Leica M3 Patch Brightness

[kenpex]

Hi! I've always suspected that my M3 rangefinder patch is a bit dim. My M3 is quite "recent", it's a SS and its serial number is a bit below 1milion, and it has been serviced a couple of years ago and never used much by the previous owner. As I received it used I don't know how bright it was new, but I can say that surely it's dimmer than the one on a new Bessa R2. Is that normal?
Thanks.

 

[rover]

Hmmm, I can only speak to the M3 I just recently bought. The patch in mine is pretty bright and contrasty. Mine was also CLA'd 2 years ago, but is a late production M3 from 1966. Thinking back to my Bessas, perhaps their viewfinders were a little bit brighter, but I would say that is due to 35+ years of life and not particularly by design. And again, the RF patch in my M3 is as bright as that in any other RF I have owned.

 

[kenpex]

Mhm... My RF patch is quite a bit dimmer than the one on a R2, I'll take the body for a CLA and then we'll see... Also I can see many tiny black points in it, almost uniformly spread on the surface of the patch. Dunno if it's just some dust, but it's strange as it seems very uniform, not randomly placed (something like that -> http://www.mathdirect.com/products/qrn/resources/Images/QRDemonstration_gr_70.gif ) and really small. I just hope it's something that can be solved, because I use my M3 mostly to shoot in extremely low light with Neopan and a Canon 50 1.2.

 

[MCTuomey]

My "new" M4's finder is not as bright as my R2A's. But the M4 seems to snap into focus, despite any difference in brightness. I've concluded brightness is not everything. I prefer focussing the Leica, if I had to choose. All IMHO, of course.

 

[Graybeard]

Hi! I've always suspected that my M3 rangefinder patch is a bit dim. My M3 is quite "recent", it's a SS and its serial number is a bit below 1milion, and it has been serviced a couple of years ago and never used much by the previous owner. As I received it used I don't know how bright it was new, but I can say that surely it's dimmer than the one on a new Bessa R2. Is that normal?
Thanks.

Not all Leica service technicians are willing to dismantle the (rather complex) M3 rangefinder optics sufficiently to clean all of the optical surfaces.

I have a DS M3, which had a dim rangefinder patch. A complete overhaul of the camera improved the brightness somewhat but not to the level of performance of other M3's that I'd used.

I had the rangefinder cleaned by DAG, who does dismantle M3 optics, and the rangefinder patch is now as bright as any M3 or M2 that I've used.

 

[rover]

DAG did do the CLA on my camera.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

My M3 (DS, 1957 vintage) still has the "L" seal on, which means it's never been serviced... or, if it was, it was done by the Leica people. I guess I'm lucky, because other than a coolish tint, the VF is luminous and the patch is very easy to spot.

Yours sounds like it's screaming for a CLA. I'd invest on it; it'll give you some 30 years of peerless service.

 

[Todd.Hanz]

Sounds like your M3 may be suffering the effects of the Canadian balsa cement "decementing", I think I have the same problem in mine, of course I didn't notice it really until I bought an M4-P which has a brighter viewfinder than the M3. I am thinking of sending mine off to these guys for repair: http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/page10.html, good luck!

Todd

 

[spetsnaz]

I did check side by side with M6, it should be nothing wrong just not as bright as the later model. My M3 RF's patch is even better and easier to focus in some light situation.

PoP

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Todd's right on the money. The M3 viewfinder is a little bit dimmer than the newer M's viewfinders, but if yours is very noticeably dimmer, it may be separating, and that is not good news; I've heard the replacement for those are quite expensive, but OTOH, you will be getting a new viewfinder (it depends on your point of view). You may want to compare your M3 against another M3 that still has the original viewfinder, not against another model.

If you're in the U.S., I also highly recommend DAG ( http://www.dagcamera.com/ ) His website may not look the sharpest, but his service is; if you don't catch him on the phone, he (his name is Don) is very good about replying to e-mails.

Good luck.

 

[ddutchison]

If it is separating, you'll see opaque black/brown lines in the finder when you look through it from a foot or so away (they'll start at the edges). I know because my M-2's about 20% separated, been that way for 2 years - luckily I finally found a cheap (about the same price as a new R2 from Gandy!) M4-P finder to replace it.

As I imagine you'd notice those, it sounds like this isn't the problem, which is good news.

The Canada Balsam also yellows with age - any M-3 is about 40 yrs. old - so that might be contributing to the dimness, but I understand that all the Bessa's have fantastic finders so it is probably normal.

 

[Leica Geek]

My M3 rangefinder patch is kind of dim too. My M6, M5, Bessa R2, M3 with M4 finder are much brighter than this M3 I have. It's not easy to focus when the patch is dim even with the extra magnification.