Is this the digital M3 Leica should have made?

I followed the start up of this project on the original Photo.net forum quite a few years ago. I think he was an engineering student and this was a qualifier for his degree. My guess is that he started it ~6 or 7 years ago. Lots of roadblocks then. This guys has perseverance with a capital P!
 
I would be concerned to spend lots of money on a "hand made" digital camera since digital cameras made by some well known companies can still fail. Would anyone here really grab such a one of a kind camera and (say that we could) travel, not knowing which "company" would support it for any defects?
 
If Leica were to make a digital conversion kit, it would cut into their M10 sales, as well as other models; but they might sell an awful lot of these to those who want to go on using their M3, M2, M4 as a digital camera. If it wouldn't cut into existing sales too much, it might be worthwhile. The APS-C model would make the most sense, I believe. Of course, I'm sure Leica still remembers how the CL film camera cut into M4 sales; so maybe they would not be interested.
 
The apsc back interests me a lot. Would be amazing to have that to put on my M3 when I just want to do some digital snap shots.

I'd hope that he wants to make some money from this so early adopters could get amazing customer service. I am a glass half full kind of guy though.
 
It's a wonderful effort. I recall his Kickstarter to raise funds for the effort; I participated in that because I believe in helping young innovators to learn and succeed.

However, I see absolutely nothing about it that wasn't addressed by Leica, other than that it can be built on an existing, used body at a lower price. Any one of the Leica digital Ms is a much more professional, higher-quality engineering achievement ... as they should be.

"... the digital M3 Leica should have made?" No. The M3 is a Leica M model obsoleted by thirty-plus years of further development. Leica should not be re-making what they have already improved upon.

G
 
Neat idea and great effort. Would be interested to see some photos from the camera.

I do, however, like the M-D 262 which might deliver pretty much the same experience and has that nice ISO dial on the back. And for those who have been complaining about how 'fat' those digital Leicas are (pre-M10), the full-frame version of that digital M3 looks to be about as 'fat' as those cameras.
 
A very impressive effort! Keep in mind for those interested that these are sets of instructions for sale, not converted cameras. Only intrepid DIY types should apply!

But... why reinvent the wheel? Two good cameras are needed to make one hamstrung camera. This doesn't seem particularly good. Leica makes digital M cameras... and film is readily available.

For an example of grade A tinkering it is excellent. At least as good as putting a V8 in an old Volvo...
 
kshapero said:
I will believe when I see it.
Click to expand...

There are quite a few pictures of the camera, breakdown, CAD files, and even comprehensive DIY instructions/documentation. Not sure what part of this strains credulity.

The APSC version seems like a potentially fun project. The A7 version is very impressive from the point of view of switching the entire shutter mechanism out, but I struggle to imagine someone making a very time consuming destructive conversion on an M3.

Reading through the instructions has made me think that this kind of conversion might be a lot easier on a swing/removable back SLR, and maybe especially a camera like the Nikon FM/FE series which already has a switch built into the wind lever for the meter.
 
He says he digitized a Konica Auto S3, but the link-backs don't work, so maybe this project became a dead-end. An interesting execution of a conversion, but it shows what I had wondered about on other possible conversions which is how many compromises does one have to go through just to take a photo. Much easier to purchase a tried and true OEM build.


PF
 
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