How to trim the beginning of the film for your Barnack Leica

Title image: Rama. CC BY-SA 2.0 fr via Wikimedia Commons

You have a Leica IIIf in front of you, a fresh film beside it, and after two minutes you are stuck: the film leader is too short and too wide. It won't go in.

The fact that modern film does not fit into a classic Leica is not a design flaw. The camera loads from the bottom. The film has to pass upward through a narrow channel past the cloth shutter, so it needs a long, narrow tab. In the past, every film came with this tab from the factory; the camera did not have to do anything the film did not already provide. Then the industry shortened the leader, turning what had been taken for granted into a DIY task. Leitz sold a cutting template for this, called the ABLON, which has long since become a collector's item.

This guide shows you the leader cut in Leica's original dimensions and four ways to make it: with the original ABLON, with a reproduction template, freehand with scissors, and without cutting at all. Then you load the film. The dimensions come from Leica's own instructions, not forum posts. Where an outside source explains something better than we do, we link to it.

Just the dimensions? The true-to-scale drawing in Chapter 2 shows the length, curve, and perforation count at a glance. To the drawing.

Who this applies to: The leader cut concerns bottom-loading cameras from the Leica I through the IIIf and their copies. On the IIIg and M models, the back opens, so you don't need it. If the take-up spool is missing, however—the second most common reason a Leica won't load in either design—you'll find the identification table in Chapter 4.

Table of contents

1. Which method you need
2. The Barnack leader cut in Leica's original dimensions
3. How to load a Barnack and M
4. If the take-up spool is missing
5. When self-loading is worthwhile
6. Other cameras with the same problem
7. Developing and digitizing
8. Sources

1. Which method you need

Before you buy anything: There are two ways to load a Barnack Leica with film. The effort involved is very different.

The second method does not replace the first; it comes on top. Even self-loaded cartridges need the long leader cut. That is why the second method appears later in the guide (Chapter 5). The leader cut comes first.

The M owner can skip almost everything. If you use an M1, M2, M3, or a IIIg, you do not need a cut at all; the back opens on these cameras. For you, only loading in Chapter 3 is relevant, along with the spool table if your spool is missing.

2. The Barnack cut in Leica’s original dimensions

This is where most people fail. The reason is historical: when the Leica was built, 35mm film came from the factory with a long, narrow leader. So the camera did not need to do anything the film did not already provide. It was only when the industry shortened the leader that something taken for granted became a DIY task. That is why old Leica manuals do not say a word about cutting the leader yourself. Cutting was not necessary back then.

You can see why the tongue must be long and narrow when you look at the camera from below. The film does not enter through an open back. It is pushed from bottom to top through a narrow channel, directly past the cloth shutter. A full, stiff film leader catches there. A narrow tongue slides through.

The dimensions as specified by Leica

Drawing: Ausgeknipst, based on the specifications in the Leica Guide^[2] and the format dimensions from ISO 1007 / KS-1870^[3].

The crucial sentence appears in the Leica Guide. It is more precise than any centimeter measurement:

“The curve should begin between the twenty-third and twenty-fourth lower perforation when the emulsion is facing you, and must not run through a perforation hole.”
Leica Guide, translated in essence^[2]

This specification is better because in semi-darkness you do not measure centimeters—you count holes. Converted, that is around 11 centimeters: the perforation pitch for 135 film is exactly 4.75 mm, and 23 holes equal 109 mm^[3]. Practical guides give 10 to 11 cm, meaning the same length, just without counting^[4].

The template determines the width. As a general rule: the cut removes the upper half and leaves the lower perforation row completely intact. More important than any millimeter measurement are three things. All sources agree on them: a continuously smooth edge, no cut through a perforation hole, and no corners or steps where it transitions to the full film width.

One corner tears, and one hole tears first. Every sharp corner at the cut is a weak point. If the cut runs through a perforation hole, the film will start tearing there as soon as you advance it. The tear usually only becomes visible after a few frames, right in the middle of the subject. If you end up with a corner, cut the leader again and sacrifice two frames.

What if the film is already in the camera?

A second reference point is just as firmly documented. When loading, the trimmed film leader may protrude only a short distance from the cassette. The IIf/IIIf instructions state: “When the film is correctly trimmed, no more than 2 perforation holes should protrude from the cassette or cartridge”^[1]. On the original Leica cassette, an embossed curve on the outer sleeve indicates the correct position. If you have to pull out more film to make the leader fit, you have cut it too short.

Four ways to trim the film leader

The template is the most convenient method. It is not the only one, nor is it the best in every case.

How to cut with a template

1. Pull the film out of the cartridge until the factory leader is completely out. The emulsion side, i.e. the matte side, faces you.
2. Count the lower perforations. At 23, the curve begins; that is where the edge of the template lies.
3. Place the film in the template and press it flat. Nothing may bulge, or the cut will shift.
4. Use a narrow, very sharp blade to run along the guide in one stroke. A scalpel cuts more thinly than a utility knife. Lifting the blade and starting again creates exactly the steps you want to avoid.
5. Alternatively, trace the outline with a pen, remove the template, and cut with scissors. This method is slower but more forgiving.
6. Check the edge with your fingernail. If you feel a step anywhere, smooth it out.

Shavings are the invisible damage. Cutting produces tiny film scraps that get caught in the template and travel along the next time: into the cassette, the camera, and onto the negative. That is why templates that can be taken apart are not a luxury. A quick tap is usually enough; a soft brush is better.

What it looks like when someone demonstrates it

In this video, Camera West takes you through the entire process: trimming the leader, the spool, inserting it, and checking it. If you prefer watching to reading, this saves you your first failed attempt.

Video: “How to Load Film in a Leica Screw-Mount Film Camera”Camera West TV

Film cutter template for Leica Barnack (like ABLON) (from EUR 24.95) · 35mm film rewinder & roll splitter with frame counter (EUR 49.95)

Disclosure: We make and sell a template based on the ABLON design ourselves. The trimming method in this chapter works just as well with the original, with templates from other suppliers, or with a good pair of scissors. The dimensions above come from Leica, not from us.

3. How to load a Barnack and M

The film, cassette, and spool are now together. The rest is a practical matter. The 1952 Leica manual describes it so clearly that here we largely translate it rather than reinvent it.

Both parts are inserted simultaneously from below

Photo: Rama. CC BY-SA 2.0 fr via Wikimedia Commons. The three controls that matter when loading: the rewind knob on the left, the A/R selector lever in the center, and the frame counter dial beneath the film advance knob.

1. Set the selector lever to A. Before inserting a new cassette, move the lever as far as it will go to A (exposure). Cock and release the shutter once to check that everything is working. Then cock it again, but do not release it.
2. Remove the bottom cover. Turn the latch to “OPEN” and lift off the cover. Put the cover somewhere it cannot roll away.
3. Remove the take-up spool. If you are using a quick-loading spool, leave it in place.
4. Slide the film leader under the clamp spring. Hold the spool in your left hand and the loaded cassette in your right, with both knurled knobs facing downward. Push the trimmed film leader as far as possible under the spool’s clamp spring. The perforated edge must rest tightly against the spool flange.
5. Two holes, no more. Pull the film out of the cassette far enough that no more than two perforation holes on the trimmed edge are exposed.^[1]
6. Insert the spool and cassette simultaneously, with the spool knobs facing upward, so that the trimmed film slips into the guide slot on the camera’s rear wall. If the cassette jams, turn the rewind knob slightly. The emulsion side faces the lens.
7. Close the bottom cover, turning the latch to “CLOSED” as far as it will go. Only now is the camera light-tight. An original Leica cassette also opens its slot at this point.
8. Tension and check. Carefully turn the rewind knob in the direction of the arrow until you feel slight resistance. Release the shutter and cock it. The rewind knob must turn in the opposite direction to the engraved arrow. This counter-movement confirms that the film is actually advancing.
9. Turn the frame-count dial counterclockwise to 0, release the shutter, and advance it again. The dial now points to 1.

Remove the lens and look inside. Many Barnack photographers unscrew the lens when loading. Through the opening, they check whether the film is really positioned past the shutter and whether the gears engage. This works well with the shutter open on B. PetaPixel describes this technique as common practice among Barnack users^[10]. It takes five seconds and saves an empty roll.

The card trick, with no leader cut

Some Barnack photographers do not cut the leader at all. Instead, they push a thin, stiff card into the film channel. The film slides upward along this ramp. Philip Dygeus has written out the procedure step by step and adds a sentence we do not want to leave out here: With commercially bought ready-made rolls, he never cuts the leader and has therefore never had loading problems. He only trims rolls he assembles himself.^[11]

Important: use a thin card. A credit card is too thick; a parking ticket or business card works. And the card must be removed again before closing the bottom plate.

Two spools are better than one. When changing film on the go, you have three things in two hands: the bottom plate, the spool, and the cassette. A second spool, already loaded with the next film at home, turns changing film at the roadside into a one-handed operation. The second spool was already the professionals’ trick in the 1950s, and it still is.

The back opens on M models

Photo: Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf. CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

On the M, the bottom plate can also be removed, but the back additionally opens. This lets you see the film channel. The long leader cut is unnecessary. The procedure according to Leica’s own short version:

1. With the M3, first raise the changeover lever.
2. Remove the bottom plate, pull out the take-up spool, and open the back.
3. Attach the film leader to the spool and insert the film.
4. Visual check with the back open: The teeth of the transport roller must fully engage the perforations on both sides. This check is the whole advantage of the M. Use it.
5. Close the back until it clicks, then put the bottom plate back on.
6. Turn the rewind knob in the direction of the arrow without forcing it, until you feel slight resistance. Advance and release the shutter twice.
7. For the M1 and M2, manually set the frame counter to 0. On the M3, the mechanism resets the counter itself, provided the spool was removed (see Chapter 4).

Check it as with the Barnack: The red mark in the center of the rewind knob must turn during film transport. If it does not, no film is being transported.

A German-language video showing exactly this process on an M2:

Video: “Leica M2 + Loading Film + Leicameter Quick Review”tom vesab fotografie

And one for the Barnack, recorded on the go instead of at the kitchen table. The more honest situation:

Video: “Vintage Leica, the secret to loading film in a Barnack”rileyphotos

The five mistakes that really happen

1. The rewind knob does not turn along with the film. The film has come loose from the take-up spool and is not being transported. Leica's own instructions: Set the changeover lever to R and turn the rewind knob in the direction of the arrow, but only as long as the shutter release button turns with it. Then stop immediately. At this point, the end of the film has passed the shutter-release shaft and is still protruding slightly. If it had been pulled all the way in, you would need a darkroom.^[1]
2. The film tears at the sprocket. This is almost always caused by a cut that runs through a perforation hole or has a sharp corner. Go back to Chapter 2.
3. Too much film has been pulled out of the cassette. More than two perforations showing means the film is sitting crooked in the channel and the cassette cannot be inserted completely. Turn it back and start again.
4. The shutter-speed dial is set to T. During rewinding, the shutter may remain open and expose the film to light. Leica recommended leaving the lens cap on while rewinding—old-fashioned, but free.^[1]
5. The film is still inside. Before opening the camera, turn the extended rewind knob in the direction of the arrow. If you feel resistance, the camera is loaded.

Finally, rewind it

When the advance knob can no longer be turned, the film is full. Set the changeover lever to R and turn the rewind knob in the direction of the arrow until you feel resistance. At this point, only the clamping spring is still holding the film. Overcome this resistance, then turn the knob two full revolutions, and the film will be completely rewound into the cassette.^[1]

If you want to continue using a partially exposed film later, stop earlier: Watch the shutter release button and stop as soon as it stops turning with the film advance. The end of the film will still be sticking out.

4. If the take-up spool is missing

With Barnack models and earlier M models, the take-up spool can be removed. That is exactly why it is so often missing: it gets left in the camera bag, rolls under the table during a film change, or is forgotten when the camera is sold. Without a spool, you cannot take photos with a Leica. Cameras like this regularly appear on the used market.

Photo: Rama. CC BY-SA 2.0 fr via Wikimedia Commons. The M3 requires a different spool from every Barnack, plus a trick for the frame counter.

The identification table

Over the years, Leica built two basic types of removable spools, plus a few special cases. The Leica Society International has broken down these types^[7], KEH and Kamerastore use the same classification in their catalogs. In short:

14021 and 14022 are constantly confused. The two numbers are close together, and the spools look similar. They are not interchangeable, though. Rule of thumb: everything before 1957 takes the 14021; the IIIg and early M models take the 14022 (SPOOM). Within the 14021 family, there are variants with their own codes, such as SVOOP and SPULM; this makes no difference to function, only to collectors.^[7] The numbers are also mixed up in used-market listings: the wrong number appears there more often than you would like.

Where to get a spool

There are three ways. None of them leads to Leica itself, because the spools have been discontinued for decades.

Original, used. Specialized dealers regularly sell the spools individually: KEH lists the 14021, as well as the 14022, and Kamerastore in Finland does too. They constantly turn up on eBay and classified-ad sites. The descriptions there are not always accurate, however. Check the catalog number, not the photo.

From a reproduction camera. The Soviet FED and Zorki models are Barnack copies. Their spools fit in many cases, though sometimes rather tightly. If you have a broken Zorki lying around, you may already have the solution in your cupboard. This method does not work for the IIIg or an M, however.

Modern reproductions. Several suppliers manufacture replacement spools; we are one of them. What surprises us most is something else: In everyday use, price is not what matters, but the fact that you no longer have to remove the spool. Mike Eckman sums it up in his review. The traditional method is “certainly not difficult, but tedious”^[8].

Independent reports on replacement spools: Three editorial teams looked into the subject independently of us. We link to the articles because they describe the problem well. We are disclosing here that we appear in them:

1. Leica Society International. Jason Schneider places the spool types in their historical context and describes why they are so often missing. The Great Leica Take-up Spool Kerfuffle
2. Mike Eckman describes the classic loading method step by step and presents an alternative. A Better Way to Load Your Leica, July 2024
3. PetaPixel. Johnny Martyr on replacement spools for Barnack cameras. A New Quick-Load Spool for Barnack Leica, April 2024

Where we have to disagree with two of these reports

Both articles say that using a quick-load spool eliminates the need to cut the leader. That sentence originally came from us. We have since retracted it: Our product description now states that you still have to cut the film leader to about 10 cm.

The spool is not to blame. It is the route to get there: In a Barnack, the film has to pass the cloth shutter from below. If a full, stiff film leader gets caught on the shutter curtain there, the repair will be expensive. Usually, it works out fine. But with a 1950s cloth shutter, we do not want to rely on “usually.” So cut the leader, even with a quick-load spool.

The M3 special case

The M3 has a quirk that trips many people up: Its frame counter automatically resets to the starting position as soon as the take-up spool is removed. Anyone using a quick-load spool no longer removes the spool. The reset does not occur, and the counter shows the wrong number.

Leitz knew about the problem and included it in the 1968 instructions for the retrofittable quick-load spool: “The quick-load spool in the LEICA M3 must therefore be pulled out briefly and reinserted before loading the film.”^[9] Incidentally, the same instructions mention what else was included in the retrofit at the time: a spacer for the bottom cover and an adhesive diagram. At Leica, the quick-load spool was never standard equipment in the M3; it was an accessory.

Video: Loading with the spool installed, without removing itAusgeknipst on YouTube (our own video)

Film spool for Leica I, II, III Barnack (replacement for 14021) (from EUR 34.95) · Film spool for Leica M1, M2, M3 & IIIg (replacement for SPOOM) (from EUR 34.95) · Film spool for Leica CL & Minolta CLE (from EUR 24.95) · Take-up spool for Zorki 3 & Zorki 4 (LTM) (EUR 19.95)

5. When self-loading is worthwhile

Up to this point, we have covered the route most people take: buy film, cut the leader, load it. This chapter is for everyone else. Bulk film and self-loaded cartridges are a niche, but three reasons speak in their favor. The best-known of them is the weakest.

Photo: VSchagow. CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. The old ORWO canister says it all: 3 × 1.70 m. A 36-exposure roll is still around that size today.

The financial benefit is smaller than it sounds

Leica itself calculated on 1.60 m of film for 36 exposures. That is what the IIf/IIIf instruction manual says^[1]. A 30.5-meter roll therefore yields 18 to 19 films mathematically, or 18 in practice. Using current prices, the calculation looks like this:

Prices as of August 2026, both from the same manufacturer so the comparison holds: Fomapan 100 135/36 and 30.5 m of bulk film or 17 m at Fotoimpex. Calculated using 18 rolls per 30.5 m. Run the numbers with your own figures—the market is constantly changing.

So with the cheaper emulsions, you save around 40 percent. Higher up in the range, things look different: 30 meters of Ilford HP5 Plus cost 169.99 euros at Fotobrenner, which works out to around 9.30 euros per 36-exposure roll. A single ready-made Ilford cartridge is in the same price range. FP4 Plus costs around 12.00 euros, for example. This is not a clean like-for-like comparison within the same emulsion. The overall scale is nevertheless clear: with Foma, bulk film clearly pays off; with Ilford, most of the advantage has been used up.

The loader costs something too. A Legacypro Lloyd costs around 50 euros, while an AP Bobinquick costs 85 to 100. With Fomapan, you save 2.14 euros per roll. The Lloyd therefore pays for itself after about 24 rolls, and the AP after about 45. Anyone shooting two rolls a month breaks even after a year.

Factor in the cartridges. Reusable cassettes cost money. Spent factory cartridges can only be pried open with the older designs. Leica itself wrote in its 1952 instructions: “Cartridge shells are not a substitute for an original LEICA cassette and should not be refilled.”^[1]

The two better reasons

Short rolls. This is the reason that really matters with a Barnack. Anyone wanting to try something out has to shoot the entire roll before developing it if it contains 36 exposures. Twelve exposures go by faster. Leica even printed a table for this purpose. It appears below and is still accurate today because the film format has not changed.

Films available only by the metre. Cinema emulsions, surplus stock, specialty materials. Anyone wanting to shoot Kodak Double-X or similar film in a Barnack has no choice but to load it themselves.

How much film for how many exposures

This table comes from the Leica Guide and applies including leader: the waste for the long leader is already included^[2]. Add 38 mm per frame, exactly eight perforation holes.

Crank turns instead of a tape measure. Nobody measures with a ruler in a changing bag. Leica therefore specified the number of turns: twelve full turns on a hand winder produce about 12 exposures, 18 turns are enough for 19, and 32 turns make a full 36-exposure roll^[2]. Modern loaders with counters save you the trouble of counting. The proportions are still accurate today.

Cartridges, cassettes, and the bulk loader

The loader is one half, the cartridge the other. We have already written a separate article about loaders, comparing five models by price, light traps, and film waste. This article is therefore about what it leaves out: which cartridge belongs in a Leica, and why the answer is not the same for Barnack and M.

Which bulk loader is right for you? AP Bobinquick, Lloyd, Watson, Alden, and LPL compared directly, including prices and the weaknesses no one mentions. Compare bulk loaders.

Six designs, two principles

Photo: Runner1616. CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. From left to right, you can see how different the designs are. A modern factory-loaded cartridge is on the far right. You should not open it again.

Despite all the differences in detail, it comes down to two principles. Which one your cartridge uses determines whether your negatives will have scratches.

The felt trap. The film slit is sealed with two black velvet lips that the film rubs against as it is pulled out. Such velvet lips are found in every standard factory-loaded cartridge and most refillable plastic cartridges. Felt works and is cheap. But every speck of dust that gets caught in it draws a fine line across the entire film.

The slit cassette. Leica’s own metal cassettes don’t use felt at all. Each consists of two interlocking sleeves whose slits can be rotated relative to each other. Turn the locking lever on the bottom cover to “CLOSED” and the slit opens. Only then can the film come out. Turn it to “OPEN” and the slit closes again, leaving you with a light-tight cassette to remove from the camera. The film never touches a sealing lip along the entire path. Why this elegant system is still cumbersome in everyday use was explained by the Leica Society International under the fitting title “The Inconvenience of Perfection”.

Photo: Runner1616. CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Soviet copies of the Leica design: the sleeve with the drive lug on the left, and the film slit with a felt strip on the right as a stopgap solution.

Why the FILCA Doesn’t Fit the M

Leica built two generations of these metal cassettes. The Leica Guide describes the difference in one sentence you should remember:

The short version from Leica’s own manual: The newer cassette Model N fits the M models and all older cameras. The older cassette Model B fits all Leicas from the I to the IIIg, but not an M. You can tell them apart by the knob on the inner sleeve: chrome-plated on N, black on B.^[2]

In collector terminology, these two are called FILCA (Model B) and IXMOO (Model N). If you search the used market, you will find almost exclusively these abbreviations. The IXMOO is the safer choice because it fits everywhere. The FILCA is about two millimeters taller and is therefore too large for the M. The Photrio forum discusses how the two perform in everyday use in a long thread, in more detail than would fit here.

Not every loader works with metal cassettes. Watson and Alden loaders were built specifically for these slotted cassettes and open them mechanically. With the Alden 74, you need to modify the inside slightly for the older FILCA cassettes; the newer IXMOO cassettes fit directly. If you want to work with metal cassettes, choose the loader accordingly. Not the other way around. Details can be found in the loader comparison.

The first step takes place in the dark

You should only load the 30.5-meter roll into the loader in absolute darkness, such as in a changing bag or a dark bathroom. You can then fill the individual cartridges in daylight. If you have never done this before, practice the motion once in the light with an old, exposed film. The movement will then feel natural. Otherwise, in the changing bag you will lack precisely the sense of where the top is.

Notches on the edge of the table. Leica explicitly recommended making notches or placing thumbtacks on the edge of the worktable for 12, 24, and 36 exposures^[2]. If you load without a counter, this lets you measure more reliably in the dark than by estimation. A strip of masking tape on the table works too.

Film cutter for AP, Legacypro & Watson loaders (EUR 19.95) · Film canister for 35mm analog film (3-pack / 5-pack) (from EUR 24.95)

6. Other cameras with the same problem

The Barnack was so influential that half of Europe and half of the Soviet Union copied its loading principle. Once you know how to cut the leader, you can use it for a good dozen other cameras. And when you need a spool for one of them, you are almost always looking for it for the same reason as with the Leica.

Photo: Kameraprojekt Graz 2015. CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. The 1927 Leica I: This is where bottom loading began. The copies continued using it until the seventies.

Film spool for Contax II, III, Kiev 4, Smena 8M (EUR 25.95) · Film spool for Exakta Varex, VX 1000, IIa, IIb (EUR 19.95)

When the film is not just given a leader but split lengthwise

Two formats take the same principle further: with these, you cut 35mm film not only at the beginning but lengthwise down to 16 mm or 9.2 mm and load it into small cassettes. The steps are similar, but the tools are not. Both formats have their own guide, which goes into more detail than would make sense here:

• Minox 8x11: Cutting film, loading cassettes, developing and scanning, the smallest format for which cutting your own film is really worthwhile, because hardly any preloaded cassettes are still available.
• 110 Pocketfilm: Cutting, Loading, Developing, Scanning, with the special case that many 110 cameras also work without perforations.

The Barnack leader is the easiest of them all. Anyone who has ever split 35mm film lengthwise to 9.2 mm in a changing bag will find the Leica leader pleasantly easy afterward. You can cut the leader in the light, it needs no guide rail, and it is forgiving enough for a second attempt. That costs only two frames.

7. Developing and digitizing

You develop the hand-cut film like any other, with one exception you should know about in advance.

Photo: Joost J. Bakker. CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Tell the lab. Short rolls and bulk film without a DX code confuse automated processing machines. Some labs charge a surcharge, others refuse, and still others develop them without comment. A note on the order prevents follow-up questions and, with a 12-exposure roll, frustration over the price per frame.

Anyone who develops their own film doesn't have this problem anyway. The short roll goes into the tank faster, and the chemistry is enough for several of them. If you don't have a lab yet or are looking for one near you, continue here:

• Finding the right photo lab, what matters when using a mail-in lab, and what a hand-processing surcharge means.
• All film labs in German-speaking countries on one map. Search by distance, no sign-up required.
• Buying analog film: which film, which ISO, which format, if you still haven't decided on the emulsion.

Digitizing doesn't change just because you loaded the film yourself. The strip of negatives looks like any other; only the first exposure is sometimes a little farther back in a Barnack because the long leader took up space. How to get from there to a scan is explained in the guide to a modular scanning setup and in the comparison of all common film holders.

What you really need for the Leica, and what it costs

Finally, everything in one table, because this question comes up in our inbox almost every week. The far-right column is the honest one: you don't actually need most of this.

And because that is part of an honest guide: You can buy the spool used as an original (see Chapter 4), cut the leader with scissors, and the card trick costs nothing at all. If this article gets you to load your Leica again, it has fulfilled its purpose, regardless of where the parts came from.

Sources

The measurements in this article come from Leica’s own manuals, not forums. If you want to read them, you can find the originals here for free, because Mike Butkus has been digitizing camera manuals for decades and has done more for analogue photography through this work than most manufacturers. His site includes a request for donations, and it is justified.

1. Leica If / IIf / IIIf instruction manual (German, PDF) and the English version. Chapters “Loading the Leica,” film cartridges and packs. Source for: 1.60 m per 36 exposures, “no more than 2 perforation holes,” the loading procedure, rewinding, and the warning about pried-open cartridge shells.
2. Leica Guide. How to work with all Leica models from I to M3 (PDF). Source for: the curve between the 23rd and 24th lower perforations, “not through a perforation hole,” the table showing film length per number of frames, crank turns, Model N versus Model B cassettes, and the loading procedure for the M models.
3. 135 film. ISO 1007 and KS-1870 format standards: perforation pitch 4.75 mm (0.1870 in), eight perforations per frame = 38.00 mm.
4. Cutting Leica Leader and Leica film loading, Jay Fedka, independent confirmation of the 10–11 cm leader length and loading sequence.
5. Blue Moon Camera. Listing for an original Leica ABLON 14126 with a description and current used price.
6. Do You Have to Trim the Film Leader on Modern 35mm Film Cassettes to Load Leica III?. Leica Forum, practical description of cutting the film leader by hand. In German: Trimming the film end for IIIf.
7. The Great Leica Take-up Spool Kerfuffle, Jason Schneider, Leica Society International. Assignment of 14021 versus 14022 and the codes SVOOP, SPULM, SPOOM. Also see the catalog entries from KEH and Kamerastore.
8. A Better Way to Load Your Leica, Mike Eckman, July 2024.
9. Leitz: Instructions for the quick-loading spool for the LEICA M3, M2, M1, and MD (PDF, 1968). Source for: M3 frame counter reset, spacer, and schematic drawing as part of the retrofit solution.
10. Barnack Quirks: An Intro to Shooting with Early 35mm Leica Cameras, Johnny Martyr, PetaPixel, December 2022.
11. How I load a Barnack camera, Philip Dygeus, the card trick, with extensive illustrations.

Read more elsewhere: 35mmc on the journey to the screw-mount Leica · Photrio: Loading an old Leica · Rangefinderforum: Barnack film loading, a long leader idea · My screw-mount Leica story (German-language blog) · Zenography: How To Use A Barnack Leica.

Found something that doesn’t seem right? If you notice an incorrect measurement or assignment in this guide, let us know. We’ll correct it and credit you as the source. Contact.

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