bwcolor
Veteran
My 50mm f/2.0 M-Hexanon won't close focus on my M3, whereas the rangefinder of my M6TTL fully couples the full focusing range of the Hexanon. Do I have a service problem with my M3, or is this a normal issue with the older Leicas?
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
The M3 only couples to the RF to 1 meter, newer Leicas starting with the M2 couple to .7 meter. Some M3 bodies can be modified by a repairman to focus closer
bwcolor
Veteran
Thanks.. I'll look into seeing if this can be easily modified.
typhillips
Established
FWIW, I can get pretty accurate focus with my M3 and M-Hex 50 down to 0.8m, but YMMV. It's worth doing the diagonal ruler test just to see.
[edit] I'm pretty sure the rangefinder couples a bit below 1m, it's just not necessarily accurate.
[edit] I'm pretty sure the rangefinder couples a bit below 1m, it's just not necessarily accurate.
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Pirate
Guitar playing Fotografer
That may be from a smaller aperture. If you were using a .95 or an F/1, you may not get the focus any closer than the 1 meter mark. Just a thought.
typhillips
Established
Good point. From what I understand, RF focusing with a lens that fast is a potentially dicey affair anyway, given the extreme accuracy required of the RF mechanism.
bwcolor
Veteran
Patrick:
Do you know of an informational source that would allow me to make such an adjustment? I'm not anxious to approach this guessing as to what I need to do.
Do you know of an informational source that would allow me to make such an adjustment? I'm not anxious to approach this guessing as to what I need to do.