Found a Leica Mini 3 - should I keep or trade up?

[Norkusa]

Hit some thrift stores today and picked up a Leica Mini 3 w/ 32mm f3.2 Summar & date back for $3. Didn't come with a case, so it's a little scuffed up but appears to work fine.

Been looking to get a higher-end P&S lately, so this was definitely a lucky find for me. However I had my heart set on getting a Ricoh GR1 or Yashica T4. How does the Mini 3 compare to them? I've read some comments that said it doesn't preform well in low light with the flash, but others say it's just as good as the T4.

 

[ruby.monkey]

Run a few rolls through it and see how you go?

 

[KoNickon]

Right, its meter isn't so good for low light, and defaults to flash. But for $3? It's quite good in daylight situations.

I'd be interested to know what firm made it -- correct me if I'm wrong but I think it's built in Japan. Minolta, perhaps?

 

[Norkusa]

Yeah, it was made in Japan. Looks like it was manufactured by Panasonic though. I guess Minolta only made the AF-C1's.

 

[Norkusa]

BTW, I just put a fresh battery in the Mini 3 and noticed that the date back isn't working. I thought I remember reading somewhere that db's use separate batteries but I'm not certain in this case since I can't track down a Mini 3 manual.

Don't really care about using the DB though. Just want to make sure that it's off while I'm shooting and that this isn't an issue with the LCD.

 

[jsrockit]

If it was on par with the Yashica and the Ricoh, it would be priced accordingly... it being a Leica and all. That doesn't mean it's not good. It's good enough to use for sure... especially until you can get your dream P&S.

 

[Spavinaw]

The Mini 3 has a separate battery for the date back. If yours is dead and you don't want to use the date back, you should remove the dead battery so it will not eventually corrode in the camera.

 

[canetsbe]

Price is what you will pay for something. Value is how you measure the return. Shoot it and see what happens before deciding.