Leica M3 Shutter Speed Dial and Preview

[cassel]

Talked with my local repair guys on the phone and they're not real excited about helping with this, but they are willing to look at it.

Should I just give up or order the (expensive) tools and try it myself? Should I just be resigned to not use my 85mm Canon with this M3. I do have my eye on a nice 90mm Elmar...fits and looks nice.

Here's the button and the replacement parts...so close, yet....

Can anyone in the Seattle/Bremerton area help?

 

[maddoc]

I swapped the lens release lock button of my M4-2 for an M3-style one and run into some small trouble due to manufacturing tolerances, which could be solved adding some washers. Read the story here at RFF and in my blog here. In case of the M4-2/-P/M6/M7 there is no screw in the button itself just the red dot. It might come off with a small spanner tool but I had no luck so disassembled the camera (removing the body from the shell) and unscrewed everything from the back side (inner side).

 

[cassel]

Here's another shot (not sure why it's upside down) You can see some bright marks where my improvised tool slipped a bit- but it's not stripped🙄

 

[cassel]

I took a deep breath and decided to modify the lens release on my M3. I tried shooting the 85mm with my Canon L3 and I really wanted the viewfinder of the M3. It is, after-all, the main reason why I bought the M3🙄

I was super carefully and used hand tools- a jeweler's saw and wire cutters to remove just enough material to clear the mount of the big Canon.😱
Nerve-wracking, but since my camera is far from original with a so-so black paint job, I decided a mild mod was not the end of the world...