A couple of Leicina Special Questions!

Dan Paola · November 1, 2007

I've recently purchased a Leicina Special (with a lovely cinegon 10mm prime) and I have a couple of questions which I'm hoping some of you may be able to help me with.

The battery compartment is unfortunately covered in battery acid (old & dried into a crust) - it still seems to work fine, just looks a bit of a mess & I'm worried that it could cause a problem before long. Does anyone know the best way to clean it - I'm really worried about further damaging the compartment & the actual metal contacts by cleaning it with the wrong products etc - any advice on this would be fantastic. I've attached a photo (jpeg) to this post to give you an idea of the damage.

The second question is regarding the rubber eye-cup - does anyone know where I could find one - or one that'll fit it, as the original one is unfortunately missing from the camera.

I really cant wait to start using it - had to part with my treasured beaulieu 4008ZM4 to purchase the leicina - I'm really hoping it's gonna be worth it!

Michael Lehnert · November 2, 2007

Congratulations on the camera and the lens, which is of course light-years better than the 6-70 of the ZM IV. And you have this great triple-solution viewfinder solution at your disposal, with the diagonal rangefinder being one of the three options you can select. I always miss this feature with any other camera! Had Leica a patent on it that it never took off with rival manufacturers?

re. battery leak and cleaning, see thread on the same problem a while ago:

http://www.cinematography.com/forum2004/in...showtopic=25935

re. eyecup replacement (and potentially a new battery container, too):

I don't know what service houses there are in the US, so others might be of greater help if you are locatedn in the States. Regarding Leitz or other top-brands in general for Europe, the Leitz Leicina addresses to go to for repairs or spares would be:

Kameraservice & Filmtechnik E. Piehler

Nachtweide 13

D-64569 Nauheim

Germany

+49 / 6152 / 80 79 38

kameratechnikpiehler@t-online.de

(he is known as Leicina repair in Germany, I don't know him and havn't dealt with him ? also don't know potential English language issues)

Herbert Geissler

Liechtensteinstrasse 75

D-72770 Reutlingen-Gönningen

Germany

+49 / 7072 / 92 97 0

no e-mail :rolleyes:

(from my experiences with him servicing Bauer and Nizo and Canon, plus him having a huge spare parts centre from which I purchased eyecups for above camera marques as well, he might be the best address to order a new eyecup and battery container ? alas, I don't know his potential English language knowledge. A lack of e-mail address (which I hadn't notice 'til know, usually deal over phone) might indicate a lack of ... hmm... "internationalism" :) .

Wittner Cinetec might be a helpful address to consider as well, no language issues there: http://www.wittner-kinotechnik.de/home.php

Michael Lehnert · November 2, 2007

Oops, sorry, just noticed, you are located in the UK just as me. Awfully sorry!

Michael Lehnert · November 2, 2007

Gosh, and typos everywhere that I can no longer edit... did anyone notice that I didn't get any sleep tonight workin? Again, thousand apologies for this mess, Dan!

Alessandro Machi · November 2, 2007

Gosh, and typos everywhere that I can no longer edit... did anyone notice that I didn't get any sleep tonight workin? Again, thousand apologies for this mess, Dan!

Oh great, now I have to read this topic again to find the typos I didn't see the first time through, thanks pal. (that was meant as sardonic humor).

Linking similar content so others whom you may not even know or may never meet can find all the related material quicker, sounds like good will gone mad!

Michael Lehnert · November 3, 2007

:lol:

and yeah, you're right. Let's stay clear of good will. Dangerous stuff. Where would this end if all humans would become that obsessive-compulsive toward their fellow beings? Terrible scenario... (equally sardonic)