LEICAFLEX User manual

You are  ncDrry a LEICAFLEX@ owlt(Br.   -.

          . . . and will want to read these
      instructions carefully, as you
     examine your new camera.

    The LEICAFLEX is remarkably
     easy to operate, and you will
     master this precision instrument
     very quickly by trying each
     camera control as it is described

      in these pages.





   @ :  Registered trademark

   ERNST LE'TZ GMBH WETZLAR
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                                                       Digitally signed by Mike Butkus
    Mike Butkus DN:org, cn=Mikeemail=mike@butkus.org,Butkus, o, ou=Butkus.c=US
                                                Date: 2026.01.11 18:22:16 -05'00'



1 Strap lugs                          5 Meter battery housing
2 Self-timer                           6 Meter window
3 Mirror control lever                    7 Battery-test button
4 Lensmount bayonet lock                             I Twin flash contacts

4

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23 Bar-lock for hinged camera back
24 ASA/DlN meter scales
25 Viewfinder eyepiece, with fitting
    for eyepiece correction lenses

Holding the LEIGAFLEX                  To make vertical pictures, keep both hands
For steady three-point support, the right    in the same positions described for hor-
hand grasps that side of the camera, with   izontal shooting, and simply swing the
forefinger on the release button and thumb   carnera into the vertical position. This
against the transport lever. The left hand   keeps you in full command of the LEICA-
cradles the lens from below, and the fore-   FLEX controls, and your fingers perform
head presses against the camera back.       the same functions in both positions.


B

Focusing





                                      25455 -  11
Shimmering center-spot :  Unsharp          Clear center-spot :  Sharp Focus!




The circular focusing-spot in the center of  When a subject centered within the focus-
the LEICAFLEX viewing screen is filled    ing-spot appears sharp, you will notice that
with precision micro-prisms which deflect   the shimmering texture of the spot disap-
out-of-focus light rays, but do not affect    pears. Note also that the double images of
sharply focused images.                      subject contours fuse into a single sharp
                                        outline when the lens is  accurately
                                             focused.

The lruilt-in exposure rneter

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                                                                                                                               2531'n
Movement of the follow-pointer upward toward    Correct exposure is obtained when the follow-
the larger circle indicates the setting of a larger    pointer is made to cover the meter needle by
lens opening, and downward toward the smaller    turning either the auto-aperture preselector  ring
circle a smaller lens aperture.                     of the lens, or the shutter speed selector dial.
                                Use the focusing-spot to aim the LEICA-The LEICAFLEX exposure meter is cross-                                FLEX meter at an important part of thecoupled so that correct exposure can be                                      scene containing a mixture of bright andset by turning either the lens auto-aperture                                            dark objects.preselector ring (18), or the shutter speed                                The LEICAFLEX exposure meter is cali-dial (1 6). lt is usually better to start by se-                                           brated for measurements in the horizontal
lecting an appropriate shutter speed, set-   position. For maximum meter accuracyting the exposure by means of the lens                                             hold the camera horizontally when aligning
aperture. The speed scale below the view-                                              the follow-pointer over the meter needle.ing field permits rapid correction without                                             The meter's measuring field is approximately equal toremoving the eye from the viewfinder.            the viewing angle of the 90mm lens.

12

Testing and changing the LEIGAFLEXwww.butkus.usrrreter battery





                                                                     25341.1


The built-in LEICAFLEX CdS exposure   To change the battery,
 meter draws its energy from a Mallory PX   unscrew the cover-cap (5), gripping it by
 625 battery (with white ring). This battery    its milled outer edge, and drop the new
 will normally last for one to two years.        battery into position so that the side mark-
To test the battery,                       ed PX 625 * faces upward.
 hold the camera horizontally, look through
 the viewfinder, and press the battery-test          IMPORTANT
 button (7) at the front of the camera.  lf the    The film advance lever also serves as the onloff
 battery is in good condition, the meter     ofswitchthe battery,for the exposurethe exposuremeter.meterTo extendis switchedthe lifeoff
 needle will immediately move to she small    when the transport lever is folded flat against the
 circle in the lower right-hand corner of the     camera body. To activate the exposure meter, ad-                                                  vance the film transport lever slightly from its viewing screen.                                         position flat against the camera body. The meter
                                                                    will remain activated as long as the film transport
                                                             lever is not folded flat against the camera body.

Control center for tlre riglrt hancl ...





                                                                  www.butkus.us


The rapid-transport  lever (13)               The release button (14)
advances the film and re-sets the camera    is threaded for a standard cable-release
controls with a single stroke. Leave this   such as the LEITZ locking release No.
                                                  "lever in its convenient                     ready position "   14067, which is used for making time
when using the LEICAFLEX.                 exposures. Pressing the release starts the
The shutter speed selector dial (16)           following chain of events:
provides speeds from 1 to 1/zooo sec, plus     1 . mirror swing up.
Bulb, and is coupled with the exposure   2. aperlure closes down to the preselect-
meter follow-pointer. Accurate intermed-      ed value,
iate speeds can be set at all positions,   3. shutter opens and closes,
except between 1lt and I/a sec. The symbol   4. aperture springs back to its full opening,
    :   1/,oo sec, and is used for synchroniz-   5. mirror drops back into the viewing posit-t
ing electronic-flash  units.                             ion.

14

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      r r r r and  for the  left hand
       All auto-aperture LEICAFLEX lenses have
     the same control-ring arrangement: The
      center ring (17), which carries the depth-
       of-field scale, does not rotate, and is used
      for lens changing. Nearest to the camera
       front is the auto-ape-rture preselector ring
       (18) that couples with the exposure meter
       follow-pointer. The forward ring (19) is for
      focusing, and 'carries the foot-and-meter
      distance scales.





I

The autolTratic lens      The <lepth-of-field scale
aperture
remains fully open for maximum viewing
and focusing efficiency, except for the
 brief interval of exposure. The aperture
preselector ring (1 8) has click-stop set-
tings for each aperture and half-aperture.
This ring couples to the exposure meter
follow-pointer.



                                                            www.butkus.us





                                            Distances in front of, and behind, the plane
                                            of sharpest focus that will be reproduced
                                        with acceptable sharpness are indicated
                                               for each lens aperture. The arrows above
                                                  indicate the depth-of-field for  f /4 and  f /11.

 t6

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LEICAFLEX lens changing
LEICAFLEX lenses can be inserted and   To insert a lens,
removed regardless of their distance or    align the raised red dot on the lens barrel
auto-aperture settings. Grasp the lens by   with the red dot on the lensmount, press
the stationary ring (17), and follow these   the lens straight into the opening, and turn
simple directions:                        to the right (as shown below) until the
                                        bayonet clicks audibly in the locked posi-
To remove the lens,                                 tion.
press the release-lock  (4), turn the lens to   Avoid lens-changing in direct lightl Turn
the left, and lift out as shown by the arrow   the open lensmount toward your body to
above.                                       avoid strong illumination.

Series filters             Lenshoods
             affi
                                    b                                       ffi
                                     c      ffiWffiS





Every LEICAFLEX lens is supplied with a   Lenshoods (a) should always be used for
filter-retaining ring (b) engraved with its   best optical quality. The 35- and 50mm
Series size. The 35- and 50mm LEICAFLEX   LEICAFLEX lenses use the same rever-
lenses use Series Vl filters; the 90- and   sible lenshood (No. 14164), which may be
135mm, Series Vll. To mount a filter, re-   reversed over the lens for easrer trans-
move the retaining-ring, drop the filter in,    port, or when the camera is carried in its
and replace, (lf the retaining-ring is screw-   ever-ready case. Press the two chromed
ed in very tightly, do not attempt to un-   spring releases before mounting or remov-
screw with force. lnstead, grasp the ring at   ing this lenshood. The 90- and 135mm
any point on its circumference with thumb   LEiCAFLEX lenses have built-on telescop-
and forefinger, turning slightly to the left   ing lenshoods which are simply drawn for-
to loosen.)                              ward for use.

18

(3)The LEICAFLEX rnirror-control www.butkus.uslerrer





Position t (UPRIGHT) :   lnstant-return    lever (1 3) is tensed, mirror rises as soon
mirror, springing up as the release is pres-   as Position 3 is set; if not, mirror will rise
sed, and returning immediately after each  when transport-lever  is stroked to reten-
exposure.                                     sion the camera.
Position 2 (TO SIDE) :  Mirror springs up  IMPORTANT! After a series of exposures
as soon as shutter is released, and re-   have been made with the control lever in
mains locked up until control lever is re-   Positions 2 or 3, this lever should be re-
turned to Position 1.                                         turned to Position 1 before retensioning
Position 3 (DOWNWARD) :   Mirror is   the camera. lf the camera is retensioned
locked up before shutter is released, and   before resetting to Position 1, it will be
remains locked up until control lever is   necessary to make a blank exposure be-
returned to Position 1. lf the transport-   fore the mirror will return.

                                                                                             19

The self-tirner             Flash s!/nclrron ization





An exposure delay of about 10 seconds is  The upper contact marked f  is for syn-
introduced when the lever is swung all the   chronizing electronic-flash units at speeds
way down, as shown above. The delayed    of up to 1/roo sec (:    on the speed dial).                                                                           f
shutter action is started by pressing the  The lower contact marked fl  is for syn-
camera release-button (1a). Note that the   chronizing flashbulbs. The table on the
exposure occurs just before the self-timer   next page gives full synchronization data
lever returns to its upward position.            for the most rvidely used flashbulbs.

20

Filrn loading





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The LEICAFLEX accepts all standard 35mm   cartridgeto left and drop into chamber, draw-
film cartridges;  it does not accept LEICA   ing out minimum length needed. 6 Push
cassettes.                                  rewind shaftdown without turning. 7 Stroke
                                              transport lever slowly to wind one turn of
To open camera back, press flat button in   film onto take-up spool. Be sure thatcenter of locking-bar (23), simultaneously                                        sprockets engage perforations and filmpressing bar upward. Follow this easy load-                                         feeds straight across film channel. 8 Close
ing procedure:                                      back and press locking-bar down. 9 Take
1 Wind shutter fully, then release. 2 Unfold   up film slack by turning rewind crank until
rewind crank and pull up. 3 lf necessary,   tension is felt. 10 Make 2 blank exposures,
turn take-up spool to locate one of loading   observing that rewind turns in opposition
slits conveniently. 4 Push film leader, shiny   to arrow. (lf rewind fails to rotate when
side up, deep into loading slit, but do not   shutter is wound, repeat loading proced-
permit to protrude. Film edge should lie flat   ure: otherwise film will not advance.) The
against take-up spool flange. 5 Holding   automatic frame counter now stands at O,
take-up spool with right thumb, move film,   and the LEICAFLEX is ready to shoot.

22

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Flevvinding tlre expose<l filrn





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                                          Press the rewind button (21) on the bottom
                                       of the camera, unfold the rewind crank
                                                    (10), and turn in the direction of the arrow
                                                    until no further resistance is felt. Do not
                                                 pull up on the rewind crank while rewind-
                                                  ing! The rewind button (21) will stay down
                                                 in the proper rewlnding position until the
                                            transport lever  ('l 3) is stroked. For maxi-
                           mum security and convenience, hold the
                                      LEICAFLEX as shown above when rewind-
                                              ing. As the film is rewound the frame-
Correct loading:                          counter (15), will turn backward toward
Sprockets engage perforations, and film   "O". After rewinding, pull the rewind crank
feeds straight across film channel.         up to remove the finished film cartridge.

ELPFIO lenses

are precision two-element coated achro-   To mount an ELPRO (d) lens
mats especially designed to extend the fo-    first unscrew the filter retaining-ring  (b),
cusing possibilities of the 50-, 90-, and   and screw directly into the threaded front
135nrm LEICAFLEX lenses into the close-   flange of the LEICAFLEX lens. Filters (c)
focusing ranges with optimum image qua-   and lenshoods (a) are used in the normal
lity.                                      way, as described on page 18.
ELPRO lenses Vla (Catalog No. 16531)
and Vlb (No. 16532) were computed
exclusively for use with the 50mm @SUM-
MICRON-R t/2 lens, and provide critical
corner-to-corner close-up quality, even at
medium lens apertures.
ELPRO lens Vlla (No. 16533) was com-
puted to match the correction of the 90-         b
and 135mm ELMARIT-R t/2.8 lenses. The                                       cELPRO Vllb (No. 16534) is intended only
for use with the 135mm @ELMARIT-R  f /2.8                                     dlens.
The ELPRO data table on the next page
gives full operating information. The nor-
mal operation of the LEICAFLEX is in no
way changed by the use of the ELPRO
lenses, and no exposure-increase factors
are required.

24

using LEIcA lenses rnrith the LEICAFLEX





                                                                                                                                                                                                                 ,i i.:,11_i :j
Because its movlng mirror requires a longer    90nrm ELMARf/4(lens-head   in mount No.16467, "OUAGO")
lensmount-to-film  distance, the LEICAFLEX can   90mm SUMMICRON@ f/2 (in short VISOFLEX ll-lll   fo-
not be used with ranEefinder-focusing LEICA    cusing mount)                                                       Universal Focusing Mount No. 16464 (OIZFO") urith:
lenses.                                      65mm ELMAR f/3.5
The special LEICA-Io-LEICAFLEX lens adapter    90mm ELMA,RIT f/2,8 (lens-head)
No. 14127 permits the use of all VISOFLEX@    t35mm ELMAR f/4 (lens-head  in ring No. 16472, "OSTRO")
llllll  lenses and accessories with the LEICA-     l35mrn HEKTOR F/4.5 (lens-head in ring as above)
FLEX. This includes the FOCI.JSING BEL-                                          The following LEICA lenses can be used  with the
LOWS  II,                                         LEICAFLEX with the ring No. 14127 plus the ring No.
                                                                            l6 466 ("OUBlO"):
The aperture simulator:                               l25mm HEKTOR f/2.5
The LEICA-to-LEICAFLEX  Iens ring is equipped with an    135mm ELMAR f/4, in short focusing mount
aperture simulator that couples to the follow-pointer of   135mm HEKTOR l/4.5, in short  f ocusing mount
the LEICAFLEX exposure meter. This is used to set the   200mm TELYT  f /4 (and   f /4.5)correct exposure exactly as with a LEICAFLEX lens.    280mm TELYT f/4.8
After correct exposure has been determined, the aper-    400mm TELYT f/5ture indicated on the simulator scale is then transferred
to the LEICA lens,                                  FOCORAPID,  fast-focusinq mount with:
The following LEICA@ lenses and accessories can be   135mm ELMAR@ HEKTOR@ (lens-heads  in ring No. 14114)
used directly with the ring No. 14127 on the LEICAFLEX:   200mm TELYT@ f/4 (lens-head directly)
FOCUSING BELLOWS ll, with any applicable LEICA   200mm TELYTT/4.5 (lens-head in ring No. 14113)
 I ens.                                            280mm TELYT f/4.8 (lens-head in ring No. 14 112)

26

www.butkus.us                                       and rear lens surfaces should be protectedGaring
                                     by using the front and rear lenscaps sup-for )/oLrr
                                                                      remem-LEICAFLEX                           plied for this purpose. Above all,
                                                  ber:lenses
                                                                     It is better to keep your lenses clean, than
                                                 to keep cleaning your lenses!

                              When photographing in sandy, dusty, or
                                            other potentially dangerous places, protect
                                      the front lens surface by using a clear
The special LEITZ hard anti-reflection   LEITZ UVa (ultra-violet absorbing) filter.
coating on the outer surfaces of your   This filter will not affect the exposure time.
LEICAFLEX lenses is abrasion-resistant,    Lenshoods, which improve optical quality
but not scratch-proof! Treat lens surfaces   by blocking-off stray light rays, also pro-
with great care, always starting any clean-   tect against accidental contacts with the
ing process by dusting with a camel's-hair   front lens surface, and are a big help in
lens brush. lf this doesn't suffice, wipe   rainy weather. When photographing near
gently with a soft, well-laundered linen   salt water, always use the UVa filter to
cloth, a clean piece of chamois leather, or   prevent air-borne salt from settling on the
a high-grade (white) optical lens tissue.    lens. Should salt water ever splash on your
Avoid any colored or chemically impreg-   camera or lens, clean by first wiping with a
nated tissues which are intended only for   cloth dampened in ordinary tap-water,
eyeglasses. Use lens cleaning fluids spar-   then dry thoroughly with a second piece of
ingly, if at all. When not in use, the front   clean cloth.

Design subject to alteration without notice.

ERNST  LEITZ eMBH WETZLAR  cERMATY
Subsldiary: Ernst Leltz (Canada) Ltd., Mldland, Ontarlo

                                    Printed in Germany      X/65/FDX/Lt-i"t i-it -so"ltogt.  i