It is over seventy years past since the first Leica was manufactured by Ernst Leitz in Wetzlar Germany. Over 1,500,000 of Leica have been manufactured up to the present. The Leica had been attracted as a small and precise camera from the beginning at the age that was so far folding plate cameras were their bast ages.
The early model of Leica camera was designed by Leitz engineer Oskar Barnack. Similar design camera had been continued manufacturing through the War after. Today, the cameras in this design are called "Barnack-Leica" in Japan in order to make difference from the new M type Leica which the first model was made in 1954.
Leica IIIf was launched in 1950 with full synchronized contact. There are 1 through 20 numbers arround below of the shutter dial. These numbers were engraved in Black on early model and it was changed in Red on later model. They are socalled Black Synchro model or Red Synchro model on the markest. The shutter curtain speed was made faster so as to have more efiicient syncronization for Red model. Max synchronized speed of electronic flash is 1/30sec for Black model and 1/50sec for Red one. Here are the synchronized number table of electronic flash bellow.
Balck Synchro
Shutter speed
B
T, 1 - 1/20sec
1/30sec
Number
6
2
2
Red Synchro
Shutter speed
B
T, 1 - 1/25sec
1/50sec
Number
2
0
20
Self-timer was attached to the final model in 1954. The IIIf had been continued manufacturing till 1957 even after Leica M3 was released.
After the War, the camera industry started to make copying Leica in Japan or in some other countries and Leica IIIc(1945) and IIIf(1050) had become their target cameras. A number of Leica mount lenses were also manufactured in Japan.
