Nicca 3-S

Nicca 3-S

The Nicca 3-S is a 35mm Leica screw-mount rangefinder camera produced by Nicca Camera Company in Japan. It belongs to the mid-1950s generation of Japanese Leica-inspired rangefinder cameras and is one of the more collectible Nicca screw-mount bodies.

The camera uses the Leica Thread Mount, also known as LTM, M39 or Leica screw mount. It accepts Nicca screw-mount lenses, Nikkor LTM lenses, Canon LTM lenses, Leica screw-mount lenses and other compatible 39mm rangefinder lenses.

The Nicca 3-S follows the classic Barnack Leica layout, with bottom loading, knob wind, separate viewfinder and rangefinder windows, a top fast-speed dial and a front slow-speed dial. It is strongly influenced by the Leica III-series design but has Nicca-specific production details and Japanese postwar manufacturing characteristics.

The shutter is a horizontal-travel cloth focal-plane shutter with speeds up to 1/500 second, plus Bulb and Time. Early and later examples may show slightly different shutter-speed spacing, especially around the low-speed crossover point. This makes the shutter-speed dial useful for separating early Type-III S bodies from later 3-S production.

The camera has no built-in exposure meter, no battery-dependent functions and no self-timer. Flash synchronization is present on many examples, but source descriptions and observed bodies vary enough that the exact sync specification should be handled cautiously.

History

Development and Position

The Nicca 3-S appeared during the period when Japanese camera makers were refining Leica-style screw-mount rangefinders into increasingly well-made alternatives to German Leica bodies. Nicca was one of the most respected Japanese Leica-copy manufacturers, and its cameras were often paired with high-quality Nikkor lenses.

Japanese Leica Copies lists both an earlier Nicca Type-III S and a later engraved Nicca 3-S. The Type-III S is shown with observed serials around 50002 to 6014x, while the engraved 3-S is shown with observed serials around 5888x to 7323x and release year 1954.

Relationship to Nicca Type-III S

The Nicca 3-S should be handled carefully because the earlier Type-III S and later 3-S are closely related. The naming can vary in seller listings, and some Tower-branded versions further complicate the model history.

A practical database approach is to use Nicca 3-S as the main model name and store Type-III S, Type IIIs and Nicca III-s as aliases unless the database intentionally separates early and later engraving variants.

Relationship to Nicca Type-4 and Type-5

The Nicca 3-S sits near the Nicca Type-4 and Type-5 in the company’s model history. The Type-4 was closer to a Leica IIIa-style body with flash sync, while the Type-5 introduced a die-cast body direction closer to the Leica IIIf generation.

The 3-S remains visually and mechanically closer to the classic Leica III-style Barnack layout. It should therefore remain separate from the later Type-5 and 3-F models.

Serial Number Notes

Japanese Leica Copies gives an observed range of 5888x to 7323x for cameras engraved Nicca 3-S. The same source emphasizes that Nicca serial-number interpretation is complex and based on observed examples, brochures and surviving bodies rather than a simple official factory ledger.

The safest database wording is 5888x to 7323x, observed range from Japanese Leica Copies, not a complete official factory range. Serial number alone should not be used as the only identifier because Tower versions and transitional bodies can overlap.

Dimensions and Weight

Kamerastore lists the Nicca III-s as measuring 142 × 68 × 38 mm and weighing 436 g. These values are useful as database fields, but small variations may exist depending on whether a body cap, spool, case parts or lens are included.

For clean database fields, use Width 142 mm, Height 68 mm and Length 38 mm.

Identification

The Nicca 3-S is identified by its LTM screw mount, Barnack-style body, separate viewfinder and rangefinder windows, slow-speed dial on the front, top shutter-speed dial to 1/500 second, bottom-loading design and Nicca top-plate engraving.

Common listing names include Nicca 3-S, Nicca 3S, Nicca III-s, Nicca Type-III S, Nicca Type IIIs, Nicca 3-S LTM and Nicca 3-S rangefinder. These names should generally point to the same base model unless a separate early Type-III S variant is being tracked.

Tower-branded versions should be treated separately or as aliases only when the body can be clearly linked to Sears distribution. Do not automatically merge every Tower Type-3S listing into the ordinary Nicca 3-S without checking the engraving and serial range.

Collector Notes

The Nicca 3-S is valued because it represents a well-made Japanese Leica-style rangefinder from the period before Yashica acquired Nicca. It is less common than many Canon LTM bodies and has strong appeal among collectors of Japanese Leica copies.

Collectors should check the shutter curtains, slow-speed operation, rangefinder alignment, viewfinder clarity, flash-sync sockets, film transport, bottom plate, take-up spool, body covering, top-plate engraving and whether the camera is an ordinary Nicca 3-S, an earlier Type-III S or a Tower-branded version.

The Nicca 3-S should be treated as a separate LTM film camera because its 1954 production identity, Leica screw mount, Nicca-branded body and slow-speed Leica III-style construction distinguish it from the earlier Type-3, the Type-4, the Type-5 and the later Nicca 3-F.

Sources

• [1] Japanese Leica Copies. Nicca Rangefinder Cameras. https://leica-copies-japan.com/Nicca.html
• [2] Kamerastore. Nicca Type-IIIs. https://kamerastore.com/products/nicca-type-iiis-ltm-m39
• [3] The Lens DB. Nicca 3-S. https://thelensdb.com/cameras/camera/nicca-3-s-1954
• [4] CollectiBlend. Nicca Co: Nicca 3-S. https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Nicca-Co/Nicca-3-S.html
• [5] Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris. Nicca 3-S. https://yashicasailorboy.com/category/nicca-3-s/