back alley
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unfortunately i am a left eyed shooter.
Pastor Chris
Well-known
I'm not so sure about that. My math teacher would say that M3+M2 does indeed add up to M5.
I have used both M3 and M2, and the M3 is my first and foremost favorite. Besides, I had a M3DS so it pleased me twice with every frame.
Doesn't that equal 2M5? Is one enough?
Roger Hicks
Veteran
What on earth is a 'gadget'? What about bicycles? Sewing machines? Watches? Pocket barometers? SEI spotmeters? Micrometers? Screw cutting lathes? Of if you want 'em small, watchmakers' lathes.
Also, what is the purpose of a gadget? To show how clever and cool you are? To show off what you can afford? Or to do a job, usually better than the alternatives?
If sheer mechanical genius is what you're after, the Antikythera Device -- http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Kythera.htm -- is a strong contender. Sure, the M3s I've owned and handled have been the smoothest, mechanically sweetest Leicas I've ever encountered. Buying an M3 as a gadget is however quite different from buying a camera to use, which is why I currently have M2, M4-P and MP film Leicas, and no M3 (I sold my last one many years ago). I suggest that if you know what it's for and how to use it, an M3 also differs from a gadget, because a tool is only a 'gadget' in the eyes of someone who doesn't really understand what it is or how to use it.
Cheers,
R.
Also, what is the purpose of a gadget? To show how clever and cool you are? To show off what you can afford? Or to do a job, usually better than the alternatives?
If sheer mechanical genius is what you're after, the Antikythera Device -- http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Kythera.htm -- is a strong contender. Sure, the M3s I've owned and handled have been the smoothest, mechanically sweetest Leicas I've ever encountered. Buying an M3 as a gadget is however quite different from buying a camera to use, which is why I currently have M2, M4-P and MP film Leicas, and no M3 (I sold my last one many years ago). I suggest that if you know what it's for and how to use it, an M3 also differs from a gadget, because a tool is only a 'gadget' in the eyes of someone who doesn't really understand what it is or how to use it.
Cheers,
R.
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The Standard Deviant
inanimated.co.uk
Probably the potato peeler is the greatest gadget: it's an additional superfluous object that does something a sharp knife can do, but needs less attention to operate.
I have a Cleveland pitching wedge that is pretty damn indispensable. But it isn't an M3.
Ljós
Well-known
The M3's shutter is so durable that it can chop up to 500.000 carrots (or cucumbers) in between service intervals. Also the bokeh of the carrot-chops is exquisite.
Not many know this, but the shape and weight balance of the M3 wind lever is such that it can be used as a boomerang, with great success in hunting.
The M3's vulcanite, when left to soak in water overnight, releases developer agent suitable to process black and white films, giving the look of D-76. That's why Griptac is for sissies.
kshapero
South Florida Man
I never thought of an M3 or any camera costing more than $29 as a gadget, but I guess life was different back in 2006.
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ray*j*gun
Veteran
I like my button rewind M2 better.
David Murphy
Veteran
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brachal
Refrigerated User
I have a M3 with a M2 viewfinder. Do I win?
Mister E
Well-known
I love my M3, that's for sure.
drewbarb
picnic like it's 1999
I have a M3 with a M2 viewfinder. Do I win?
No- you lose.
The whole point of the M3 is the finder. Now, if it was an M2 with an M3 finder, then you'd have hit the jackpot.sc_rufctr
Leica nuts
Absolutely true. Somehow Leica got the M3 almost perfect.
Design, Viewfinder, mechanics and feel... It fits into my hands perfectly.
This may sound stupid but the "fit" in my hands was the main reason I became interested in the Leica Ms in the first place.
And then I held a Leica M8... Not such a good fit anymore.
I hope Leica finds a way to slim down future digital Ms to "proper" M proportions.
-----------------------------------------
I've always tried to imagine what was going on inside the Leica factory at the time.
Who designed the M3? Who designed the view finder? And who decided it would be built to such a standard?
Try to keep in mind the year this camera was first conceived.
I believe at the time it would have been extraordinary compared to any other technology.
The fact that it still takes great photos all these years later is proof that this is true.
There is no built in redundancy with the M3... The issues it has today are largely caused by the passing of time and the technology available at the time of manufacture.
Rob-F
Likes Leicas
To me a gadget is something you buy for the kitchen, and then find out it doesn't really do what it was supposed to. It tales up space in the drawer until one day it gets thrown out. Like cork removers that don't work.
The M3, on the other hand, was carried through the Vietnam war by Sowada San; Horst Faas; and Larry Burrows. It's the camera Alfred Eisenstadt used to photograph Marilyn Monroe; Albert Einstein; and the sailor kissing the nurse in Times Square. These are only a few examples that come to mind; there are hundreds more.
I really have to agree: the M3 is no gadget. Also, the premise of this thread is wrong: there is no single best or "greatest" Leica. Each in its own way.
brachal
Refrigerated User
The sailor picture was taken almost 10 years before the M3 was invented, but I agree with your point.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Dear Rob,
A superb definition.
Another possibility (not as succinct or elegant, but workable in its way) is 'an electronic doo-dad based around a useful tool, such as a mobile phone, but now festooned with so many add-ons and "apps" that its only purpose is to be up-do date, so it has to be thrown out when something more up-to-date comes along'. Of course, such criteria could never be applied to any digital camera...
Cheers,
R.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
Yeah, I think of these everytime I try to have a conversation with my son and he has that damned blackberry/smart phone POS in his hand and stares at it whilst pretending to care what I am saying...
Better still ... get a Nikon F and when he looks at the blackberry while your talking to him ... belt him with the Nikon!
nobbylon
Veteran
I don't think of a camera as a gadget. It's too big and single purpose.
A swiss army knife is a gadget. It has the capability to do many different jobs and is small.
An M3 I think, as far as Stuff's readership or more likely editorial staff, is an 'object of desire'. They probably had a morning brainstorm over coffee and among them was a Leica fanboy!
On a different tack, what's the difference between a gadget and a gizmo?
A swiss army knife is a gadget. It has the capability to do many different jobs and is small.
An M3 I think, as far as Stuff's readership or more likely editorial staff, is an 'object of desire'. They probably had a morning brainstorm over coffee and among them was a Leica fanboy!
On a different tack, what's the difference between a gadget and a gizmo?
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
I think the vacuum cleaner rates higher ... it was mainly responsible for the demise of the disease carrying human flea!
I read that somewhere!
I read that somewhere!