# quick collecting question



## journeyman (Jul 30, 2006)

Anyone heard of a camera company called leitz.  It is advertised as a knockoff leica.  The one I saw is from germany dated 1936 and it looks like it was made as a special edition for the olympics there that year.  I thought it could make an interesting collection piece but I wanted to know more about it before I thought about purchasing.


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## Mitica100 (Jul 30, 2006)

journeyman said:
			
		

> Anyone heard of a camera company called leitz. It is advertised as a knockoff leica. The one I saw is from germany dated 1936 and it looks like it was made as a special edition for the olympics there that year. I thought it could make an interesting collection piece but I wanted to know more about it before I thought about purchasing.


 
The name _Leica_ comes from *Lei*tz *Ca*mera. All Leicas have the name Leitz on them from Ernst Leitz, who started working (1849) at the C. Kellner optical shop (telescopes and microscopes). In 1869 he took over this company, giving it the well known Leitz name.

I do not see anywhere another usage of the name Leitz, outside of something similar like the _Leidolf_ cameras, also made in Wetzlar, Germany.

Be aware that there are numerous Russian fakes of the Leicas, especially the 'special occasion' ones like the 1936 Olympics, the Luftwaffen, the Kriegsmarine and so on. 

A picture of the camera would help identifying the manufacturer but I believe the one you saw might well be a Russian fake.


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## journeyman (Jul 30, 2006)

I was almost positive it was a knockoff but I wanted to know if they have any sort of collection value.  Here's what it looks like


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## Mitica100 (Jul 30, 2006)

That is a Russian fake. You can find many of them on Ebay. It's a Zorkii dressed up to look like a Leica. Value? Anywhere between $80 and $120 depending on how well is made. To some it is a collectible (some of the collectors are into collecting fakes) but if you want to start a serious collection I would suggest looking at a Leica IIIa, IIIc or IIIf. The IIIg is too expensive to start with, as well as any M series Leicas.

Let me know if you need more info.


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## Mitica100 (Jul 30, 2006)

By the way, here's a photo which shows what to look for if you want or don't want a fake (Russian) Leica. Look at the rounded corners, I highlighted one in red. The fake Leicas have them rounded, the real ones not.


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## usayit (Aug 1, 2006)

many out there enjoy collecting Russian copies....  copies of Leica, Hasselblad, Contax... under the names Zorki, Feds, and Kiev.

They are copies and many were made with child labor but there are examples out there that can produce really nice pictures.  Many enjoy doing the research to locate/identify the good ones and purchase them for their personal collections.  The nice thing is that a collection of really nice Russian copies would be a fraction of what some of us pay for our personal collections.  

I've heard some really nice things about the Hasselblad medium format copy, Kiev. 

Copy good links to take a peak.


http://www.btinternet.com/~stowupland/index.htm

http://www.cameraquest.com/fakerusk.htm


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## manfromh (Aug 2, 2006)

I think its a Zorki-S

http://www.sovietcams.com/index.php?542408128


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