Canon L3- Bare Bones Beauty

[cassel]

Just received a Canon L3 in the mail- direct from Hong Kong. It's in good shape except the slow speeds are dragging a bit. Love the size and the three-position finder. Can't wait to try it out with a roll of film. Wouldn't it look nice painted black🙄

 

[cassel]

Well...bad news on the first test roll. Only 6 out of 36 shots came out. The shutter was not working at higher speeds...looks like only 1/60 worked. No slow speeds at all! The rewind felt odd as well, hard to tell when the roll was through. Also, the rangefinder cam was sluggish; accurate but slow to work, weird sensation to turn the lens and then the images slowly converge🙄 Looks like an overhaul is needed😡

 

[rfaspen]

But that's a pretty camera. Did it come with the lens? Is that a 50/1.8? Great lens, by the way.

I think we can safely guess there's years of gummy gunk in that body. Probably nothing a simple CLA won't fix. I had Don at DAG Camera Repair overhaul my Canon IIF and IVSB. Fantastic work and they function so smoothly now.

 

[cassel]

Did not come with the lens- but it is a nice match. I will likely take it to Ballard - Camera Techs- and have them work their magic. They revived my old Canon 7 to tip-top shape. I'm considering a paint job as well🙄

 

[jmcd]

The L3 is a sweet design. The 35mm viewing window is very nice, and the camera handles great.

 

[peterm1]

Pretty much all Canon RFs are nice. I think of this as one of the transitional models between the old RF style and the newer modern style embodied by the Canon 7s etc. Of those "transitional" ones I like this one perhaps best - never could get used to the bottom trigger wind on most cameras in this era and am not really a fan of the austerity of the Canon P which more fits in that final era of Canon RF cameras anyway. (Always wondered why Canon did not make cameras with both top and bottom wind - now that would have been something).

 

[cassel]

Dropped off the camera for an overhaul today---it's a nice handling/featured camera, I think it will be worth it.

 

[Brian Legge]

So while I love that we in Seattle have good camera techs, I'd recommend opening the back when you get the camera and verifying that at least visually the shutter behaves in a way you'd expect after a CLA. Some people have had mixed experience with them.

I have an older rangefinder which works up to 1/60 but hangs open after that. If you have good experiences there I may take it in. Let us know how it goes. 🙂

 

[cassel]

My Canon 7 was in similar shape and they did a good job reviving it. They also worked on a Leica IIIa and a IIIf for me...always had good luck. Another local guy that I haven't tried yet is Camera Clinic. I'll let you know how it goes with the L3, they said 3-5 days.

 

[cassel]

Got the L3 back today and it seems like it is in much better shape...all the shutter speeds are good and the rangefinder view is clean and accurate. I will run a roll through it and check it out.🙂

 

[cassel]

Wow! I'm loving this camera, very smooth and easy to use. I am shooting a 35mm Canon with a Leitz viewfinder and the camera finder set to "RF" --a very accurate and easy way to compose. I'll post samples when they come back.

 

[cassel]

Got a new computer, so I'm remembering how to post images.... I have shots made with this camera, but first, here's a shot with a 85mm viewfinder and a Steinheil Culminar.

 

[Bill58]

I luv my L1. It's so smooth and has the same classic design--also easy to load!

Just remember you have to advance the film before you set/ reset the speed.

 

[dc5]

Not true. All the later Canons can set shutter at any time.

 

[cassel]

Here's a sample shot with the 35mm

 

[cassel]

Had to retire the L3 for now- persistent light leaks have made it too unpredictable. I tried using liquid tape but there seem to be multiple holes that are hard to spot- The shutter material (cloth on this camera) appears brittle and falling apart.🙁 Rather than send it in for repair (again) I checked the online prices for these- CHEAP😱 and decided for the price I could get a better Canon Rangefinder body:

Found a VI-L body for $86😎 All the same features of an L3 with some definite improvements! Hoo-ray😀

 

[peterm1]

This is one of my favourite late Canon LTM cameras. It's a handsome looking camera but the main reason I prefer it is that it has a lever wind while most Canons from that era had a trigger wind. Why Canon never built cameras with both is beyond me! Having both would have made them very desirable in my view while just having a trigger wind detracted from the camera's saleability as it was such a novel (and slightly odd ball) idea.

 

[shadowfox]

Had to retire the L3 for now- persistent light leaks have made it too unpredictable. I tried using liquid tape but there seem to be multiple holes that are hard to spot- The shutter material (cloth on this camera) appears brittle and falling apart.🙁 Rather than send it in for repair (again) I checked the online prices for these- CHEAP😱 and decided for the price I could get a better Canon Rangefinder body:

Found a VI-L body for $86😎 All the same features of an L3 with some definite improvements! Hoo-ray😀

Good job for not giving up!
These Canon rangefinders are nice to use when they are working. Definitely worth servicing.

 

[cassel]

Over the years I've tried out several Canon Rangefinders- they always seem to be affordable if you hunt around a bit. I have owned a VT, a L1, a 7, a L3, and now the VI-L. I'm shooting my first roll with the VI-L right now- so far it is nice- a sensible blend of some of the best features of all the previous models.🙂

 

[cassel]

Happy New Year! Here's the VI-L with a Canon 85 f1.8- loving it so far😎