Keep the older M3, or CLA the shiny new one and keep that?

Adric83

Adric83

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Hi there all.

I recently bought an M3 from someone on this very forum, it's great, been CLA'd a while back before I got it, running rolls of film through it is a joy.

And then in a moment of what I've come to read and understand as GAS, I bought another one...
This time from a deceased estate auction, for what I consider to be a bargain.

The M3 looks like it's barely ever been used, there's no dings on the shutter dial from the snapping back of the rewind lever, all the leatherette is original with no chips or missing parts. There's some light rub marks in places, but nothing too bad, an some wear circles on the bottom where it's been in it's Eveready case, it came with a leica lightmeter which I haven't tested yet, and a boosting thingy you snap onto the meter too, the manuals all seem to have been rarely opened also. The action on the new(er) one also just seems.... nicer? Hard to define.

Only thing I can gather right away is that the shutter speeds seem to be a little off (when using the VERY scientific method of pressing the shutter button on both my current M3 and this one at the same time)

SOOOOOOO, the big question I'm asking is, should I get the shiny one CLA'd and use it, selling the old(er) one.
Or keep the one I already have and sell the new(er) one, with or without a CLA? Because I'm really probably not going to use both.

Does anyone have any thoughts, or has been in a situation the same? Part of me likes the slightly rougher one I already have, but part of me likes the shinier one, the thought of ME being the one to rough it up a little over years is appealing too!

All thoughts and opinions welcome and appreciated!
 
I would keep the old one that got CLA'd and sell the new unblemished one away. But if you like a back up body, I suggest give the new one a CLA and keep it. Either way, you will be a happy man.
 
There's 2 ways to go about doing this, both having certain benefits.

1) Sell the older M3 which functions perfectly to fund CLA for new(er) one.

First, you can be assured that the older M3 will perform up to expectations of the buyer, mechanically-speaking. This money can fund the CLA, no problem, and even get you a lens!

however, you lose the sentimental value of your older M3, which has been with you for a while longer (you bought it recently, but obviously earlier than your newer M3). Maybe it matters, maybe it does not.

2) Sell off the new(er) M3, which is cosmetically in great shape from your description, and keep the money.

Personally, i'll do this, everything works and it's totally original! So sell it high to some collector and forget about it. Cameras are meant for taking photos, not being pretty on top of some shelf. And i really think that if it was kept in such a good shape, mechanically, it will start having problems soon.

However, you should probably do another more specific test on the shutter speeds, you never know that maybe its your older M3 that is off!

=)
 
Adric83 said:
but part of me likes the shinier one, the thought of ME being the one to rough it up a little over years is appealing too!
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I'd be going this way ... the camera sounds like it's had a pretty easy life so the internals should have more milage in them for the long term after a CLA!

Which one has the best rangefinder regarding contrast of the patch ... that can be a future issue with older M's ... and expensive to remedy. I speak from experience here! 😛
 
Keep the one with the contrastier RF patch.
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The better viewfinder wins, a very big consideration in a 50 yo camera.

Are both similarly featured (both ss or ds)?

Youxin Ye charged a lot lower and is quite good in mechanical Leicas. Be ready with $100 if there are no other issues with the cam.
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i was thinking this too, but the op is in oz so that is an issue with shipping and stuff maybe.
 
rover said:
The better viewfinder wins, a very big consideration in a 50 yo camera.

Are both similarly featured (both ss or ds)?



i was thinking this too, but the op is in oz so that is an issue with shipping and stuff maybe.
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In spite of being in Oz I've had any early Leica that needed repair done by Youxin. The freight there and back was well worth it considering how little he charges to CLA a Leica M or screwmount! He also forwarded a Summaron to Dag for me to be cleaned and returned it with the CLA'd camera and only charged me what Dag had charged plus the postage to Dag and back.

Nice guy to deal with too! 🙂
 
I paid "The Golden Touch" close to $500 for full CLA, replace 2nd curtain and flash sync plug (parts) for my M6 TTL 0.85 (MP upgraded finder) but I do not regret as it comes back to me in absolutely much better condition before the CLA. Further, it gives me the confidence that the camera will work as it should be and focus on my shoots.
 
My Leica cameras travelled 20,000 km. back and forth from Philippines-USA-Philippines but it's really worth the trouble. I could have sent it to Hongkong but I still put more trust to USA/Canada Leica service guys due to their long experience and the other USA top 2 used to work with Leica.
 
Why would anyone think that having two M3s is a dilemma? There are worse things in life.

Bill, just keep them both and you spare yourself having to make a choice.

And yes, I've been there and done that, but not with M3 bodies. With two M6TTL bodies that kept me really in the red for a while... but not only do I NOT regret not having sold them, they're also my pals, my trustworthy travel companions and helpers.

Just use one for color and the other for B&W. See? Now you have a really good reason to get another lens. 🙂
 
I think he (Youxin) does camera repair part time ... his main work is something else?

Sometimes he does overlook something small though ... I got a screwmount back with a piece of the covering trapped under the lens mount. It took me quite a while to figure out why when I tightened the lens onto the camera the focus was binding. Easily fixed luckily but it surprised me!
 
Does youxin do camera repairs? Example replace curtains, viewfinder, syncro block etc. Or does he just do CLA for mechanical Ms? I have a M2 that seems to has never been serviced before in its life so I guess it is good to start looking around for a competent person to service it.
 
Vincent.G said:
Does youxin do camera repairs? Example replace curtains, viewfinder, syncro block etc. Or does he just do CLA for mechanical Ms? I have a M2 that seems to has never been serviced before in its life so I guess it is good to start looking around for a competent person to service it.
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Well he replaced the original curtains in my M3 with some sloppy secondhand ones after he drenched the original curtains in oil, so yeah, I guess so.
 
Adric83 said:
Only thing I can gather right away is that the shutter speeds seem to be a little off (when using the VERY scientific method of pressing the shutter button on both my current M3 and this one at the same time)
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Your older M3 could be the one with the off shutter speeds 😉

Seriously though, I think most repairers adjust the shutter speeds with a tolerance of + or - 1/3 of a stop from the shutter speed on the dial. So you will certainly notice a difference if one camera is on the + side and the other camera is on the - side, even though both cameras are within tolerance. Won't make any difference if you're shooting negative film, though. If it was me, I'd shoot some film, check the results, and then decide to CLA or not to CLA.
 
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