I have acquired a Leica IIc and Leicavit winder and would like to estimate its value. Any help would be appreciated.

-- joe zarick (jza1058168@aol.com), June 04, 2002

Answers

Of course, the condition means everything, but LTM Leicavit's typically are $4-800.

Skip

-- Skip Williams (skipwilliams@pobox.com), June 04, 2002.

i'd love to find a decent one for $500. i've never seen a really nice one go for less than a grand. sherry k has two at the moment: a minty one for about $1200 and a beater for $800. i'm sure ebay prices are lower -- but check.

-- roger michel (michel@tcn.org), June 04, 2002.

Wow, I know that Rich Pinto had an SYOOM last week for $695. I saw another one for $600 go on Ebay last year. I also saw one at a local Leica specialist last year for $675. The one that I saw for $400 a few years ago was pretty beat up.

$1200, huh? Am I missing something? I believe that there are two versions, one for the III/IIc and another for the III/IIf. Is there another besides the early one or the MP that would justify the high price? Or am I just "out of it"?

Me? I'm waiting on Tom A's BarnakWinder, which should be out by late summer.

-- Skip Williams (skipwilliams@pobox.com), June 04, 2002.

in ebay "completed sales" there is one that went for $800 and a mint one that went for $1125. there is an mp that went for like $1700 or so. i don't think U R out of it, it's just that leica prices are all over the map depending on where and when you buy. i'm sure there are decent winders out there for $600; i just never seem to find one.

-- roger michel (michel@tcn.org), June 04, 2002.

Guess what folks, I sold a mint IIC with Leicavit for about $30 (a long time ago). NEVER SELL A LEICA!

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), June 04, 2002.

Dear Joe and Friends,

First, Joe, hang on to this combo. Whatever it is worth now it'll be worth more in the future. I would also use it lightly. Repair is either impossible or almost impossible if it breaks down. The Leicavit is an lovely work of engineering art. It also, unfortunately, has many pieces that can break down and cannot be reproduced or replaced. Unfortunately, the Leicavit has got to be treated like a Ming vase.

As I mentioned before I saw (and played with!) a Leicavit in Osaka a while back--a year perhaps. It was going from 165,000 yen. That must be about--what?--somewhere in $1200 range with current exchange rates.

The Abrahamsson Rapidwinder is a tough little character and should be out soon. I'm among a number testing the prototype now. After many rolls of film I think it is 95% to 99% there. It is not, thank heavens, a Ming vase.

Does anyone by any chance know if Sherry does Leicavits?

All the best,

Alex

-- Alex Shishin (shishin@pp.iij4-u.or.jp), June 09, 2002.

As far as I am aware, there is only one type of Leicavit (SYOOM) for SM Leicas above SN 400,000, not several different varieties designed for different SM cameras (all chrome). The vast majority were made in Wetzlar, but occasionally one is seen engraved Leitz Midland Canada (no doubt to go with the rare Canadian IIIf camera). The Wetzlar Leicavits usually go for $ 600-1200 depending on functional condition and cosmetic appearance.

There as also the Leicavit MP (SYOOM-M or SYMOM) for M2 (the regular M2 but not the regular M3 can take the Leicavit MP), MP and I believe MD also. These come in chrome and black paint and are considerably rarer and more costly than the SYOOM Leicavit.

-- Eliot (erosen@lij.edu), June 09, 2002.

The SYOOM is fragile due to the loads put on them. The two I am using on a IIIf and IIIg have been in the family since the early 1950's and I know that the "beater" of the two has pulled several thousand rolls through in both film testing for EK and racing photography for Road & Track magazine. I suspect failures come from users trying to get one more shot out of the roll, intentionally or otherwise. To lessen the load on the mechanism, I now only use 24 exposure rolls and knob wind the shots after 20. There are three characteristics of SYOOM that are really nice, for me it improves the balance and feel of the IIIf,g;as a leftie the wind motion is more natural, and for some reason it is easier to load film using the winder. On the minus side, the grip material on the camera body is chipped around the mounting lug, but after 40 years of regular use, it comes under wear and tear. However if I hit the lottery, a winder from Tom A will come off the wish list.I'd trade the beater SYOOM for a Tom A winder.

-- Christopher A. Junker (cjunker@toolcity.net), June 12, 2002.