I Love my M3

Yes it is good to have lots of cameras, but my M3 requires my attention on a daily basis. First it is beautiful but also for me the lack of meter creates almost a mystical feel of feeling the exposure and holding a jewel at the same time. Yes I am sloppy in love.

The M3 is a jewel without question.

Even when I cannot afford the gas to go off on a photographic mission of sorts, I find myself just admiring the aesthetics of the M3. Then, again, I might go through the ritual of composing, focusing and re-focusing. Or just cleaning it.

Intimacy indeed.;) Just can't get that experience with a live-view digital camera! That LCD is so flat and cold....not like the leather-clad seductress that is the M3.:p
 
The M3 is a jewel without question.

Even when I cannot afford the gas to go off on a photographic mission of sorts, I find myself just admiring the aesthetics of the M3. Then, again, I might go through the ritual of composing, focusing and re-focusing. Or just cleaning it.

Intimacy indeed.;) Just can't get that experience with a live-view digital camera! That LCD is so flat and cold....not like the leather-clad seductress that is the M3.:p
Gee Dave, you are giving me the shivers.:D
 
Intimacy indeed.;) Just can't get that experience with a live-view digital camera! That LCD is so flat and cold....not like the leather-clad seductress that is the M3.:p

Ain't that the truth... People have estimated that the Leica M3 would cost anywhere from $2500 to $4000 in today's dollars (depending on who's doing the figuring). No film or developing was included. Given that you receive a virtually unlimited supply of "film" with the M9, is it really that unreasonable that it costs $7-$8k? By the way, I am *not* a Leica fanboy/apologist.

Anyway, back the the M3. Yeah, there's nothing in the world like it. I touch mine almost every day, even if I'm not shooting with it.
 
Ain't that the truth... People have estimated that the Leica M3 would cost anywhere from $2500 to $4000 in today's dollars (depending on who's doing the figuring). No film or developing was included. Given that you receive a virtually unlimited supply of "film" with the M9, is it really that unreasonable that it costs $7-$8k? By the way, I am *not* a Leica fanboy/apologist.

Anyway, back the the M3. Yeah, there's nothing in the world like it. I touch mine almost every day, even if I'm not shooting with it.

Well, I own and use (and have owned and used most brands over the years) a lot of different brands and I like Leica products the best and I am no apologist. Of all the cameras I have used, the M3 is the one that I know will take the rest of my life to realize ownership...not mastering, mind you, just ownership. The others tend to take a backseat, there just aren't enough hours in a day.;)
 
I see the world very different! I carry a camera all the time! If i was at an event i was not happy with..I'd still take some pix! I cannot but think of that missed shot with all the screens lit up, in the first part of thread.
My M3 is in many ways on its last legs. I have used it since 1967, when it was new.If you worry about the safety of an expensive and or fragile camera, then maybe you should use something else!
My M3 needs new vulcanite, has dings and dents, deep scratches.
Hey I am 68 and not as good as in '67. Use it and don't abuse it.
How about time for a serious CLA?
 
Here's my baby,
best viewfinder for 50mm ever!

6788961040391.jpg
 
Reviving an old thread.

Falling in love with my M3 again as now she has a new group of playmates. And thanks to Huss for the advice on the Voigtlander 35mm external finder to use with the 35mm Canon, it works great and is as bright as the M3 finder.

Lucky.jpg

Nikkor 13.5cm f3.5, Canon 35mm f1.8, Nikkor 5cm f1.4, Nikkor 8.5cm f2.0

Best,
-Tim
 
How about time for a serious CLA?

With all due politeness, the M3 is my most REPAIRED camera!
Services, adjustments, necessary looking to..
I love my M3 but reality, my Pentax K1000 and older Pentax SP have NEVER needed a service or repair.
I guess I used the camera the way it was intended.
I used it in hard dangerous environments not molly coddling in a glass case.
Cost of film vs an M9, 240, 262 or 10 is ludicrous.
Making obsolete of digital cameras, PC, laptop, programs is way more expensive..
A pal has finished a massive documetary in a Muslim country using M and FILM.
 
My experience is just the opposite. When I bought my M3 I had a CLA done to it because I didn't know its history, and now it's been back and forth across the country with me three times. Twice on the back of a very vibratey (is that a word?) Harley and it's still cranking right along. Only time it needed looking at was when my dog's leash yanked it out of my hands and it did two gigantic crashes into cement. Even then, Don Goldberg (DAG) bent it back into shape and it's cranking along once again.

Best,
-Tim
 
Like the M3 best of all Leica rangefinders, and I've used a small boatload of them over more then two decades, but honestly like a Nikon S2 just as well.
 
Whoa!!! That is probably the prettiest M3 I have seen. Black is very cool. History?:):):)
thanks! well, not much history behind. It just came back from cameraworks a few months ago and I have been using it ever since.
I bought it on eBay from its original owner in Belgium.:)
 
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