Underwhelmed by the M3

[jamin-b]

I bought mine used, on line from an eBay auction a few years ago of the estate of a Yale professor who was the first owner and had used over the years apparently for vacations and with no evidence it had ever been serviced. Since then I have had zero - ZERO - issues: rangefinder is perfectly on, shutter speeds down to 1 sec. are on, clean viewfinder, film never jams or gets cut. Even the slight crumbling of some of the vulcanite is to my mind a feature rather than a problem. Every time I pick it up to my eye and look through I am wowed. I have Bessa R3A, R4A and L cameras also, which I really appreciate in their own way, and my Leica CL is, predictably, with DAG repair at the moment, but I am definitely a convert in the cult of the M3...for 50mm or 90mm on a rangefinder it can't be beat.

 

[Huss]

Some people like filet mignon, others like spam.

As for me? I'm a pescatarian pastafarian.

 

[ForestCap]

Most people use cameras to "search" a picture by looking through the viewfinder. However, the Leica M3 is a camera that "takes" the picture once you've found it by looking through your eyes.

Erik.

What about a Yashica Electro 35? You don't even need to change shutter speed. It really "takes" the picture.

 

[teddy]

Leica for me is all about the look, the rendering of the lenses. So, yes. All about the lenses. Then their build and precision. Then I look at the camera. Precision. Nothing like it. I also enjoy Olympus - it's a very fun camera. Lovely viewfinder, as good as the Leica SL. I have acquired lots of lenses for the OM System, but incomparable to Leica and the rangefinder. One type of camera has advantages over the other - but if you can't appreciate the M3 to like it enough, well - you have a heavier wallet either way. 🙂

 

[Erik van Straten]

What about a Yashica Electro 35? You don't even need to change shutter speed. It really "takes" the picture.

It is a good camera, but lacks the feel of an M3. The lens is nice, but is not a Summicron.

Erik.

 

[css9450]

The best film rangefinder that Leica ever made was probably the M5 which failed largely because it wasn't an M3.

I am convinced the M5 failed because it didn't look like an M3 (or M4).

 

[Tom R]

Viewed differently ...

Viewed differently ...

Okay, I know that I'll probably be excommunicated from the Church of Leica and all, but I recently picked up an M3 and I really don't know why people love this so much. It's mechanically beautiful, the DS winder is butter smooth, the rangefinder is bright and on the money. Yet it's also heavy, and for all the mechanical goodness of it all, it's harder to load film, harder to set shutter speeds and the lovely viewfinder really isn't hundreds of dollars more lovely than the Bessa R2 or my Olympus OM-1n.

I just don't understand all the "M3 is the best camera in the world" hype. What am I missing? Why all the love?

(Mine will probably show up in the classifieds soon)

I used a SS M3 for two decades, along with other film Leica bodies, but never thought that it had any "magical" properties, other than a nice viewfinder to support Leica (50 and 90mm) lenses. In fact, I sold my last M3 body years ago when my working environment required faster film handling and the need to accommodate 28mm lenses, etc.

You never mentioned anything about the photographs that you made with this camera? If the dimensions, weight, or basic controls have impacted your ability to create the kinds of photograph that you envision then what difference does the engraving on the top plate, or the "provenance" make?

 

[Range-rover]

Perhaps "money pit" isn't the best way to put it. But, Leica film cameras are expensive, and they are still only for 35mm film.
These days, that same money can buy you an excellent medium format camera.

That's what I did, a friend sold me his Hasselblad 500CM I just needed a
lens (he had a 150) and that was it, love the square!

 

[raid]

I switched to RF photography after getting a mint M3 with a few lenses that looked like new. A gentleman had bought this set in Germany new. The receipts were still included with the (very old looking) paper wraps. I was mesmerized. I entered the "Leica World" once I held that M3 in my hands. I never looked back. It was a good feeling.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Leica M3 1038265, Summicron-M 50mm f/2 v4 3593652, 400-2TMY.

The M3 offers very precise framing with a 50mm lens. You will not only see what will be in the picture, but also what you are leaving out.

Erik.

 

[JeffS7444]

M3 is a beautiful object, particularly ones built in the late 1950s or so where they still had details like the bright chrome shutter speed dials, but new enough to have frame preview lever. But as a picture-taking machine, there are a lot of other options available, and most of them are more accommodating to wide angle lenses.

If I had to buy another film Leica today, perhaps I'd try an M7 with standard 0.72x viewfinder because I grew comfy using "A" mode with M8 and M9.

 

[Bill Clark]

I bought an M3 a while back, thinking I would like to own the first M rangefinder camera. Using it I like the viewfinder, especially while using a 50 Summicron lens. It also has a different sound when clicking the shutter compared to my other M cameras. For me it is easy to load film.

At any rate, I like the M3.

 

[DanskDynamit]

the M3 is sex, in brass.

 

[jaapv]

Isn`t that valid for all cameras?

No. With an RF/optical viewfinder type camera you see the world in front of you and snip moments, with an EVF camera, for instance, you see the photograph you are going to take and record it.

 

[ptpdprinter]

No. With an RF/optical viewfinder type camera you see the world in front of you and snip moments, with an EVF camera, for instance, you see the photograph you are going to take and record it.

How romantic.

 

[Erik van Straten]

How romantic.

Well, romantic ...

Another advantage of the M3 (and the other Leica M's for film) is the extremely short interval between pushing the button and the start of the exposure. No SLR or digital camera comes even close.

Erik.

 

[Hogarth Ferguson]

I also bought an M3 after selling my nikon s3. The s3 was awesome and I'd love one again, but my example had a dim patch, which apparently most do.

I picked up the m3, thinking I'd never sell it, that it would live up to the hype and likely surpass the hype. Like you said, it was a stellar camera in build and so forth, I just did not connect with it. I didn't like it. I tried to like it and use it all the time, it just ended up getting sold to a friend who has used it extensively for years now, so that was good.

 

[Larry Cloetta]

Well, romantic ...

Another advantage of the M3 (and the other Leica M's for film) is the extremely short interval between pushing the button and the start of the exposure. No SLR or digital camera comes even close.

Erik.

Not even close? Wow, those are some pretty slow SLRs. Old lube? Unless photographing bullets in flight, from the side, they should really be pretty close.

 

[ptpdprinter]

There is always a time lag as the SLR mirror flips up before exposure. That is why no one has ever taken an iconic photograph with an SLR.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Not even close? Wow, those are some pretty slow SLRs. Old lube? Unless photographing bullets in flight, from the side, they should really be pretty close.

No really not, the M Leica is always much faster, just like an old two eyed Rolleiflex.

Erik.