Does any one know the history of green Leica and its value? I know Leica just release 300 green leica M6 cameras. And can it be one of collectable Leica?

Thanks

Kuffe

-- Kufee (z1alfa@yahoo.com), June 07, 2001

Answers

Kuffee, see this archived thread: http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl? msg_id=00526g.

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), June 07, 2001.

In addition to the 300 green Leica M6 cameras, a number of M1 (208 units), M3 (142 units), and M4 (31 units) cameras with olive green enamel and covering, and engraved with the word "Bundeseigentum", were made for military use (probably the West German Army). Two pictures of an example of such a military M1 are featured here: http://www.leicatime.com/l eica_m.htm.

Information sources:

1. Ghester Sartorius, "Military Leica M Cameras" in Identifying Leica Cameras (New York: Amphoto Books,1995), 105- 110.

2. http://main.chuo.com/~goki/leicanumber/LeicaMsSortedbyType.html (Do a Find for the word "green" in the page).

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), June 07, 2001.

Details of year of manufacture and quantity of the olive green M1, M3, and M4 cameras:

M1: http://www.pa cificrimcamera.com/pp/leica/m/m1.htm

M3: http://www.pa cificrimcamera.com/pp/leica/m/m3.htm

M4: http://www.pa cificrimcamera.com/pp/leica/m/m4.htm (see 2nd paragraph of text.)

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), June 07, 2001.

By the way, if anyone wishes to get one of those green M6 cameras (better do it soon!), you can order one from Tin Cheung Cameras in Hong Kong: http://www.tincheungcamera.co m.hk. (Disclaimer: I'm not related to Tin Cheung in any way, I only shop there occassionally. I find Tin Cheung an honeset dealer.)

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), June 08, 2001.

Just noticed a slew of them listed on ebay. Not exactly my taste in a camera color. I'm sure they will all be heavily used on Safaris over in Africa until the green paint wares out-NOT!

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), June 08, 2001.

Leica should consider making a Veteran Series M6 cameras: "Storming Norman" desert sand M6 (inscribed with "Mother of All Camera" slogan in Arabic); "Crazy Colonel Kurtz" tiger-strip camouflage M6 (with an unpredictable exposure meter); "Vietcong Guerrilla" pajamas black M6 (hmm, that may not be too different from the regular M6) . . .

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), June 09, 2001.

Ernst Leitz Canada in Midland made a batch of green M4 camera for US Army, known as KE-7A

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), June 15, 2001.

Military green Leica R3 Safari

5000 were made between 77-78

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), June 16, 2001.

KE-7A

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), June 16, 2001.

I believe the KE- 7A was only finished in black chrome, and not military green.

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), June 17, 2001.

Giani Ragliatti in "Leica:First Sixty Years" chapter 13 about military Leicas, wrote: "factory records show shows that M1,M2,M3,M4 were also produced in dark green"

M1,M3 were made for Germany army, M2 code name KS-15 and M4 code nameKe-7A made for US army.

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), June 17, 2001.

Hmmm, I think there are some confusions about green and non-green Leica M cameras produced for the military. After checking various sources, here're my findings:

Military Leica M3 - Wetzlar (Germany) made, produced from 1957-1968, olive green enamal finish, engraved with "Bundeseigentum", 142 units, for the West German armed forces (probably the army).

Military Leica M2 - Wetzlar (Germany) made, produced in 1960, blue grey enamal finish, engraved with "Bundeseigentum", production quantity = 20 units, for the West German armed forces (probably the air force or the navy).

Camera, Still Picture, KS-15 (military Leica M2 for the U.S. Army) - Wetzlar (Germany) made, produced in 1968, chrome finish, no military identification engravings, olive green enamal and covering, production quantity unknown, for the U.S. Army

M2-R (surplus production KS-15) - Wetzlar (Germany) made, produced in 1969, chrome finish, no military identification engravings, olive green enamal and covering, production quantity = 2000.

Military Leica M1 - Wetzlar (Germany) made, produced from 1960 to 1964, olive green enamal finish, "Bundeseigentum" engraved, production quantity = 208 units, for the West German armed forces (probably the army).

Military Leica M4 - Wetzlar (Germany) made, produced in 1970, olive green enamal finish, "Bundeseigentum" engraved, production quantity = 31 units, for the West German armed forces (probably the army).

Camera, Still Picture, KE-7A (military Leica M4 for the U.S. Army) - Midland (Canada) made, produced in 1972, black chrome finish, engraved with the Federal Stock Number, the order number and the initial U.S. (no such engravings on surplus production KE-7A sold by Leitz distributors), production quantity = 505 units, for the U.S. Army.

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), June 21, 2001.

Erratum:

Camera, Still Picture, KS-15 (military Leica M2 for the U.S. Army) - Wetzlar (Germany) made, produced in 1968, chrome finish, no military identification engravings, production quantity unknown.

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), June 21, 2001.

Another erratum:

M2-R (surplus production KS-15) - Wetzlar (Germany) made, produced in 1969, chrome finish, no military identification engravings, production quantity = 2000.

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), June 22, 2001.

Info update [from the Japanese publication Military Leica (Tokyo: EI Publishing Co., 2001)]

Military identification marking on camera

West German Army Leica M1 (olive green finish): the word "Bundeseigentum" (Federal Property), a set of numbers (e.g. 12- 129-7739) and a white square emblem featuring the black outline of the German miltary eagle with the letters "BWB" and the number "645", all on back of camera to the right of flash socket.

West German Air Force (?) Leica M2 (grey-blue finish): no marking.

West German Army Leica M3 (olive green finish): the word "Bundeseigentum" (Federal Property) and a set of numbers (e.g. 12-121-5418), on back of camera to the right of flash socket.

West German Army Leica M4 (olive green finish): the word "Bundeswehr" (Federal Army), on back of camera to the right of flash socket.

U.S. Army KE-7A (Leica M4)(black finish): the words "CAMERA", "STILL PICTURE", and "KE-7A" on top plate in front of the accessory shoe; three sets of numbers (camera serial number- e.g. "SERIAL No 1294681", federal stock number- e.g. "FSN 6720-165- 7115" and contract order number-e.g. "CONT. F42600-71-C-2429") and the initial "US" on back of camera to the right of the flash socket.

The publication also mentions an olive-green M4-2 with an olive- green Summicron-M 35mm f/2 lens, and speculates that it could be made for the Isreali Army.

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), June 30, 2001.

I have found a green military leica with the words WAffen SS on it i believe it is from 1940. Itsis in excellent working order. I saw i at ebay several months ago for $11K /us can this be real?

-- Gary (coronas2@telus.net), August 12, 2001.

Green Waffen SS Leicas are most likely fakes. From 1942 to 1944, because of shortage of chrome, 3,415 Leica IIIc cameras (in the s/n range from 387201 to 391699) supplied to the Luftwaffe were finished in grey paint instead of the normal chromium. The English edition of the 1965 No. 1 issue of Leica Fotografie (page 38) reports a field grey (greyish green, the standard colour of the Wermacht uniform) finish for some Leica IIIb models, but this could be erroneous. No war-time Leicas were known to have been painted green. Only post-war Leica-M cameras were ever painted green.

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), October 26, 2001.

And here's where you can buy a Waffen-SS Leica copy: http: //www.camerasrussian.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv? Screen=PROD&Store_Code=R001&Product_Code=L23&Category_Code=004b. Notíce that it's not green either!

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), November 05, 2001.

I've heard of Luftwaffe Eigentum Leicas but surely these Waffen S.S. are complete fakes, replicating nothing that actually existed and designed only to set the hearts of closet Nazi sympathizers aflutter?

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), November 05, 2001.