Leica M3 - Returning to Where I Started

[Evergreen States]

Richland Public Library
Richland, Washington
November 2023

Leica M3
Leica 50mm ƒ/1.5 Summarit
Arista EDU 400
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2pLFK44]Untitled by Pierre Saget, on Flickr[/URL]

 

[sojournerphoto]

I normally shoot MF or LF, but when I shoot 35mm it's been Nikon, though I've probably used ever major Japanese SLR at one point or another.

I've had a Barnack Leica for ages, but a while back, I gave in to my long held desire to own M equipment. I ended up with an M2 and an M5 (both with DAG CLAs) and several lenses, the 50mm 'Cron among them. After 10-ish rolls of film between the two bodies, I've come away with several impressions:

• The Leica mystique is so for a reason. There is a kind of mechanical and optical flawlessness to their design you have to experience for yourself. They are elegant and intuitive to use in ways no other camera I've ever handled has been.
  
  
• The are absolutely not worth the money, particularly the new stuff. If you're careful, you can get older bodies and lenses at "reasonable" prices, but even so, that's at least 2-4X what vintage Nikon or Canon equipment costs. I have a Nikon 35mm f/1.4 that performs comparably to my Summicron 35mm f/2 ASPH, but the latter cost me multiples of the former. Yes, I got the box, case, shade, etc. with it, which does make it more expensive. But still, paying 4X for approximately the same performance isn't "worth it".
  
  
• It's not just about money. I do not know why and cannot quite explain it, but I just "see" differently with a Leica rangefinder than any of my Nikon SLR bodies. Not better, not worse, just differently. This is a work in progress. I have not yet owned Leica M long enough for it to be seamless in use for me, the way my Nikons are.
  
  
• It's still just 35mm. You can't beat the dealer here. Negative size matters, and for some subjects with lots of small detail, it matters a lot. Even on a tripod with a cable release, the Leica negatives do not come anywhere close to even an average 645 negative, let alone Hasselblad or 4x5.

I will soon return to the land of larger negatives. I won't get rid of the Leicas though. I think of my many cameras as paintbrushes - each plays a different role in my work. The Leicas and Nikons will continue to see use where- and as it makes sense.

You articulate this well - the simplicity in use, the different way of seeing and the, inevitable, limitations of 35mm negatives.

Of course, a digital M will give you more detail and 35mm grain is another paintbrush.

I still have my M4 and use it from time to time, even though the MA is more daily driver. Is it good value? There is no choice if you want a new film rangefinder - the three variants are similarly priced and all are from Leica.

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (color skopar 50mm f2.5) leica m3

Amsterdam, 2017

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (summicron 50mm f2 v4) leica m3

Amsterdam, 2017

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (summilux 50mm f1.4 v2) leica m3

Bordeaux, 1986


Bordeaux

 

[helen.HH]

Yes agreed, PURRfect for a 50 lens...
sadly I no longer own 'her', nor do I shoot 50mm anymore

My Fav of the film M bodies are the M4, M5...
and the M5 I still have ... M,r. Stephen Gandy has my M4

Here is a shot with Miss M3 50mm Color Skopar , at one of those RF Meetups... always crazy Fun for gear heads
Don't You just LOVE t those rich inky blacks !


Some Hand action @rff meetup... by Helen H., on Flickr

 

[helen.HH]

You know me ... a NYC Subway gurl
M3, 50 Nikor SC 1.4


subway mariachi by Helen H., on Flickr

 

[helen.HH]

28mm also does Grand on the M3
here ios the 28 Elmarit Asph...just the right kind of sharpness and sexy black tones

Barber Shop Stripes... by Helen H., on Flickr

 

[Godfrey]

M3s are lovely bodies ... I had to have liked them for something, I had two over the years! ... but I've preferred the M4 and M4-2 over the M3 for a long time amongst the film M bodies. I prefer the viewfinders and like the rapid loading system, the rewind crank.

It's kinda like suggesting a favored vintage of a particular wine, however: All the Ms (M2, M3, M4, etc) are pretty darn nice.

G

 

[Derek Leath]

Yes agreed, PURRfect for a 50 lens...
sadly I no longer own 'her', nor do I shoot 50mm anymore

My Fav of the film M bodies are the M4, M5...
and the M5 I still have ... M,r. Stephen Gandy has my M4

Here is a shot with Miss M3 50mm Color Skopar , at one of those RF Meetups... always crazy Fun for gear heads
Don't You just LOVE t those rich inky blacks !


Some Hand action @rff meetup... by Helen H., on Flickr

Love my M5 as well. Fantastic camera. 😉

 

[Erik van Straten]

One of my first shots with an M3. It was a double-stroke M3 converted into a single-stroke camera. Such a shame that I sold it.

gelatin silver print (summicron rigid 50mm f2) leica m3

Amsterdam, 1978

 

[MISH]

I also started my Leica journey with a M3. My first Leica was a M3 DS bought in 1990. I later sold it to finance a M4 purchase. I know it’s not for everyone but I always really liked the DS film advance. Recently unexpectedly a nice M3 DS has come back into my life and I am enjoying the hell out of it.

 

[MISH]

I also have 35mm covered by the first lens I bought, purchased even before I had a camera body. I find this look incredibly sexy and wonderful to use. I have to assume all the haters of googled Summicrons have never used one. BYW: when my ex wife found out I had spent $400 on a lens said that it was the last straw and divorced me ( who’s laughing now) current wife likes it and says I am never allowed to sell it.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

I also have 35mm covered by the first lens I bought, purchased even before I had a camera body. I find this look incredibly sexy and wonderful to use. I have to assume all the haters of googled Summicrons have never used one. BYW: when my ex wife found out I had spent $400 on a lens said that it was the last straw and divorced me ( who’s laughing now) current wife likes it and says I am never allowed to sell it.

Well your assumption is incorrect. goggled lenses are a real divider. I owned 3. I hated the bulk, weight & balance of the 35mm (the real reason god created the M2 🙂)......I did on the other hand get along well with both the DR Summicron 50....and the 135 2.8 Elmarit (although i quickly got over the 135mm focal length and never bought another for RF or SLR).

 

[agentlossing]

Yes agreed, PURRfect for a 50 lens...
sadly I no longer own 'her', nor do I shoot 50mm anymore

My Fav of the film M bodies are the M4, M5...
and the M5 I still have ... M,r. Stephen Gandy has my M4

Here is a shot with Miss M3 50mm Color Skopar , at one of those RF Meetups... always crazy Fun for gear heads
Don't You just LOVE t those rich inky blacks !


Some Hand action @rff meetup... by Helen H., on Flickr

That's a lovely shot, from the faces and gestures to the feel of the medium... the 50mm Skopar produces such nice "honest" images.

 

[Evergreen States]

Summer’s Hub
Kennewick, Washington
March 2024

Leica M3
50mm ƒ/2 Summicron v.2
Arista EDU 400
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2pLR59r]Untitled by Pierre Saget, on Flickr[/URL]

 

[chuckroast]

I also have 35mm covered by the first lens I bought, purchased even before I had a camera body. I find this look incredibly sexy and wonderful to use. I have to assume all the haters of googled Summicrons have never used one. BYW: when my ex wife found out I had spent $400 on a lens said that it was the last straw and divorced me ( who’s laughing now) current wife likes it and says I am never allowed to sell it.

If you like DS, you'll love the Fuji GW690II "Texas Leica" which has exactly that...

 

[sojournerphoto]

I also have 35mm covered by the first lens I bought, purchased even before I had a camera body. I find this look incredibly sexy and wonderful to use. I have to assume all the haters of googled Summicrons have never used one. BYW: when my ex wife found out I had spent $400 on a lens said that it was the last straw and divorced me ( who’s laughing now) current wife likes it and says I am never allowed to sell it.

My wife generally discourages me from selling things - largely to avoid me buying it again later. She’s been pretty insistent on the film cameras, having some confidence that I will eventually have time to use them more fully and loving me enough to try and spare me regret.

Sometimes she, perhaps, goes too dar, but she does care and that is good.

 

[chuckroast]

Well your assumption is incorrect. goggled lenses are a real divider. I owned 3. I hated the bulk, weight & balance of the 35mm (the real reason god created the M2 🙂)......I did on the other hand get along well with both the DR Summicron 50....and the 135 2.8 Elmarit (although i quickly got over the 135mm focal length and never bought another for RF or SLR).

I picked and M2, and later M5 exactly because I wanted to shoot with a 35mm 'cron without all the encumbrances.

That said, if I ever got a great deal on an M3, it would be temping as my 50mm walk around camera.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

I picked and M2, and later M5 exactly because I wanted to shoot with a 35mm 'cron without all the encumbrances.

That said, if I ever got a great deal on an M3, it would be temping as my 50mm walk around camera.

The M3 is a great camera, for me in 35mm though my go-to are in order 35mm/21mm/28mm .....I almost consider the 50 a telephoto 😉 & it drives me nuts as a walk around....since i don't naturally see the world that way.