Leica M3 and FSU rangefinder

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vanyagor

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I went to a store today and had a chance to play with a Leica M3 DS. I was simply amazed by the brightness, sharpness of the rangefinder. I have Zorki 3M and a bunch of feds and none of them comes even close :(

Zorki rangefinder is pretty big, but you can barely see the image in the second window, so it's tough to match it with the view from the first window.

Question: which FSU has a rangefinder unit that can compare to Leica M3. Does that exist at all? Or is my Zorki faulty? Which FSU brangefinder has the best (brightest rangefinder unit and how does it compare to the one of M3

Thanks.
 
The closest fsu rf to the M-series Leicas would be the Kiev. However even the Kiev comes nowhere close.
 
Yep, that's what was so mind-blowing at the time about the M3 and M2, and one good reason other major RF makers just gave it up and concentrated on SLRs. FSU was of course a whole different world.
 
Thanks a lot for your responces!

Couple more questions:

1. Can anyone compare Leningrad rangefinder unit to M3 rangefinder? Is it better thank Kiev's ?

2. How do screw mount Leicas rangefinders compare to the one in M3?

3. What's the difference between M3 and M2 rangefinder?

4. I've heard that later models have smaller rangefinder than M3 is that right? How do they compare in usability with M3.

My eye sight is not good at all, so good rangefinder is the most important part for me. Considering this and the fact I've seen the M3 ;) what would you recommend? I do not think I can convince my wife that I need [another] 800$ (the price for that M3 I played with) camera!!! Let's say in pricerange below 300$ ...
 
The Rangefinder on my really Tidy "Barnack" Leica III is really dim indeed (almost impossible to use in low indoor light), way dimmer than the one in the Zorki C though it is aligned and seemedly accurate, the viewfinder however is nice and bright, brighter than the Zorki..
The Zorki-4 has the combined viewfinder / RF of course and is easier to use and bigger/brighter than the Z-C though still nothing like the R-D1 let alone an M6
 
Yes, well of course the Cosina Voigtlander Bessa series is about as good as the M3 with respect to finders, but it's taken them 50 years to get there. There is undue hype circulating here and in other places as to the utility of FSU rangefinders - I was never impressed -- they are simply not in the same league as Leica M, or even most Japanese offerings. The M3 is "the real deal" and it fully deserves the money it gets on the used market.
 
As to your M3 vs M2 finder question, you could do worse than look at Stephen Gandy's page on RF viewfinders:

http://www.cameraquest.com/leica.htm

It doesn't capture everything, and I can disagree with some of his opinions, but this (along with much else on his site) is worth becoming familiar with.

...Mike
 
If you need to combine a good viewfinder and rangefinder with a small budget, I suggest the Bessa R cameras (R, R2, ...)
 
yes on a budget the bessa r is great, but, you can do better than $800 for an m3.
and....
everyone needs an m3.
 
patrickjames said:
I have found the few FSU rangefinders that I own to be "adequate". They can be improved if you take out the optics of the viewfinder and the diopter. I have a Fed 2 that is really nice because of this. Definitely not in the brightness league of my M3 though. Like I said - adequate.
Click to expand...

I think you mean Zara? That camera has a very bright view finder. Other FSU rangefinder cameras that come to my mind are Leningrad, Kiev 5, LOMO 135B that has a very bright range/view finder.
 
rover said:
yes on a budget the bessa r is great, but, you can do better than $800 for an m3.
and....
everyone needs an m3.
Click to expand...

Sure... or $400 for a Canon P (1:1 baby!) ;)

this of course with the caveat that I would still love to have an M3.
 
Well, I have both a P and M3. They are both excellent cameras. If I had to choose one??????????? M3, but I would not feel stuck if I ended up with the P.
 
FrankS said:
Someone had to say that eventually!
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As you know Frank, I cannot do justice to the author of that phrase. I am only honoring another as best I can.
 
On my two FSU cameras, and my IIIF, thanks to the diopter correction, and the extreme magnification of the IIIF, I can take off my glasses and focus clearly, mashing those cameras against my face in low light. I can't do that with my XA or M3 (I guess you can buy an M3 diopter though), and I can't see the 35 and 50 framelines, respectively, with my glasses on. XA and M3 are my my least favorite finders, by far, as a glasses wearer.
 
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Brightest finder of my FSUs is the Zorki 4k, far brighter than any of my FEDs. Saying that, the rangefinder contrast on the FEDs (a 2b and a 3a) is very high, so they aren't that bad to use in poor light.
 
In my view the impression I get handling an M3 is not that any of the fine cameras mentioned in the above posts have problems (I own some of them), it's just that the M3 is so special, particularly for it's time. And yes I agree, that the Bessa R has the best viewfinder for the money. It is certainly a great all-around camera for shooting on a modest budget -- a bargain really in the rangedfinder universe.
 
SteveM(PA) said:
On my two FSU cameras, and my IIIF, thanks to the diopter correction, and the extreme magnification of the IIIF, I can take off my glasses and focus clearly, mashing those cameras against my face in low light. I can't do that with my XA or M3 (I guess you can buy an M3 diopter though), and I can't see the 35 and 50 framelines, respectively, with my glasses on. XA and M3 are my my least favorite finders, by far, as a glasses wearer.
Click to expand...

I should further say that, of course, for 90mm and 135mm, it's M3 all the way...with or without my glasses.
 
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