Leica M3 Redemption

Pastor Chris

Pastor Chris

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Have you ever gotten really good advice that you swore you would never ignore, only to be lured by the siren song of something "newer", "better"; a very particular form of GAS ( Gear Aquisition Syndrome)?

Well, it happened to me. Here, my children, is my sad story: I first fell in love with Leica when a congregation member showed me the Leica IIIc stepper kit that he rescued from the trash after the family of his deceased great-uncle had the foresight to call him to see if he wanted the box of old cameras before they junked it with many other treasures, no doubt. Also in the box was a Contaflex TLR.

I ran a few rolls through it and fell further and further in lust. I ended selling a bunch of stuff from some other hobbies (fly fishing and old computers) to buy a very nice M3. Does any of this sound familiar yet?

Being a novice, I did not realize just how nice this M3 was; clean, fully functioning, "L seal", case, manual, original tag and registration, clean case, you get the idea. Also, a pristine collapsible Summicron M. I later added a lovely black lizard skin cover from Morgan which was truly sublime. I shot many rolls of film through it and at a camera show one day, a little old kindly German gentleman looked it over and smiled. He told me, "Never get rid of your M3, you'll regret it."

After more use and more film, and what I understand now to be poor quality scanning, the allure of digital started to creep in. My local shop had a used M8 in chrome and was offering it to me with an EBay price, plus a warranty (which came in very handy BTW).

I listed some more erstwhile treasures on eBay, along with the M3, last in line for ending time and with a fairly insane Buy It Now price. The auctions ended, one by one, as I approached the "critical mass" to purchase the M8. Mentally, my finger wa poised over the button to end the auction on the M3 early when some camera nut from Korea hit the Buy It Now!

I trusted that it was going to a good home, but it had already been in a good home, but my love for it failed. I pictured that kindly German man just looking at me shaking his head in disappointment.

I love the M8, and have really learned to appreciate its charms. One RFFer described the M8 shutter sound as being like a staple gun. Every time I release the shutter I remember that characterization along with the soft swishy-click that the M3 made.

After my recent dissolution with my first non-Leica lens, a Voigtlander Nokton 1.1 50mm, I sold it with no regrets and began the search for another M3. (I think that large apertures have the same sort of peculiar allure of large calibers in firearms, something that I hope that I will one day mature beyond.)

I love a deal and let many decent looking cameras slip through my fingers, sometimes by just a few dollars more than I committed to spend. Then I saw it; poor description, not from a camera dealer, crappy out of focus photos, no real love in the listing, just another old camera that someone was selling. The seller had an ambitious opeing bid so I submitted an offer. Just before it was goign to expire they accepted it.

The camera showed up today and it is beautiful. 1955, clean vulcanite, small dent in the top plate, but wonderful. That old pristine Summicron snapped into place with the satisfying click which is so familiar and beloved by the cognoscenti and a roll of Tri-x slid gently into the loading bay. The journey begins. . . Again.

I have vowed to never sell this camera. Maybe one day I will give it to one of my sons, or someone else who is experiencing the beginnings of the Leica addiction, but for now it is all mine. Two amazingly smooth strokes in between exposures marked by the incredible, beautiful, near-silence of the shutter releasing. Long live the M3.
 
There is no doubt in my mind that selling an M3 to acquire a digital Leica is a direct path to regret par excellence.

My M2s will stay with me for as long as I photograph (maybe longer?)
 
I just realized that my avatar is me with the very same M8 that caused my fall from grace. My penance cannot be complete until I take care of that.
 
Well, funny thing that I should read this today. I had recently decided that I needed to divorce myself of the emotional attachment that I have with my M3. "But I use my M6TTL to much more," I tell myself constantly. "Why do I need two film M-bodies, anyway?" It's true, my M6 is, to me, the more practical camera. More versatile framelines (though the 0.85 version still), and the internal light meter; very useful features.

An M9 is what I covet...but still, the M3 has a charm. A certain "je ne sai quoi" that has kept me from selling it thus far. Also, it was my first Leica. I love that viewfinder, the ruggedness, the simplicity, and the history: made in January 1955, per the serial number. The viewfinder was totally replaced in 2009 by DAG, and he is currently tightening up the shutter speeds for me now again. What a wonderful camera.

So what a coincidence that your cautionary tale should appear today. I will perhaps take my lesson from you, and if I don't use the M3 much, I still use it. And I plan on giving it to my son one day (who turns 7 this weekend!), as I am sure that particular M body will be serviceable long past my own body.
 
"An M9 is what I covet...but still, the M3 has a charm. A certain "je ne sai quoi" that has kept me from selling it thus far. "

I don't covet the M9 anymore given all of the positive stuff that I have read here on RFF. Yes, I know that it has it's issues, but so does the M9. I'm not a pro but an enthusiast, so it is fine with me.

I have 2 M6s, why? I'm not quite sure. They are defiantly cool and I think a mile marker ini the M line; but I shoot film for fun, for the experience, for the way that it makes me slow down and look at things in more particular detail. I have a good light meter app in my iPhone for situations that are less familiar. Film for me is about the experience of looking at the world in a different way and making photographs. Quality versus quantity, although the quality might be lost on most, but that is fine. I have resolved to make photographs for me; some will get them and be drawn in by them and some will not. So me me, the process and experience is as important as the photograph and by extension, the tools used are a part of what is important. As great as the M6 is, it isn't an M3. Please keep yours.
 
Keith just put it well and simply on another thread about Hassleblad and I think it applies to the M3, "the user experience is unique".
 
I am just stepping on to that boat. A recent need of cash has forced me to sell my entire set of cameras and lenses (M6,M2,35 'cron, 50 'lux). I am already having withdrawal symptoms. For now, I am sticking with a X100, but one day I'll get back the 35 'cron and the M2.
 
This is going to sound ridiculous, but I almost think everyone on RfF should be required to have an M3 as a sign of one's bona fides (and as an acknowledgement there still isn't anything better).
 
I traded my M3 for an M8. After two trips to Leica NJ, the M8 went back to the original owner and I got my M3 back. I ran two rolls of film through it in the first day. Not leaving my hands ever again.
 
i have a remotely related problem: i hate my m6ttl. i dunno what it is, but i thought that selling my m4p and getting a nice m6ttl at 0.85x (35,50,90) would make me a happy man. but no, i just dun feel like picking it up, not sure if it is the bright but distracting exposure indicator, or the additional weight making it unbalanced or the fact that if that i can't use DR Cron on it without modding the goggles (other irritation is that i can't use flash without batteries)....

anyone what to swap their SS EXC M3 with my EXC M6 TTL ?

raytoei
 
Exemplary story, just like the homily at mass, then I realize that you are a pastor! My dad, perhaps my mentor, says to find happiness in simpler things. You have had found happiness in your M3!

Congratulations on finding your M3 again! Does it come with the MR Meter? What is your preferred configuration and if you dare to answer was your M3 in the $801-$900 the $901-$1,000 or the $1,001 to over $1100 range?

Regards,

Robert
 
It came with nothing but I have a working MR meter that looks good for display, but in practical terms I like the voigtlander meter, or an app in my iPhone, or sunny 16, or my Gossen Luna Pro. I just put a new cover from Aki on and it looks amazingly stock. The original was no bad, but very brittle. This one was $600 on eBay. Vague description, bad photos, so it was a bit of a risk that paid off. It is in beautiful shape except that the speeds below 1/10 are sluggish but I rarely use those anyway. I am very pleased and it is good to have one again. I think if it came to choosing, I would sell my M6 before this baby.
 
Pastor, have you consider learning how to repair Leicas? And, thanks for the information on the value of your newly found friend! Quite a deal considering that the Leica that I was watching with lens and ever ready cover but declared for parts commanded over $900!

Regards,

Robert
 
I plan on shooting with this one for awhile as is and then trying to take the top cover off to clean and lube the slow speed mechanism. There are some good articles on the we about this so I'll give it a go. I want to invest a little in the proper tools beforehand though. It is possible that I will end up walking into Essex Camera with a box of parts though!
 
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