# help please



## Mr.Weee (Apr 11, 2015)

Hello.  Is this real or not.


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## Derrel (Apr 11, 2015)

Faaaaaaaaaaaake as all get out. As in so,so, ohhhh so faked. I read an article on these fakes about a year ago. Maybe through CameraQuest.com's links? Or on the rangefinder forum.

Sorry..it's _NOT even a Leica_...

here's the article I read a year ago...that camera is a Russian-made fake.

How to Spot a Fake Leica


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## tirediron (Apr 11, 2015)

I'm sure one of our Leica experts will be along shortly to give you a more definitive answer, but IMO, it's unlikely.  The condition is just too darn good.  Is that lens cap plastic?


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## Derrel (Apr 11, 2015)

See the *THREADED shutter release button*...ouch!! Sorry, Russian...all the way. This is the equivalent of the Colt single Action Army "*five-shooter*" revolver...

The camera is a Russian-made Zorki...Zorki - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
I am not a Zorki expert, but this fake looks like a Zorki 2-s, shown here 1920px-Zorki_2-s_camera.jpg

Se the small, flat-fronted viewfinder window? Sorry....Russian...

See the lens tab that goes wayyyy up to 11 o'clock...sorry, Russian lens...

Do you see that absolutely atrociously rough finish? OMG, Sovietski-grade junk...

See the small, inset window in the round rangefinder window....ouch....that's the way the Russians made 'em...

PLease remove the lens and show us the rangefinder cam, located at the top of the lens mounting area at the 12 o'clock position. Leicas used a rounded roller follower....Russian cams use a triangular-shaped type of cam follower.

Here's a little bit of the history of your faked "Luftwaffe" camera. These fakes started appearing in 1995. Read about them in the article *Russian Fake Leicas*. Russian Fake Leicas

The 50mm f/3.5 Industar lens with the Infinity stop that goes allllll the way up to the 11 o'clcok position is a sad testament that it's a fake....one of the cheapest lenses, and...an f/3.5 design that is pretty similar to a real collapsible Elmar f/3.5...this is **the** lens of the fakes...Industars were/are cheap, and look a lot like the real Elmar...


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## tecboy (Apr 11, 2015)

Don't worry.  Your secret stays in TPF.


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## Destin (Apr 12, 2015)

I don't know anything about it to comment on it's authenticity, but real or not, that is a really cool camera to be able to sit on your shelf as a conversation piece.


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## gsgary (Apr 12, 2015)

It looks like a Zorki copy, if you have handled a Leica you would know straight away the difference in the quality of build


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## Gary A. (Apr 12, 2015)

At first I thought Damn ... you hit a gold mine ... but Derrel is right, you have a bucket of Pyrite. Fortunately, Destin is right too. I hope you didn't sell the farm to get it.


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## timor (Apr 13, 2015)

Someone put lot of effort in this cover up. Lol


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## desertrattm2r12 (Dec 25, 2015)

Looks too good to be true to me. That eagle looks more like an Aztec eagle than a pre-Nazi era eagle which I  hear would not be on a World War II camera.


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