Jungle Jim
Leica Fat Old Men's Club
I just wanted to thank the users of this forum for all of their invaluable advice. Especially merciful, FrankS and SolaresLarrave on their comments, likes and dislikes about the M3. I've spent the past several weeks going over the 28 (now 29) pages of information on this forum. Thanks to you I am now a proud owner of an M3, serial number 964XXX, which makes it from 1959. I am just 3 years older than the M3 LOL!
It was CLA'd by DAK a little over a year ago and it had new black leather put on it from cameraleather.com by the previous owner. From your advice I checked the rangefinder and viewfinder for signs of degluing and made sure the sight was bright and contrasty. I've added a recent 50mm Summicron with the detachable hood and tab from Canada that John from FocalPoint Lens had for sale. (Bit banged up and paint gone from places but the glass is excellent according to John.) Also picked up a mint 90mm Elmarit with 6 new B+W filters from someone on eb*y. Guess he didn't like rangefinders.
I've been shooting for 36 years. Started with my father's Agfa rangefinder, then progressed to the Nikkormat FTN SLR, then the Nikon F2. By 1995 my tired eyes could no longer focus on the ground glass prism so the whole collection went to my wife who still uses it today. I switched to Canon with the USM lens and fast autofocusing. Health problems (bad asthma) has slowed me down and a recent trip to Merida in the Yucatan carrying 2 Canon 1N bodies and 3 prime lenses in a backpack in 90 degree heat and 90 percent humidity didn't help. So I decided it was time to go lighter.
I was at a wedding party for my niece when I ran into a guest who was shooting with an M3. She let me try it out. The viewfinder that even my eyes could see! Eureka!! Light, portable, fantastic glass. But it was almost as old as I was. So it was time for some research. And I found this website and all of your valuable advice.
Sold my Canon 500mm lens for wildlife photography (It was getting waaay too heavy to haul around) and started shopping.
Again, my sincere thanks to all of you here on the Leica forum. I'll be shooting lots of film to get used to the new controls. The Canons will stay where they are for product shots and Leica will be my walkabout camera.
BTW, I think I am suffering from a bad case of GAS. Thought I had everything I needed for the M3 but I now have to search for a good, lightweight, waterproof case for traveling. Oh well, that's half the fun of a new system! 😀
It was CLA'd by DAK a little over a year ago and it had new black leather put on it from cameraleather.com by the previous owner. From your advice I checked the rangefinder and viewfinder for signs of degluing and made sure the sight was bright and contrasty. I've added a recent 50mm Summicron with the detachable hood and tab from Canada that John from FocalPoint Lens had for sale. (Bit banged up and paint gone from places but the glass is excellent according to John.) Also picked up a mint 90mm Elmarit with 6 new B+W filters from someone on eb*y. Guess he didn't like rangefinders.
I've been shooting for 36 years. Started with my father's Agfa rangefinder, then progressed to the Nikkormat FTN SLR, then the Nikon F2. By 1995 my tired eyes could no longer focus on the ground glass prism so the whole collection went to my wife who still uses it today. I switched to Canon with the USM lens and fast autofocusing. Health problems (bad asthma) has slowed me down and a recent trip to Merida in the Yucatan carrying 2 Canon 1N bodies and 3 prime lenses in a backpack in 90 degree heat and 90 percent humidity didn't help. So I decided it was time to go lighter.
I was at a wedding party for my niece when I ran into a guest who was shooting with an M3. She let me try it out. The viewfinder that even my eyes could see! Eureka!! Light, portable, fantastic glass. But it was almost as old as I was. So it was time for some research. And I found this website and all of your valuable advice.
Sold my Canon 500mm lens for wildlife photography (It was getting waaay too heavy to haul around) and started shopping.
Again, my sincere thanks to all of you here on the Leica forum. I'll be shooting lots of film to get used to the new controls. The Canons will stay where they are for product shots and Leica will be my walkabout camera.
BTW, I think I am suffering from a bad case of GAS. Thought I had everything I needed for the M3 but I now have to search for a good, lightweight, waterproof case for traveling. Oh well, that's half the fun of a new system! 😀
