M3 vs M4P dilemma

This may not be important to you, but I like having a 28mm frame lines vs. a clip-on viewfinder since I use a 28mm lens quite a bit. The film loading is a bit easier on the M4P. Just my preference. - Jim
 
Sherry's response to my enquiry:

M3 rangefinders are no longer available. They have not been for the last 15
years. You would get a 0.85 rangefinder which has 35mm, 50mm, 90mm, and
135mm framelines. The new rangefinder is over $ 850.00, for the part. It
is uneconomical to repair. I would sell it and look for another over serial
number 964xxx.

Cha ching!
 
It looks as though you asked for a quote for a replacement rangefinder, not a quote for improving the useability of the existing parts ! The ultimate alternative would probably be CCR Luton who can refurbish the existing finder, with a bit of a wait probably. Are they the only people who do re-silvering ??
 
If you ask her, Sherry will tell you that if the camera had a fairly recent CLA, there will not be more that she can do to improve finder brightness. The things that can be tried have already been tried, short of resilvering, which is only done by CRR and likely involves a long wait and significant expense.

I think the best thing to do in this situation is to sell your M3 and find a different M3 with a bright finder. They exist, and aren't even particularly scarce. A bright finder makes all the difference in the world for usability, and CLA money can then be spent on fixing any other issues with the new camera, instead of on trying to fix the finder, which may be the only thing in one of these old cameras that can't relatively easily be brought up to spec by one of the good technicians.
 
MartinP said:
It looks as though you asked for a quote for a replacement rangefinder, not a quote for improving the useability of the existing parts ! The ultimate alternative would probably be CCR Luton who can refurbish the existing finder, with a bit of a wait probably. Are they the only people who do re-silvering ??
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I didn't ask specifically about replacement but about servicing/improving it.
 
yeah, resilvering it at CRR Luton would be about 240 buckaroos for us. not terrible, I guess, and you'll only have to do it once and you're set.

oh, and they did make M3s in Midland too! kind of uncommon though.

cheers!
 
CopperB said:
That's a long way to go for servicing. What cost did you incur?
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The camera came to me from someone who had already sent the camera to CCR Luton the year before he sold it. The seller did mention it took a few months to have the camera overhauled and rangefinder resilvered.

I read somewhere on CCR's website that when you send the camera in there are some forms that need to be filled out stating the camera is there for repairs to avoid the import/export taxes.
 
dragunov said:
yeah, resilvering it at CRR Luton would be about 240 buckaroos for us. not terrible, I guess, and you'll only have to do it once and you're set.

oh, and they did make M3s in Midland too! kind of uncommon though.

cheers!
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Is that 240 Cdn or BPS? If it's 240Cdn that's not bad considering the $$$ for a new finder.
 
Another thumbs up for the M4-P. As much as I love the M3 (I shoot mostly 50mm), since I wear glasses, the M4-P finder is more pleasant to use. And having the 35mm frameline is pretty nice as well. I don't think you would be disappointed with an M4-P.
 
-doomed- said:
I sold my M3 after I bought an M4-P . I have no regrets about it even though I loved my M3, the M4-P has to be my favorite camera.
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Hmm. I did exactly the opposite- sold my M4-P and never looked back. I use a pair of M3's as my only M's these days. Leica got it right with the first M, and have been watering it down ever since.
 
drewbarb said:
Hmm. I did exactly the opposite- sold my M4-P and never looked back. I use a pair of M3's as my only M's these days. Leica got it right with the first M, and have been watering it down ever since.
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Unfortunately... But nothing is built like it used to be.

My uncle had a Leica M2 when I was a kid.
I grew up with fabulous memories of that beautiful camera. Ever major family event, there he was snapping away...
He still owns it and uses it although his eyes aren't what they used to be. He's 73 and still going strong.
 
I dropped in on Leica in Ginza, Tokyo today to have the RF on my M4-P realigned. It cost 3,150 yen or about USD$40. But the VF has a bit of haze which is not too bad since I can still focus, but it does cause flare. I asked how much to fix. They quoted a figure of 97,000 yen!! I might as well buy a whole new goddamn camera.

Anyone know how much it will cost me to have the VF on my M4-P fixed by anyone of the well-known figures in the US?

Tnx.
 
FWIW...

You may want to email Youxin in Canton, MA. and ask what he thinks it would cost to either rejuvenate the original finder or replace it. He was able to greatly improve my 1957 M3 without replacement, but the replacement price he quoted was much less than the quotes mentioned here.
 
I saw a very nice looking M4-P today in Shinjuku for 65.000JPY ! Lowest price that I have ever seen.

I had to pay 75.000JPY for a complete overhaul of my M4-P two years ago (a Leica repair man had soaked the camera in oil ...) but at time a M4-P was well over 130000JPY ...

RFluhver said:
I dropped in on Leica in Ginza, Tokyo today to have the RF on my M4-P realigned. It cost 3,150 yen or about USD$40. But the VF has a bit of haze which is not too bad since I can still focus, but it does cause flare. I asked how much to fix. They quoted a figure of 97,000 yen!! I might as well buy a whole new goddamn camera.

Anyone know how much it will cost me to have the VF on my M4-P fixed by anyone of the well-known figures in the US?

Tnx.
Click to expand...
 
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