Leica M3 Lens issue

[RenaissancePhotography]

Hello Everyone, I bought my first ever Leica recently. An M3! I already had this Summicron 50 f2 picked up for cheap at an antique store last year. Unfortunately, the aperture mechanism is messed up and I will need to send it in for repairs. I heard from where I'm sending it that I am looking at a 4-month wait time. While I send this one in, are there any cheap recommendations for lenses I can use on this camera in the meantime? I've looked into adapting my exakta mount lenses to this but am not sure how accurate they will be. I've also heard that Voigtländer bessa mount lenses are interchangeable with Leica M. Thanks for the help!

 

[Nitroplait]

are there any cheap recommendations

You picked the wrong system if looking for cheap options, but most LTM/M39 lenses with a M adapter will work.
There’s a great variety of modern Voigtlander VM lenses that will work perfectly on your camera without adapters.
Forget about the Exakta mount.

 

[santino]

I second Voigtländer lenses. If you don’t mind shooting a bit stopped down, I‘d buy an Industar 61LD with M adapter. It is really cheap with its back cap aka FED 5 😉

 

[justins7]

There are so many options out there to use on an M system. Voigtlander lenses, like he said. Or get an Leica Thread mount adapter and buy a vintage Canon lens. You can find a 50 or 35 for less than $200. There's also Russian lenses (like the Industar just mentioned)

 

[RenaissancePhotography]

There are so many options out there to use on an M system. Voigtlander lenses, like he said. Or get an Leica Thread mount adapter and buy a vintage Canon lens. You can find a 50 or 35 for less than $200. There's also Russian lenses (like the Industar just mentioned)

I have an LTM adapter on the way! ordered it before I even bought the camera. I've also been looking at a Color Skopar so I will consider it too

 

[splitimageview]

I'd suggest staying away from Russian/Soviet glass, those can be inexpensive but come with a lot of variables.

Canon 50/1.8 would be my suggestion, just make sure it doesn't have haze. Some have sold here recently, $130ish.

 

[mdarnton]

My early chrome Canon50/1.8 is a great lens and it's not prone to internal fogging as the nice black ones are. $120 on ebay. Can hardly beat that. I think you might find it superior to that particular Summicron.

 

[peterm1]

A 4 month wait suggests you are sending it back to Leica for servicing. This is not essential. These lenses are essentially more on the simple side to disassemble and repair. If the aperture problems are merely a matter of a jammed iris it is almost always a simple issue to fix for any experienced technician. Often it is due to oil from the helicoids gumming them up. But if forced the aperture leaves can become bent and displaced - a more problematic fix. The question is can you find a suitable lens technician in your locale. As others suggest any Voigtlander designed for an M camera is likely to be an excellent option depending on what your preferences are.

In the vintage lens department, a good and relatively inexpensive option is a black and chrome Canon 50m f1.8. As these are in Leica Thread Mount you will also need an LTM to M adapter which is only about $20. Just make sure you get one specifically for a 50mm lens (needed to bring up the correct camera frame-lines). I have found the after-market ones very satisfactory these days - well-made and much cheaper than the original Leica ones. As to the Canon lens, if you go down this route, just check it carefully as it is a vintage lens which can sometimes bring problems. In particular, haze can be an issue so make sure you are getting a clean one.

 

[Freakscene]

A 4 month wait suggests you are sending it back to Leica for servicing. This is not essential. These lenses are essentially more on the simple side to disassemble and repair. If the aperture problems are merely a matter of a jammed iris it is almost always a simple issue to fix for any experienced technician. Often it is due to oil from the helicoids gumming them up. But if forced the aperture leaves can become bent and displaced - a more problematic fix. The question is can you find a suitable lens technician in your locale. As others suggest any Voigtlander designed for an M camera is likely to be an excellent option depending on what your preferences are.

In the vintage lens department, a good and relatively inexpensive option is a black and chrome Canon 50m f1.8. As these are in Leica Thread Mount you will also need an LTM to M adapter which is only about $20. Just make sure you get one specifically for a 50mm lens (needed to bring up the correct camera frame-lines). I have found the after-market ones very satisfactory these days - well-made and much cheaper than the original Leica ones. As to the Canon lens, if you go down this route, just check it carefully as it is a vintage lens which can sometimes bring problems. In particular, haze can be an issue so make sure you are getting a clean one.

There is no way Leica would have a film camera back in 4 months. Currently 8-18 months is normal for ‘analogue models’.

 

[Malcolm M]

Options

1) Just wait for your 'cron to come back.

2) Buy another focal length (35? 90?) and start shooting with that. A 35mm on an M3 will have to be the goggled version. There are no non-Leica alternatives to this, but now you've fallen into the Leica rabbit hole, anticipate having no money for the foreseeable future.

 

[justins7]

Options

1) Just wait for your 'cron to come back.

2) Buy another focal length (35? 90?) and start shooting with that. A 35mm on an M3 will have to be the goggled version. There are no non-Leica alternatives to this, but now you've fallen into the Leica rabbit hole, anticipate having no money for the foreseeable future.

You don't have to have the goggled version of the 35. There are a lot of options now for 35mm viewfinders (like cheap plastic ones from China), or just shoot without one for now until you get used to the camera. I shot with a Canon 35mm/f2 on an M3 for years with a sorta-close found viewfinder.

 

[coogee]

Nikkor HC 50 f/2.0 is another cheap, small, sharp LTM lens.
Getting a different focal length is a good suggestion so you're not doubling up, though there's no shame in owning all the 50mm lenses you possibly can.

 

[peterm1]

Options

1) Just wait for your 'cron to come back.

2) Buy another focal length (35? 90?) and start shooting with that. A 35mm on an M3 will have to be the goggled version. There are no non-Leica alternatives to this, but now you've fallen into the Leica rabbit hole, anticipate having no money for the foreseeable future.

I think this is a very good thought and option as of course the OP can keep it to supplement his 50mm when it comes back from hospital which is no doubt what you had in mind. 🙂 But as other point out I think a goggled version of a Leica lens is not exactly necessary though it may be nice. For example, I have the earliest Leica M mount 35mm f3.5 Summaron which was made without goggles and was designed to be used with an accessory finder in the accessory shoe. For many years I have successfully used it with my Leica M cameras. Personally, I do not mind using an accessory shoe mounted finder for composing - it's the "old" way of doing things (a hangover from the LTM era) and compliments an M3 perfectly fine.

I don't think I would necessarily recommend the Summaron as such however, due to their recent prices and think that for this purpose any Voightlander 35mm option would work well - unless the OP is flush with money. I have recently noted the way inflation has hit pretty much all Leica vintage glass these days - even the more modest and arguably less desirable ones like the Summaron 35mm f3.5. And the later goggled ones, even more so.

 

[kshapero]

I'd pickup a used Voigtlander on the cheap. The head Chief usually has an array to choose from. www.cameraquest.com.

 

[RenaissancePhotography]

You don't have to have the goggled version of the 35. There are a lot of options now for 35mm viewfinders (like cheap plastic ones from China), or just shoot without one for now until you get used to the camera. I shot with a Canon 35mm/f2 on an M3 for years with a sorta-close found viewfinder.

I've seen the Soviet Turret models which look very cool and are inexpensive. I'm not sure if it includes a rangefinder for 35mm though

 

[Coldkennels]

I've seen the Soviet Turret models which look very cool and are inexpensive. I'm not sure if it includes a rangefinder for 35mm though

No external viewfinder will include a rangefinder. You use the rangefinder in the M3's viewfinder, then move your eye over to the external VF.

FWIW, I don't think the Soviet turret is particularly accurate for 35mm; it seems wider than the standard 35mm field of view to me - maybe more like 30mm. Same with the 28mm viewfinder on it, which is closer to 25mm. The difference may be slight, but it's generally better for the viewfinder to be showing you less than you get on the film than the other way around.

The absolute best 35mm accessory finder out there is the SBLOO, but they're pricey. Have a look for the VIOOH (or IMARECT if you're in America); those were the standard accessory viewfinder while your M3 was available, and they're perfectly serviceable for use with a 35mm lens. They're typically around the same price as the Soviet turret here in the UK, I think - and I know which I'd rather have!

 

[Richard G]

I currently have the DR Summicron my M2. It’s a weighty package. A black Voigtlander will be a dream by comparison. Currently I have a Zeiss 25mm 2.8 on my M9. That is my sharpest lens. Cheap is not necessarily inferior.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Long ago Voigtländer made a collapsible 50mm f2 lens, called Heliar 50mm f2, with a Leica M mount. This lens was made in chrome and in black paint. Mechanically and optically these lenses are great. They can be had cheap (compared to Leica gear).

gelatin silver print (heliar 50mm f2 collapsible black) leica m2

Amsterdam, 2022

 

[Beemermark]

Get a 35mm or 90mm.

 

[rulnacco]

Getting a 35mm lens wouldn't be a bad idea--that way when your 50 comes back you have two different focal lengths. And Voigtlander made some good but fairly cheap 35mm lenses you could get second hand on eBay or various other places. (Most of their current 35s are pretty expensive to buy new--but they're really, really good.)

You could get an external viewfinder to use it on your M3, but there's a stupendously cheap way to go that works really well in practice: just take a piece of gaffer tape and stick it over the frame line illumination window (the middle one). That will make the 50 and 135 frame lines disappear, and then you can use the whole viewfinder, which rather decently approximates the 35mm field of view, to frame your images without being annoyed/distracted by the superfluous frame lines.

Even a Summaron with goggles--formerly one of the "cheapest" Leica lenses--is pushing near $1000 nowadays. That's what I use on my M3 when I want to shoot 35mm, but I was able to get mine for about 400 bucks roughly before the prices skyrocketed. Getting a good but (fairly) cheap 35mm and using the gaffer tape trick will be a pretty decent way to have some fun with your M3 while you're waiting for your Summicron to come back.