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filmshooter
No, but it's all fun to read on an otherwise dull Friday afternoon. As such, it achieves its goal.
4 Reasons Why the Leica M2 is Better Than the M3
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bushwick1234
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You're right, kofe! They are all beautiful (1-7).
Michael Markey
Veteran
I have both …. differences are minimal although I prefer the auto frame counter on the M3.
Beemermark
Veteran
VF magnification doesn't impact focusing accuracy. Focusing accuracy is dictated by the distance between the beam splitters -which is the same for all M series.
VF magnification doesn't help you focusing. The RF patch is same size and aligning the split image is again independent of magnification.
But finally we all know the M4 was the best.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
I own both too, for many years. The disadvantage of the M3 is the large viewfinder image for the 50mm lens, but the large viewfinder image is also an advantage. The disadvantage is that the finder of the M3 is not easy to oversee for composition. Then the M2 is better. However, the M3 is better for focusing very bright lenses.
The M2 is also better for the use of 35mm lenses. All in all, the M2 is the more universal camera. That is why the production of the M3 was stopped in 1967, but the discussion about which camera is better will never end.
Erik.
The M2 is also better for the use of 35mm lenses. All in all, the M2 is the more universal camera. That is why the production of the M3 was stopped in 1967, but the discussion about which camera is better will never end.
Erik.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
No, also the magnification of the image is important here, see the difference of the rangefinders on the Leicas II and III with screw mount.
Erik.
Mackinaw
Think Different
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Erik van Straten
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The image is too big, you can not oversee the whole image at once. When you look at the right, you don't see the left and vice versa. Try it. To see the whole is important for the composition. The composition is everything in 35mm photography.
Erik.
das
Well-known
IMHO, using the M3 versus, say, any .72 Leica film body is not really a comparable experience. The M3 magnification helps one much better conceptualize and compose a 50mm shot, instead of trying to use that little rectangle in the middle of the .72 view. The M3 feels really more like using a, *gasp*, SLR with a 50mm lens.
Geo Toreno
Well-known
The older (M3) is better in James (Author) opinion.
Mackinaw
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Maybe for you, but not for me. And I really don't understand "oveseeing the image." I don't know what this means.
Jim B.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
All these years at RFF and an M comparison can still stir passion!
I love it! lol 😛
I love it! lol 😛
Erik van Straten
Veteran
Huss
Veteran
As the owner of an M-A, as well as M3, M4, M7 etc etc I can definitely say that the best camera Leica ever made is the:
M5
I didn't bother with the M2, but I understand it as it is the antithesis of why eat hamburger when you can have steak?
bayernfan
Well-known
If you shoot 90 more than occasionally, get the M3. You can get by with an external VF or a goggled lens for 35mm and wider. The M3 is the better of the two in this scenario.
If you shoot 35 more than occasionally and never venture into telephoto, get the M2.
To state definitively that one is better than the other is just asinine.
If you shoot 35 more than occasionally and never venture into telephoto, get the M2.
To state definitively that one is better than the other is just asinine.
Geo Toreno
Well-known
We should collect them all.
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
It looks huge on images, how it is in real handling? Like walking with it every day on one week trip. I'm using neck strap or keep it in the backpack while I"m working.
D
Deleted member 65559
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"We should collect them all" (Huss) On the contrary: We should use them all.
K.F. I found them big & awkward in the hands, totally unlike any other Leica i had used....some people like that. It didn't work for me. Kind of like an F4 Nikon after years of using an F with plain prism.
K.F. I found them big & awkward in the hands, totally unlike any other Leica i had used....some people like that. It didn't work for me. Kind of like an F4 Nikon after years of using an F with plain prism.
Huss
Veteran
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