fuggamoose
newbie
Reged: 15/01/2008
Posts: 3
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I've recently aquired an original leicaflex camera which turned out to be a dummy. never been in working order and was only for shop displays. i've heard that they can be quite saught after but i don't really know much about leica really. can anyone help?
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Tacitus
History
Reged: 17/01/2006
Posts: 871
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The asking prices for dummy cameras varies, and does depend on the model (some are realtively common). But many remain unsold on dealers' shelves for months, or longer. For example: a M3 dummy may cost £295 (see MW Classic website) but normal dealer prices for real M3 cameras, in good condition, would normally be £100 or so more.
For the 'flex look at the Leica Shop and enter 'dummy' in the search box: most of those display cameras have been there for a year or more. It's a buyer's market; hence, as EBay is where buyers (ie collectors) congregate there may be some past auctions you could check.
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fuggamoose
newbie
Reged: 15/01/2008
Posts: 3
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Thanks for the tips. How do I know if it's a dummy or not? Silly question I know! I was told by a Leica camera expert but I still don't really know. It has a serial number....do you think that means it isn't a dummy?
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Tacitus
History
Reged: 17/01/2006
Posts: 871
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As far as I can tell, many/most dummies (Atrappe) did not have serial numbers, though there are some indications that a number beginning A was sometimes used. More importantly, they appear not to have had any working parts (shutter or meter, etc) since they were mostly for window display and were not used as 'demonstration' models. (There are 3 main Leicaflex models and several variants).
If you can operate the shutter and so forth, and the serial number looks 'normal', you may have a non-working regular camera. You can check the serial number against published lists at Cameraquest.
Other than that, Leica slr cameras are outside my 'territory'. The following links may be of interest:
Photoethnography
Leicaflex SL review
Leicaflex manual (original model)
The Leica Forum is where many 'experts' hang out, or at Photo.net.
.T.
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