FULL HOUSE with M's

R

RubenBlaedel

Guest
So now that I have a M2, M3 and M6 it actually means that I have an M1, M4, M5 and M7 - it is simple to dothe math:
M3-M2=M1, M6-M2= M4, M2+M3=M5, M6+M3-M2=M7
This is also known as virtual GAS'ing - or "You cant always get what you want"

If I have your attention a question on the M3 comes up:
I have just unpacked a very clean and nice M3 from 1955 sent to me from across the Atlantic - everything is looking great but it is a dobbelstroke camera ! Is there anything to be worried about or watchout for with the dobbelstroke - is it more fragile ? - The mecanics and everything seem to work so fine that I will not send it for a CLA now - you can not se that the filmprsesure plate ever had a film thru it etc. and all times seems very accurate. It is the M3 without a level for selecting framlines - thanks Ruben
 
Some claim the DS version has twice the winding cycles on it so it "wears-out" faster. Have you heard of any specific ones wearing out? Neither have I.

Sounds like you got a beauty. If the film pressure plate is the original glass type, it can give static marks on film if you rewind it too fast. That is the "listed" reason why Leica replaced it with traditional metal. And of course it is why they used a rewind knob in the first place, too avoid static shock on negatives.
 
i read it was the other way around. each stroke puts less stress on the mechanism so it lasts longer and is smoother.
 
It has a metal film presure plate - the leather/vulcanite is perfect - I got it with a summarit 1,5 50mm, a summrit UV filter and green verlaub filter and the Summarit Hood/shade an eveready bag, a perrin bag a folding leitz flash two leica meters one working one not and a meterring booster cell and a casette spool for winding your own film from bulk -all at 830 usd - unfurtunatly the front ellement of the summarit was micro scratched so I am planning to send it of to ARAX to have it repolished and coated. The metal housing of the lens on the other hand was mint
 
I wouldn't worry about the doublestroke too much. I have a rather heavily used DS from 57 myself and transport is smooth as can be.
 
The DS is a quaint Leica quirk that I enjoy. Just make sure that when you use your other bodies you're not "double-stroking" them (it becomes a habit).

Mine, like iDude's, is a 1957 M3 DS. No glass film plate, though, which is better for me as I won't feel fear of breaking it. The mirror shines through the small window, the VF has a slight cooling effect, and the L seal still can be seen on the twelve o'clock side of the lens mount.

Ruben, what do you make of this combination then: one M6TTL black, another one in silver chrome, and one M3?

Enjoy your Full House of Leicas! :)
 
SolaresLarrave said:
Ruben, what do you make of this combination then: one M6TTL black, another one in silver chrome, and one M3?

Enjoy your Full House of Leicas! :)
Click to expand...

M6TTL Black + TTL M6 Silver = Royal Wedding with Titanium finsh - at least !!

M6TTL Black - M3 Silver = M3 Black (very rare) TTL

M6 TTL Black - M6 TTl silver leaves you with only the M3 left!

I can not work out fractions etc. in this posting envoirment so we leave it at the most simple variations
 
Thanks a lot, Ruben! It really makes my day to learn I have a black M3!! :)

Better yet, my silver M6TTL just came back from Leica (again...). Let's see if this time they fixed it well.

Life is good. :D
 
SolaresLarrave said:
Thanks a lot, Ruben! It really makes my day to learn I have a black M3!! :)

Better yet, my silver M6TTL just came back from Leica (again...). Let's see if this time they fixed it well.

Life is good. :D
Click to expand...

Yep I just discovered that my leicas also includes a MP
M2+M3+M6 = M11* = MP

*11 is a prime number in short P so that ads up just perfect
 
I have a question for all you folks who know way more about Leicas than I probably ever will:


I was in a camera store the other day and on consignment was an M2 with 50/2.0 Summicron for $800. I looked at the camera closely and removed the bottom plate and the flip up door for a look-see. Looks good. The top plate has two tiny dings, each about the size of a pencil point. There were some mild signs of wear on both top and bottom plates. I looked through the viewfinder and it seems clean and clear and the rangefinder also seems to be on target. The legendary bright viewfinder is no brighter than my Bessa R, in fact maybe not quite as bright, but then the Bessa is new. There are two small spots, smaller than a penny, where the vulcanite has come off.

The Summicron is also clean and clear and shows no dings or dents on the barrel.

At last, my question: Is this a good deal? Camera store folks said they'd hold it until Monday.

Ted
 
If I had the pence, I'd snag and run like they were chasing me to take it back...

William
 
tedwhite said:
I have a question for all you folks who know way more about Leicas than I probably ever will:

At last, my question: Is this a good deal? Camera store folks said they'd hold it until Monday.

Ted
Click to expand...

Did you hold the lens at about 40 cm (1 1/3 feet) from your eye and looke thru it from both sides up agains a light source and up against a darker aera with the light comming from the side. That is a good way of finding micro scratsches an traces of removed fungus etc.

Were the aparture blades clean - fre from oil etc

Didi it have a take up spool - they can be up to 40 USD if you dont have them

did you bring your bessa and compare the shutter times - both visual and audio wise. Shutter curtains and film plate nice. When your wind the camera to the next shot without the lens , can you see if the shutter curtains follow each other correctly and one is not at an angle.

Put a film in it - winds the camera - check if the film counter works - it is a litle more primitive on a M2 than on the M3, when you are don with the film was the last frame harder to wind then the first. When you rewind the film - does the camera make any strange sounds .

OHTERWISE it is a very good camera and so is the lens - not the fastest, but fast eneugh for 90 % SO I would buy it no doubt.!

If you need a faster lens I have a summarit 1,5 - 50 mm that neesds a cleaning and a repolish of the front element - it is otherwise in perfect condition and you can have it for 200 usd + postage from europe

I all this is right
 
Ruben: I wish you had been with me when I wandered into the camera store. I did almost nothing you suggested because I was innocent of this knowledge of yours. I did have enough sense to move around with the viewfinder (after having owned a number of Russian cameras) to see if there were any problems. I couldn't see any. I did look at the lens, and quite carefully. It's OK. Blades are fine.. I had no chance to run film through it. I did examine shutter curtain movement and saw nothing abnormal. Shutter release noise is quieter than my Bessa, but for me that's a moot issue. Both are way more silent than my SLR cameras.

Having said all that, thanks for the Leica appraisal suggestions. When I go back next week I'll take a throw-away roll of outdated Tri-X and just run it through to see if anything isn't as it should be.

Ted
 
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