I saw a M3 for $500 Beautiful

[gustav[] pEña]

I saw a M3 DS in a flea market today and the camera was almost perfect in the outside but I guess the slowers speed last longer than what my m4p usualy takes (after I heard the second curtain close at 15 I could still here a tyni sound for almost a second) Maybe the m3 is a little diferent?. THat camera also comes whit a 50 f2 Weztlar lens which I didnt pen to much attention but it seems whit fongus. Does any one knows the price of a lens like thits?

Well I got the salesmen number an I told him Im gonna call him tomorrow to see if I want it.

I dont need it, Im happy whit my m4p couse I usually shot whit the 28 most of the time. BUt maybe in the future I could use it to buy a newer lens or a didigital M maunt. How much will a shop like photovillage pay for a used leica?

What do you think? should I buy it? Is the camera so cheap tha I can win some mony if I exchange it in the future in a store like photovillage?
gustav[] pEña

 

[egpj]

I don't know Gustavo.... I kind of stay away from cameras that have been attached to lens' with fungus for extended periods of time. That kind of "lens cancer" can be contagious. I would probably stay away from it.

 

[aizan]

BUY IT. a simple cla will bring it back up to speed. you can't always be sure about fungus, but at such a great price it's worth a toss of the dice. it could clean up without hurting image quality. also, fungus being contagious is a popular myth. there are spores everywhere, it's just a matter of whether they can grow in a given environment. keep your stuff cool and dry and it won't be a problem.

 

[Doug]

Is there some sort of fumigation process that will kill the fungus and all spores in a lens or body, that is otherwise harmless to the gear? Scary idea of fungus growth on a lens contaminating a body, then spreading it to other lenses...

But a DS M3 with 50 (Summicron?) for $500 is something to consider seriously!

 

[wlewisiii]

Guess if I had the spare money, I'd grab it. But I'd do so understanding that the real cost includes the manditory CLA of Body and Lens. It's a good price - so far as it goes. Can you afford the rest of the price though?

William

 

[gustav[] pEña]

Lets say the lens doenst work at all. Still $500 a good price for a m3 DS body whit a posible curtain problem?

gustav[] pEña

 

[aizan]

slow speeds are caused by a dirty slow speed escapement, not the curtain. all they gotta do is flush it clean and lightly lube it.

 

[wlewisiii]

Depends on how much your tech charges. My local people? That's a $1000 camera... 😀 Thankfully via the internet I am aware of better places to spend my money...

😀

William

 

[alice]

sounds like a good deal to me too!

btw Aizan, what do you consider keeping your equipments in dry condition, say 35% humidity, 40%, 50%?

I keep my Mamiya 6 lenses in an electronic drybox set at around 50, 55% and still get a little growth of something inside the lenses!
some said its static dust (i have no idea what this is), some said its minor growth of mold.....

anyway I am getting them cleaned now!

 

[jaapv]

The little afterrun sound at slower speeds is normal. The price seems a bit high for a private sale. I happened to buy a 1954 M3 last Friday, pristine but for some exposure meter scuff marks, technically as new, at a reputable camera-dealer with guarantee for 499,-- Euro. A fungus-infested Elmar is not worth anything at all,imo, maybe 50$ You can pick up a top quality one for 200 - 250 Euro.
1000$ sounds like an e-bay wish to me, William 🙂

 

[aizan]

50-55% is too high. that's the tipping point. turn it down to 30-40%.

 

[former member]

I would have bought it instantly. Even if it required a CLA, and the lens required a major cleaning. How was the viewfinder of the M3? If the entire camera was left in a place with high humidity and was subject to fungus, the VF would show major haze and spots that would be easily detectable. Lenses can be "Deep Cleaned" that may involve removing some of the coating. Still, at $500 for an EX+ or better M3, it would be worth it.

UV light kills fungus.

 

[jaapv]

I would have bought it instantly. [......] Still, at $500 for an EX+ or better M3, it would be worth it.

UV light kills fungus.

Are they really that much more affordable with us in continental Europe, Brian? Over here the market for M-bodies seems a bit depressed.

 

[former member]

Yes, the prices here are much higher than in Europe. I know one camera dealer here who routinely flies to Europe to buy Leica equipment and then re-sell it at the shows in the US. An EX+ M3 would bring over $1000 in a used camera shop, and more likely be priced at $1,200. A large number of the 1950's Japanese and German cameras available here are from servicemen that bought them through the PX when stationed overseas. You see a lot of EBay auctions coming out of Florida and Vegas where they have retired.

 

[richard_l]

UV light kills fungus.

Hey, that's true! I have an old UV "black" light, carefully preserved from the days when such things were used recreationally along with day-glo posters and psychoactive chemicals. So there is a legitimate use for this otherwise unholy device: to kill lens fungi. 😎

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I'd probably buy it, Gustavo... but after seeing to lower the price down for the necessary CLA. In other words, a camera kit that will surely need a deep cleaning should run for a price of, say, $300.

However, you can always offer less if you buy it on the spot.

Now... UV kills fungus, and so does sunlight. Depending on how affected is the lens, you can simply put it on a sunny spot, face down, for the sun to do away with the fungus.

Keep us updated!