent quite a few years sitting in one of my desk drawers. I quite honestly prefer the minimalist purity of the Leica II & consider it unrivalled for hand held available light photography. But, I recently bought a good quality set of Japanese precision screwdrivers. So, with the help of your video & some 'exploded' diagrams that I have found online, I think I am ready to have a go! ;-)

Thank you Hans for sharing this beautiful and complete video. Appreciate!

@jonlouis2582

4 жыл бұрын

After watching several videos like this, and reading 3 books I decided to send mine to a pro. Yikes.

Yes man, not to many shops or skilled young people to service cameras out there⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ keep going and post more videos like mikeno62 😷

ein ausgezeichneter Leica Film ! hat mir viele Details gezeigt . DANKE !

I might be picking one up soon. In the unfortunate event I get jipped and it needs repair I might come back to this video. I enjoyed

This video helped me fix a iiic, slow escapement was sticking. Thanks!!

Thank you very much. A lot helpful in fixing my iiif. Subscribed !!

hi Hans, first of all, thanks for this excellent tutorial. i'd like to take care of my own leica iii and your video is absolutely constructive! i understand that it may be a burden for you, but would you please kindly list the essential tools that we need for repair? it would greatly help beginners like me. cheers!

really enjoy this video. great job!!

Brilliant work

Greetings Hans, appreciate this IIIF video-very informative and paced just right for fledgling repair buffs! 🤗

you are the go to guy i have a red dial ..complete needs restoration great for aficianado any takers i need a fair price and good home ! right price goes tonite!

Thanks for making this!

Thanks Hans! Wonderful tutorial! if you can do it about rangefinder adjustement, you´ll make happy!

OMG that is a mission , I own the same camera hope I don't have to do all that to it , mind you just shows why leica is the best , like a swiss watch , thanks for sharing that valuable info

Awesome Video

enjoyable to watch!

Hello how are you? This is an excellent demonstration I'll try to take apart and put this camera back together shows how technically designed it was. You should have to oil mechanisms on top but you didn't get into how to clean those moving Parts the way you did with slow shutter mechanism. Unless I missed it but that's an important part to include as well

Super tutorial!

Definitely needed.thanks alot

Very interesting, thankyou !. I have a fed which is near identical, and badly needs a CLA the shutter runs veeerryy slow (but a fed isn't worth paying a professional camera repairer to do it).. I doubt I'm brave enough to attempt it but very interesting to see what's involved, maybe some day 😀

Thanks Hans!

Excellent.👍

Great vid, what type of solvent bath could I use for the sticky gears? thanks

That's great tutorial, I really appreciate. It will be very helpful for me. Is there any chance to make tutorial for cleaning rangefinder (viewfinder) which is common issue with iiif,c? Regards, Alex

Thank you buddy

@hansstahl1887

5 жыл бұрын

Happy to help!

nice video

My iiic just earned a lot more respect

Fascinating video, Brilliant instruction. I have just acquired a iiif red dial. It's my first Leica and i was worried that my take up spindle was loose as there is a bit of sideways movement in it, but watching this i notice there must be some movement allowed as yours was the same. Would i be right to loosen that small grub screw on the winder dial so as to screw the dial on a bit more and limit the movement, or is it totally normal on these cameras to have that bit of sideways movement? With thanks. Oh, and subscribed!

Great video. Would you ever consider doing an M2 version of this?

Thanks for this video! I just bought a IIIC that I know needs at least a CLA. Given the cost of the camera and the cost of service I think I will do it myself. Can you tell me what solvent you recommend for cleaning and would an ultrasonic cleaner be a good idea? Also, I will need to replace the covering. Can you recommend a source for the covering? Thanks

Hello, I came across a Canon IVsb that the shutter speeds seem fine, but are off on the dial by two places. 1000 is B. Do you think just by taking the set screw out of the dial, I can re-align it? Thank

Respect!

Que maestro. Llego a desarmar una Leica, cuando la vuelvo a armar me queda una Holga. Y me sobran piezas que no se donde van.

nice!

With the slow time escape, should you not soak the assembly in a cleaning solution, similar to what you'd do with watch parts when doing a rebuild on a watch? This is before re-lubricating. Also, speaking of lubrication, what do you recommend? edit: damn, I spoke to soon lol, a minute after I posted this, you mention it in the video. Sorry!

my IIIF B shutter doesnt work properly and act as 1/25 , do you think i need to clean the slow speed enscapement ? Thanks again for the Video, if you dont mind do the same for M2-3.

i opened my leica 3c and i don't have the thin washer underneath the rewind knob (the one that you remove after taking the top plate off). is it possible mine just didnt come iwth one?

Great video Hans. Could I use this video to service the Leica iiia? Or are they different in design?

@hansstahl1887

5 жыл бұрын

They are quite similar, and some of the steps are the same, so you could probably use this as a rough guide. However if you want a guide specific for the IIIa, I'd recommend this one: bit.ly/2W4ejWa

Hello Hans , geta video ...I bought my leica in India 30 years ago and it worked fine till today !!!!! The film knob does not move , it happened slowly , it went a little harder and a litle harder till now it went hard . In the middle of this the knob became a little loose and I could unscrew it a little ..wrong thing to do ...do you recommend another video that tackles this particular problem ? Greetings and I admire your skills.....I just bought some tools ....

No lightseels? Thanks for your video

my iiif's slow shutters are also sticky. from 1/10 to 1/15 and my 1/20 isn't working. I wonder if this would still be fixable?

Hi, this is really good, where are you located? I Would like to see if you can help me with my Leica IIIb , is my grand parents leica but is very old and rusty , it works but needs some work for sure.

I Love U！！！thaks

Hi really enjoyed your video trying to fix my Leica iif just wondered where you bought your tools from been trying to look for some decent tools chearsley

@sophiesullivan2973

5 жыл бұрын

Cheers Lee it was meant to say at the end

@hansstahl1887

5 жыл бұрын

Some of the tools I got from B&H, search for "Japan Hobby tool", and things like the oil bottle I just got from Amazon

Hello Hans, thanks for this excellent video. Maybe you can help me with my 1936 Leica iii. Fast speeds are working properly but slow speeds are not. Sometimes all slow speeds work the same. Other times, the shutter release button gets stuck. And very rarely the 1 second speed works just fine, but i dont distinguish a pattern on this behavior. The T setting isnt working well either. The winding knob seems to be a little bit loose, given that it only makes resistance and starts to wind the mechanism after having turned it a few milimiters. I got the camera from my father who got it from his father. It had not been used for more than 15 years until these days. Could you give me some advice please? Thank you in advance.

@alejoterrabrandes6835

4 жыл бұрын

There is a little noise when moving camera, as if something was broken or loose and moving around. I found that slow speeds work perfectly well when the camera is pointed at the ground or sky/ceiling. So sadly there must be a loose piece that is reacting to gravity. Does this give you any clue? Thanks

I'm sending my IIIC to you.

Do you recommend M6 TTL or MP?

looks so intimidating but I want to try 😅

@slothsarecool

8 ай бұрын

Shit, I forgot to mark the shutter dial hahah... hopefully just setting it around bulb will be ok

Excellent video, do you know would these steps be the same with a iiic please?

@hansstahl1887

5 жыл бұрын

The Leica IIIc is almost identical to the IIIf, the main difference is that the IIIc does not have the flash sync port, making it slightly simpler, so you should be able to follow this video. Here's a guide for the IIIc that shows many of the same steps as this video, and in fact uses a IIIf in the photos: goo.gl/hzxDfz

@bencollins5937

5 жыл бұрын

@@hansstahl1887 thank you :-)

How did you learn to repair leica ? Do you repair lens?

what lube oil do you use? Nice video!

@hansstahl1887

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks! It's sewing machine oil, which can be found at stores like Joanne's fabrics or just Amazon. It doesn't have to specifically be that, but it should be a light machine oil, and definitely don't use WD-40 or 3-in-1 oil

@melotone3305

Жыл бұрын

@@hansstahl1887 Sewing machine oil is an excellent lubricant for these small parts. Be direct and sparing - you don't want little puddles of oil in the camera. Also, sewing machine oil will last a good long time. Remember to "run" your mechanisms when the camera is idle. Once a month won't hurt you. Also, consider mineral spirits as a gentle degreaser solution. Use the low voc variety and make sure you have ventilation or a very large room. Would not suggest acetone because the fumes are so strong and is very difficult to control.

25:15 but there you just added oil and skipped the CLEANING part of the CLA right?

@eugene8524

10 ай бұрын

this is also confused me, is it enough?

Any videos on the m3?

@hansstahl1887

3 жыл бұрын

Not yet, but if I can get my hands on a non-functioning one I certainly will post some videos. Would love to work on one if I get the chance.

Do you repair cameras to order? How can I contact you? Leica Iii 1936

With russian "leicas" (zorkiy and fed 1) in case slower shutter speeds stick I just put some WD-40 in a syringe and put couple of drops on moving parts like the rod that shutter curtains hold on to and under the speed selector knob. That never failed to help. I managed to fix 10-15 cameras using this method and it took like 10 minutes each because I was careful. It works literally always for me. Only drawback is that there is a risk that you will get some oil spilled in the viewfinder, but it only happened to me once. Then I just unscrewed it and wiped it with vodka, lol. In Russia these cameras are cheap, so even if I screw something it won't cost me much.

@hansstahl1887

4 жыл бұрын

Good to know! I'm not that familiar with "Russian Leicas", are they essentially entirely clones including the mechanism or do they just copy the appearance of Leicas? I might have to do some eBay searching...

@O4KAST

4 жыл бұрын

@@hansstahl1887 Well, zorki 1 and fed 1 i would say are 95% clones. Pre-war ones were completely hand made so ofc there will be inaccuracies. They have little not important differences like the spring for the shutter release button on the bottom. I believe on earlier ones its a long flat spring and on later ones its a small piece of metal, which makes the button noticeably harder to press. Overall the mechanism is identical, just manufactured more roughly and not so precisely. Function-wise they are identical to barnack leica. Mind you, as far as i know FED 1 is a leica 2 clone, so no strap lugs and no slow speeds (which would be so cool, i always wonder why they never included that). And zorki is essentially the same, main difference is that it has a threaded release button for cable. But i would recommend a FED manufactured after WW2, because pre-war ones dont have standart flange focal distance, but anything made after the war is absolutely fine. Feds in my experience are a little nicer. Later these 2 factories started developing something of their own, but still designed/based on leica cloth shutter. Cool examples to note are: FED 2 (early one with small advance knob and no timer, i advice versions from IIв to IIд), zorki 5, zorki 3 (not 3M), zorki 4k. But my personal favorites are still first models because they are way smaller and compact. If you`re only going to get one, try fed 1 with non-threaded shutter button. Serial number should be upwards from 200000. Here you can find them from around 20 bucks and up, i wouldn`t give more than 40 honestly. So don`t overpay to some ukrainian huckster, haha.

@O4KAST

4 жыл бұрын

Also that i found is that if i literally dump a bunch of WD or oil for mechanical watches on the curtain mechanism, it becomes so silent and smooth i would argue its better than some leicas. But not all of them, maybe i`m just lucky and most of my cameras slipped through soviet "quality control", haha.

@O4KAST

4 жыл бұрын

Read this. Its in russian, but i cheked and it translates quite accurately in google translate. rus-camera.ru/Zorki-1.htm rus-camera.ru/FAD-1.htm

Hay bro. I want to learn the camera reparing. Tech me

Great video. Would you happen to know if the Russian copies are mechanically identical? I'm thinking I'd like to practice on something cheaper before tearing into an actual Leica.

@hansstahl1887

3 жыл бұрын

While I don’t have any experience with the Russian copies, I’d guess they are not 100% mechanically identical, although that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be useful to practice on, I imagine you could learn a lot of the mechanical/repair principles from working on one

@hansstahl1887

3 жыл бұрын

Also: doing some Google searching it looks like there might be some almost identical Russian copies of the IIIf, but those are probably quite rare, and the Leica-style FED cameras that I assume you are referring to which are more common, have a number of differences from their true Leica counterparts (I could be wrong of course)

Im selling one of this, not sure of it works completely. I'm from México

Your hand covers what you are doing

I don't wish to complain but do you realise that virtually everything you did, your hands covered the view, so we couldn't see what you're doing. Please position your camera differently or point to what you're removing or putting back. In addition, you went out of focus. Turn the autofocus off and use the manual setting. Thank you.

Very poor audio recording......Can"t even hear his voice.....!