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doubice · 01/20/07, 08:56 AM

Hi Keith,

What a surprise to find you here - I hope your Leica acquisition program is still going strong and according to plan! I notice the Canon 2/35mm lens that we discussed in the past, sitting on the M2 - nice lens!

As to the differences between the M2 and M3 - the M2 was originally offered as a cheaper alternative to the M3. It had a less expensive to produce top plate, simpler finder, manual film counter, the early versions had no self timer and just a button to rewind the film, instead of the lever like on the M3.

It was the different finder however, that made the camera very popular with journalists who used the 35mm lenses often and preferred the M2's frame display. That is why subsequent Leica M2's re-incorporated the selftimer and the rewind lever of the M3. The camera became very popular not because of its price, but because of what made it different from the M3.

The M4, which followed the M2 and the M3, incorporated the best from both cameras, including the M2's 0.72 finder with an added 135mm frame.

Welcome to the forum!

Kind regards,

Jan

01/20/07, 08:56 AM	#6 (permalink)
doubice Erfahrener Benutzer Join Date: 01/09/04 Location: Vancouver Posts: 732	Re: M3 vs M2 Hi Keith, What a surprise to find you here - I hope your Leica acquisition program is still going strong and according to plan! I notice the Canon 2/35mm lens that we discussed in the past, sitting on the M2 - nice lens! As to the differences between the M2 and M3 - the M2 was originally offered as a cheaper alternative to the M3. It had a less expensive to produce top plate, simpler finder, manual film counter, the early versions had no self timer and just a button to rewind the film, instead of the lever like on the M3. It was the different finder however, that made the camera very popular with journalists who used the 35mm lenses often and preferred the M2's frame display. That is why subsequent Leica M2's re-incorporated the selftimer and the rewind lever of the M3. The camera became very popular not because of its price, but because of what made it different from the M3. The M4, which followed the M2 and the M3, incorporated the best from both cameras, including the M2's 0.72 finder with an added 135mm frame. Welcome to the forum! Kind regards, Jan