leica elmar-m f2.8/50mm

[miatadan]

Been looking at other rangefinders such as Rollei RF35 and Voigtlander Bessa R3A, Zeiss Ikon 🙄
Is there a chance Leica will notice these new models and come out with a more affordable M series body ?😕
Dan

 

[peter_n]

Dan I think they've noticed them already. Their prices go up this month. Pretty soon a new MP or M7 will cost close to $3000. 🙁

 

[Todd.Hanz]

Been looking at other rangefinders such as Rollei RF35 and Voigtlander Bessa R3A, Zeiss Ikon 🙄
Is there a chance Leica will notice these new models and come out with a more affordable M series body ?😕
Dan

Welcome Dan,

and the answer is most assuredly No!
I would love to say yes, esp. as you look at the success of Cosina Voigtlander, but the ultimate Leica snobs are actually Leica themselves.

Todd

 

[back alley]

but the ultimate Leica snobs are actually Leica themselves

very wise words! and oh so true...

joe

 

[former member]

I am a broken record.

At under $700 for a used body and CLA'd at Essex, I like to think that the M2 and M3 are the Affordable alternative from Leica. Leica still supplies parts for these 1950's vintage cameras; Essex had to wait a month, but got new gears for my rewind on the M2. How many other 1958 items can you get repaired like that?

 

[Huck Finn]

Brian, how will the new CV meters work with one of these? Does $700 include the CLA? Thanks

Huck

 

[woody]

Greetings.

I thought I'd chime in here, becaue my main shooter is an M3 DS with an Elmar 50/2.8 circa mid 70's. I also use the Leica MC Meter that came with the camera back in 1956. Just had the M3 cleaned and it's perfect. Only two things to think about with this setup: 1) no 35mm framelines and 2) no meter. for #1, I use the Summaron 35/2.8 w/ goggles or the CV Pancake II with the CV 35 brightline finder. Both options are great, but I prefer the look of the Summaron. For #2, an old Leica meter or the CV meter will work.

The other nice note is that the M3 + Elmar 50/2.8 will cost less than the M6 alone.

-w

 

[former member]

In my case of two M3's and an M2, the $700 included the CLA/repair at Essex. The M2 was $430 on Ebay and required a $188 trip to Essex to fix the rewind. and general CLA. My M3DS required finder parts and was $198. The M3 that I got here on RFF required a $158 CLA to fix the shutter capping problem and clean out the "spider-Hair" in the finder. That camera was advertised here with a 50mm Summicron and 90mm Elmar for $700, so the total price with CLA was $858 for the camera and two lenses. That latter one was an "outlier", but people have been putting up bargains here lately. I like to think of this as "conservation of inconvenience"; buying need-minor-repair cameras cheap and taking the time and effort to get them repaired.



The VC clip on meter should work fine; I use a clip on selenium cell or a handheld meter.