Below is several group shots of cameras from my original collection. Many of what you see now belong to other collectors. For descriptions of their names, see earlier posts.
Above, starting at the top is one each of all the 126 film SLR cameras made. Their names and country of origin can be found in older blogs. They are viewed from the top, then from the front.
Next is one each of all the 126 film Rangefinder cameras made. Again, viewed from the top then the front. The bottom picture is Kodak's line of 126 film rangefinder cameras. All have spring motors. There is a tab on the bottom that one pulls to wind the spring motor. Good for a few shots before pulling it again.
Below is a view of the vast majority of compact 35mm fixed lens Rangefinder cameras made, these having all black bodies.
Next are chrome ones. Many are the same as above, but chrome instead of black metal parts.
Again, they are compact fixed-lens 35mm Rangefinder cameras. My eBay handle is "rfcollectin". RF refers to rangefinder. Which is the type of cameras I chose to focus on. No pun intended.
Above is a group of all the Olympus compact 35mm RF cameras. Note the different names and speeds of their lenses. The larger ones have a lower "f" number. The lower the number, the "faster" the lens. I.E., it's ability to let in more light, thus being able to capture an image in less light.
Above is the family of 35mm rangefinders as made by the Neoca company. The left-most one is designed to appear like the Nikon S2. It is a 2s.Below is a group shot of ex-Soviet cameras. All made by FED which is the initials of the founder of the KGB. They did one thing right and that was found an orphanage for kids from WWII. They put them to work making exact copies of Leica cameras. Later they improved upon and made their own designs:
Next is a genuine pre-WWII Contax II surrounded by two ex-Soviet Kievs. The black one is far newer than the chrome one with the tall meter housing on top.
Below is the family of Zorki cameras. I had all but the model # 2 which is quite rare.
Finally below is two "Fake" Leicas. They are formerly Fed or Zorki cameras converted by "artisans" in eastern Europe. Originally to sell to unsuspecting tourists, who thought they were getting a genuine Leica that was captured from some dead German soldier.
The black one was bought via eBay and is "new". The "gold" one is an older one, the gold is the original brass that had the chrome chemically stripped from it and it was highly polished. Again, to fool the unsuspecting into thinking they were getting a super-rare gold plated Leica II.
Next, is a detail shot showing the lenses removed from the black one and my real Leica IIIC.
Note the shaped of the device protruding into the hole.
See the left one is clearly round, the right one is triangular in shape. The other giveaway is the shape of the frame around the viewfinder window on the front of the camera. Below are some images I've saved from other's eBay auctions or just found on the Internet.
Do you see the rectangle frame extends to the right above the screw on this Zorki?OK, now look at this real Leica:
See how the window frame cuts downward and surrounds the screw? That's the clue. Last lets look at some pictures of a camera claimed to be a genuine WWII BETRIEBSK camera.
See the window frame is correct? It may be genuine, or maybe a genuine Leica modified to look like a real Betriebsk. More pics:
There are thousands of Leica copies, (fakes) circulating the world of camera collecting. Since the first FEDs and Zorkis were exact copies of Leica II cameras, one would think the performance would be the same. Yet, I wind and click the shutter of any of them, then wind and click my Leica IIIC's shutter and it's a world of difference. Here are some pics of my Leica:
You may be thinking, "Whoa! Dude what is that camera covered with?" That is red sea snakeskin. I don't know what kind of sea snake, but that's what it wore. You may also be thinking, where did I get that skin? Same place I get most things: EBay! Why? Well, I saw on line another Leica similarly covered and thought that I just had to do it too:
Pretty, isn't it? Here's another camera similarly endowed, but it is a Seagull from China. I have one as well, but it is plain old black covering.
Now, to show you a really pretty fake "gold" Leica as advertised on eBay:
To close out this treatise that has turned into a Leica feast, here is an image of several fake Leicas. I don't remember where I found it:
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