Considering Selling my Leica M3

[jsrockit]

if you sell it, you might wish someday you still had you M3. I sold mine a few years ago, then wound up buying another one.

Nothing wrong with selling now and buying back later...

 

[Calzone]

Nothing wrong with selling now and buying back later...

Agreed, but just be aware that finding a nice example might be more difficult in the future, and prices might be more expensive in the future. Seller's remorse can be very haunting.

Cal

 

[Roger Hicks]

The DR will fit a digi-Leica, but whether or not the goggles will fit is another matter. The goggles will not work on the M6 or M7 as their top covers are taller. Perhaps someone else here has tried them on a M8/9?

Personally, I would keep the M3 and pass on a digital Leica. The M3 was built by craftsmen, newer cameras are built by hourly workers. A properly tuned M3 is much smoother and quieter than a digital Leica, and though I do have some nice digital cameras, they see little use, I find film to be much more satisfying to me.

Only in the close-up range. At infinity, the cam fouls. I tried one on an M8 and it was gorgeous -- until I found out that this was only true in the close-up range.

Cheers,

R.

 

[ferider]

the rigid version looks very similar (it is non collapsible) but does not have the ability to focus closer than 1 meter and does not have part at the top of the lens that the goggles clips on to

maybe someone else can tell us if the glass is the same

A couple of notes on the DR Summicron:

1) the first rigid and the dual range Summicron have the same optical design. However, the DR version has hand selected optical blocks to guarantee close up focusing accuracy.

2) if you care for such things, it is the first lens designed by Mandler (who also designed most of the classic Leica lenses, including several 35 Summicron versions, like the "bokeh king", the Noctilux 50/1.0, the 75 Summilux, etc.). It is also the first Leica lens that was computer optimized (with a Zuse Z5 in the mid 50s).

3) Be careful using it on digital Leicas (the M9 manual says you shouldn't), due to the long rangefinder cam needed for the close focus ability. If you want to use this lens on M8/M9, I recommend getting the rigid incarnation instead.

4) It will fit most M6 bodies (I've used it on my M6 often; however, on some M6 bodies, the RF cam can collide with the meter cell).

5) Finally, very rare to find a copy with clean glass (no haze, no "cleaning marks"). Clean lenses fetch a premium.

It's a fine lens. Very high center resolution even wide open. Lower contrast compared to modern lenses. In my experience, a clean lens willl also be quite flare resistant, even though you will find many internet reports to the contrary which I bet is due to haze.

Roland.

 

[Vics]

Okay so dual range, you can use the goggles for the close focusing and take them off otherwise. So then, I would want this lens to use up close too which means I would need goggles or a good guesstimate of what I was doing via trial and error.

What do you mean when you say "rigid" version.

Sorry I am full of questions here but this is the lens I would be interested in so of course I want to know the info on it.

You can't focus close without the goggles. The lens won't move into tha range unless the goggles are attached.

 

[stratcat]

I still love it! The reason I'm thinking about selling it is to fund a digital Leica M! The RF experience has been great but I also want the flexibility and convenience that digital offers. I wish I could have both, but I'm a poor student. I don't have the luxury of keeping all of my cameras at this point in my life

Who knows. I might end up keeping this and just save up some more for a digital M.

I see... well, good luck with the sale and the digital M! I only wish I lived at your town, that's quite a beautiful pair you'll be selling.

cheers!

 

[paradoxbox]

i agree that you should probably reconsider before selling your kit.

the allure of digital is powerful, but developing and digitizing black and white negatives is really an extremely simple process.

add to that that a digital M will be dead in 5-10 years with no ability to repair it but your long gone m3 will still be working and in use by someone else some 60-70 years after its manufacture date.

don't let your youthful whims and recklessness with money make you part with a good set of gear unnecessarily.

i don't think i'll ever sell my m3. for what it's worth i'm 27.

 

[Vics]

Never sell that M3/DR. You'll buy it back later, but at a much higher price! Be patient and save up for the digi.

 

[isoterica]

There were three types of Summicrons. The most common are rigid or collapsible.

The collapsible version allows the lens to be pushed into the camera body, which makes the camera/lens combo pocketable. The rigid Summicron does not collapse, and remains permanently extended.

The Dual-Range Summicron is similar in appearance to the rigid Summicron, except for the dovetailed base where the goggles slide on. When you slide on the goggles, the focus ring can be unlocked, and this allows you to turn the focus ring more, which in turn allows for closer focusing.

Thanks much! Definitely will want the DR/w for close focus.

 

[jsrockit]

If the OP's photography will benefit from the move to digital, than I see no harm in selling the M3. I was able to get $500 M3 cameras in the 90s and you still can find them that low at times today. They don't appreciate crazily like the lenses tend to do. Of course, as time passes...perhaps many will stop working making them a little bit rarer, but I doubt it.

That said, I buy cameras that are comfortable for me to use and will benefit what I want in my photography regardless of depreciation. I've never considered a camera a family heirloom though ... that's not my thing.