Leica M3 question.

Leica Geek

Leica Geek

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Is it possible to have an M3 with 35,50,90,135 brightlines? I thought I was buying the famous flare resistant, magnified M3 viewfinder and it's not.

Any thoughts?
 
They call that an M4.
If you did want the extended frameline selection short of buying a new body the only way to do it would be to replace the entire VF/RF unit, thus rendering the M3 as an M4+ but knob rewind.
 
Well it looks like I have an M3 double stroke with an M4 finder. What mad man would do such a thing? It's still a really nice camera in great condition.
 
Wow - that is an interesting modification. Definitely the work of a mad man...the point of the M3 is the finder.
 
The original finder was probably in need of repair-and parts are not available. The only fix is replacement with another finder.
 
Thre's nothing wrong with the M4 finder. I think the rangefinder patch flare problem started with the M4-2 and M4-P. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong.) Some people actually find the M3 viewfinder to be slightly darker than that of the M2 and later versions. The main advantage of the M3 finder is that it is ideal for 50mm and very good for longer focal lengths. An M3 with an M4 finder would be a very nice thing for most people (i.e., those who like 35mm).

Richard
 
The M3 is the only one with a 0.92 finder. The M2 had already the 35mm framelines. Now, you must have an M2 or M4 finder... and that's kind of a weird camera, but then, look at it as the most flexible M3 that ever was. :)
 
I might sell it to a friend that's been looking for an M to purchase. I really like the camera inspite of the different finder. It's still more magnified than my M6 and M5. Ken, if she passes on it I'll let you know.

Thanks.
 
Only a few people rework M3 finders when damaged of degraded by time the others replace with an off the shelf spare there are no M3 spares.

Noel
 
Leica Geek said:
... It's still more magnified than my M6 and M5. Ken, if she passes on it I'll let you know.
Click to expand...

But then it can't be an M4 finder, right..? The M5, a standard M6 and an M4 should all share the same .72x magnification, whatever the framelines.

My guess is the .85x-M6 finder, which is also the closest to the M3s (original) finder, and thus the logical replacement for a broken M3 finder. On the other hand I think it should then have a frame (corners, rather, IIRC) for 75mm lenses, but that could have been removed.

Right..?
 
It could be an M2R finder ... Even though the magnification of the M2 is less than .85, the 35mm framelines are more "frame filling" than on the M6 for example.

How close are the 35mm framelines on this M3 to the viewfinder borders ? Would you have a 1.25 magnifier to see if you can reach 1:1, Leica Geek ?

Roland.
 
The 35mm framlines are extremely close to the edges of the viewfinder. It's hard for me to really use them with my glasses on. I shot a portrait the other day with the 35mm and I had to take my glasses off to shoot it. Even though I saw blurry and I was at f1.7 at 1/30th, all the pics came out really sharp. Rangefinder focusing rules.
 
Does really sound like a .85 finder. You got a cool camera there, an MP3 with double stroke and internal frame counter !

Roland.
 
Isn't the original M3 a .92 finder? I would really prefer that. I have an M5 that I really enjoy shooting with the same finder as this modified M3.
 
Yep, it's .91. Not enough room for a 35mm frameline, just a little more space than 50mm - enough
to use the full finder for 40mm but not more ...

Also, what I like about the M3 is the shape of the 50mm lines (thick and round corners)
and the fact that they are always present.

Roland.
 
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