Leica If
Ernst Leitz · LTM mount · 24×36mm on perforated 35mm cine film, 36 exposures · 1952
Also known as: Leica If · Leica If red dial · Leitz Leica If · ライカIf
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black dial | LTM | 1951–1952 | — | 1,118 cameras (Leica Wiki) |
| Red dial | LTM | 1952–1958 | — | 15,786 cameras (Leica Wiki) |
| Swedish military (three crowns) | LTM | 1952–1958 | — | No figure published |
| Swedish Post Office | LTM | 1952–1958 | — | No figure published |
- The Swedish three-crown cameras were issued as a numbered outfit, not as bare bodies. Leitz Photographica Auction 41, lot 209 — body 578081 of 1953, engraved with three crowns and "MS-HK2 NR 8" — was sold with a Meyer Tele Megor 5.5/250mm, number 1001767, carrying the same military markings, together with a hood with built-in yellow filter, an SFTOO finder with a 250mm mask, a chrome FOKOS rangefinder, cable release, two spools, strap and an outfit case from the Stockholm dealer Molander & Son marked to the same designation. The auction house puts the run at about fifty outfits; this one realised €12,000 including buyer's premium against an estimate of €12,000–14,000.
- A plain Swedish military If is a far commoner thing. Auction 42, lot 211 — body 760954 of 1955 in A/B condition, with a red-scale Elmar 3.5/5cm number 1244401 engraved with a small crown, camera and lens both originally supplied to Brandt in Sweden — realised €4,320 including buyer's premium against an estimate of €4,000–5,000.
How to tell them apart
- No rangefinder and no viewfinder — a bare top plate
- Two accessory shoes side by side, as on the Ic
- Flash sync ring, which the Ic does not have
Black dial:
- Sync numbers engraved in black
Red dial:
- Sync numbers engraved in red
Swedish military (three crowns):
- Three crowns engraved on the body — Swedish armed forces property
Swedish Post Office:
- Swedish Post Office markings
- Black dial: Under seven per cent of the model, and the version collectors look for.
- Red dial: The If as almost everyone encounters it.
- Swedish Post Office: A postal service buying finderless Leicas is a reminder of what these bodies were for: copying documents on a stand, not photographing people.
Serial-range notes
- 562801–565000
- 2,200 black-dial cameras in 1951 — before the model's stated 1952 introduction.
- 575001–580000
- 5,000 red-dial cameras, 1952–1953.
- 683446
- Flagged by the Leica Wiki as a Leica IIIf inside If numbering.
- 673001–674999
- 1953-1954: 1 batch, 1,999 numbers (RD). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
- 682001–684000; 760001–762000; 789001–790000
- 1955: 3 batches, 5,000 numbers (RD). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
- 807501–808500; 815001–816000; 822001–822900; 850901–851000
- 1956: 4 batches, 3,000 numbers (RD). Leica Wiki batch table, archived.
Specifications
- Format
- 24×36mm on perforated 35mm cine film, 36 exposures
- Finder
- None. Accessory finders and rangefinders mount in the two shoes · no rangefinder image
- Shutter
- focal plane, cloth · 1/25 – 1/500 or 1/1000 depending on version, and Z. No slow speeds
- Dimensions
- 136 × 39 × 65 mm
- Country
- Germany
Figures we worked out rather than found: 1,118 + 15,786 = 16,904 — the two dial versions sum exactly to the stated total, with nothing unaccounted for · Black-dial cameras are 6.6% of the model
Where sources disagree
- First year of production
- 1952 (Leica Wiki, model page)
- 1951, the date on its own first serial block of 2,200 black-dial cameras
Better supported: 1951 for manufacture, 1952 for sale
The usual gap between building and selling, and the reason black-dial Ifs exist at all: they were made before the red-dial revision reached this model.
What reviewers say
No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.
History
The If continues what the Ic started: a Leica with nothing to look through. No rangefinder, no viewfinder, two accessory shoes on a bare top plate, and now the flash synchronisation that gives the f generation its letter. It is a IIIf with the finders left out, sold to people mounting a camera on something — a microscope, a copy stand, a Visoflex — or willing to carry a separate finder and rangefinder in the shoes.
Its numbers are the tidiest in this whole family. 1,118 black-dial cameras and 15,786 red-dial cameras sum to 16,904, which is exactly the total the page prints. After the Model A’s 249-camera gap, the Standard’s twelve thousand and the IIId’s assumed block of 325, an entry where the arithmetic simply works is worth remarking on.
The black dials are the scarce ones at under seven per cent of production, and the reason they exist is chronological rather than deliberate: the first block of 2,200 was built in 1951, before the red-dial revision reached this model, which is also why the serial list starts a year earlier than the model page’s introduction date.
Then there are the institutional cameras. Some Ifs carry three crowns for the Swedish armed forces; others are marked for the Swedish Post Office. A postal service ordering finderless Leicas says plainly what these bodies were bought for — copying documents under fixed lighting, frame after frame — and it is a useful corrective to the idea that every Leica was carried through a war or around Paris. Most cameras do ordinary work.
This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.
Live listings
Asking price, USD: a median of $500 across 20 fixed-price listings on 2026-10-19 (middle half $400–$660). Tracked since 2026-09-06, 9 days: down 6% from $530.
By day
| Date | Median | Middle half | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-19 | $500 | $400–$660 | 20 |
| 2026-10-18 | $500 | $400–$660 | 20 |
| 2026-10-17 | $500 | $400–$660 | 20 |
| 2026-10-16 | $500 | $400–$660 | 20 |
| 2026-10-15 | $480 | $400–$570 | 19 |
| 2026-09-21 | $500 | $420–$650 | 22 |
| 2026-09-18 | $490 | $400–$750 | 20 |
| 2026-09-11 | $530 | $450–$690 | 25 |
| 2026-09-06 | $530 | $450–$690 | 26 |
Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.
- [MINT] Leica If 1f Red Dial Leitz Wetzlar M39 LTM Barnack Camera from JAPAN
- Leica IF RD chrome camera (1952-53) Ex++
- [MINT] S/N 575172 Leica IF 1F Film Camera Red Dial w/ Body Cap From Japan
- Leica IF camera (1952-53) Ex++
- Leica If Red Dial chrome camera Nr.808298 Ex++
- [MINT] Leica If 1F Red Dial Rangefinder 35mm Film Camera Body From JAPAN
- [MINT] S/N 579606 Leica IF 1F Film Camera Red Dial w/ Body Cap From Japan #63
- Leica If (Red Dial), Nr. 815046 · Leitz Elmar 5 cm 1:3,5
- Ernst Leitz Wetzlar Leica If Black Dial Film Camera
- Leica If RD #577261, c.1952, chrome, cap, CLA'd 2025, Ex+
- Leitz Leica IF Red dial All working voll funktionsfähig
- LEICA if Red Dial 1956 Vintage
- ✅ LEICA IF 35MM ‘1952’ RED DIAL *SCARCE* CHROME M39 SCREW MOUNT CAMERA WO/ LENS (LTM)
- Leica If 1F Red Dial Rangefinder 35mm Film Camera with Warranty and Tested Opera
- Leica If 1F Red Dial Rangefinder 35mm Film Camera
- Leica If (red dial) [L39]
- Leica If red dial Kamera #575313 nur Gehäuse. Um 1952 / 1953.
- Leica If red dial Kamera #575313 nur Gehäuse. um 1952 / 1953.
- Leica If RD Red Dial Early Production 1/500 D.R.P. Engraving Body with Body Cap
- Leica If Red Dial Camera #575313 Body Only. Circa 1952 / 1953.
Show 8 more listings
- Leica IF red dial camera body+MIKAS+CALOS, with cases E. Leitz New York
- Leica If Red Dial SN.579449 y.1952/1953 - WORKS GREAT
- Leica If Red Dial B#760472
- LEICA IF OEFGO #5837
- Leica If #579,816 1952/53 Black Paint Fully Serviced!
- Near Mint : S/N 575964 Leica IF 1F Film Camera Red Dial working well. 1952 / 3
- Leica If 1F Red Dial Rangefinder 35mm Film Camera V851
- LEICA LEICA If型 レンジファインダーカメラ 中古 良好T11735600
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Listings updated 2026-10-19. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.