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  • 4 weeks later...

My first Leica was a beat up single stroke M3 picked up cheap in Texas.. At some stage in its life some clown replaced the self timer and frame preview levers with M4 type levers but other than that its original, quiet, unobtrusive and still very smooth. Has served me well with sunny 16 and XP2 Super!

 

M3, Summicron 50 v2, XP2 400, Dubai 2011

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My first Leica was a beat up single stroke M3 picked up cheap in Texas.. At some stage in its life some clown replaced the self timer and frame preview levers with M4 type levers but other than that its original, quiet, unobtrusive and still very smooth. Has served me well with sunny 16 and XP2 Super!

 

M3, Summicron 50 v2, XP2 400, Dubai 2011

Lovely portrait ! 

 

"At some stage of its life some clown replaced ....." 

I choked with laughter..

I know exactly what you mean. It is always such a let down when you see this done to a camera. Same goes for god awful pain jobs or pink leatherettes. Why not just let it age normally. 

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  • 1 month later...

Just got my M3 back from service with Alan Starkie in UK. This was a chrome originally, but I had it repainted. It was also threated in a Kravitz ++ style ;) I know some purist will be turned off now, but I like it! This is my daily go-to camera, and I wanted a look I like with no need to worry about ruining any new finish :)

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Just got my M3 back from service with Alan Starkie in UK. This was a chrome originally, but I had it repainted. It was also threated in a Kravitz ++ style ;) I know some purist will be turned off now, but I like it! This is my daily go-to camera, and I wanted a look I like with no need to worry about ruining any new finish :)

The white numbers against a black background are a nice touch on the shot counter.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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Just got my M3 back from service with Alan Starkie in UK. This was a chrome originally, but I had it repainted. It was also threated in a Kravitz ++ style ;) I know some purist will be turned off now, but I like it! This is my daily go-to camera, and I wanted a look I like with no need to worry about ruining any new finish :)

Hey Kad, 

 

How much did it cost you ?

Looks so lovely. 

 

thanks!

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Hey Kad,

 

How much did it cost you ?

Looks so lovely.

 

thanks!

It cost £608 including repaint, CLA and new leather. That was also including shipping, but not import taxes. I leave in Norway so for me that is an additional 25%. Given the work and result I think the price is very good :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have just barely been a Leica owner for 6 days. I can't describe how beautiful the camera is and what a joy such a simple mechanical camera is to use. I immediately finished an Ektar 100 roll with the 35mm F3.5 but I'm not too happy with the scanning quality of the lab I found. So I'm in the process of getting an Epson v600 to scan the developed film myself. So I hope to post some pictures in the film thread soon.

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And no M3 is complete without a trusty 50mm in it's arsenal. I just picked up this Summarit yesterday in excellent condition. No internal dust or haze. Only a slight dent in the metal edge. Being new to the Leica family, hope you all approve! Can't wait to finish my current roll and see the results of the Summarit.

Thankfully, by inspecting the previous color roll, I'm happy to report the camera is working perfectly with zero light leaks.

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Edited by Aguilera85
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Hello Alex, welcome to the forum! Your M3 and the lenses will me a treasure and joy for many years for you. The M3 looks wonderful and the Summarit 1.5/50mm fits very well to it. It is a LTM version with adapter, isn't it?

Lex

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Hello Alex, welcome to the forum! Your M3 and the lenses will me a treasure and joy for many years for you. The M3 looks wonderful and the Summarit 1.5/50mm fits very well to it. It is a LTM version with adapter, isn't it?

Lex

 

Thank you Lex! Yes i am very excited to enjoy the camera for many years to come with my family.

And yes you are right. The Summarit is the older M39 version. The 35mm that came with the camera is also the older screw mount and came with the adaptor. So i can just screw off both lenses when i need to use either.

 

 

I really like the 35 (3.5) Summaron I borrowed from a friend. Great lens.

 

Yes it is a beautiful lens! And i love how compact and light it is. Hardly any lenses can do that nowadays, except a few pancake lenses that i have seen.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I shot Leica M's exclusively for more than a decade from the mid-1990's onward (M6 --> M6ttl --> MP & M7 --> M4 & M5), and possessed some of the best lenses.  I sold the lot, when I discovered the Leicaflex SL.  My pictures with an SLR were a lot better and the equipment cost substantially less.  I recently acquired a Contax mount rangefinder (creative people get bored easily), first Kiev then the original from the 1930's, and that led me back into a Leica M.  Chose a Leica M3 this time and I'm absolutely stunned with the viewfinder.  Had I owned a Leica M3 in the way back, I probably never would've gotten completely Leica rangefinders.  

 

I was always reticent to try a Leica M3, because I wore eyeglasses, but that has turned into a non-issue.  Back in 2011 I wrote on this very thread (under a different account name) how I always wanted to try an M3, because my grandmother owned one.  Now I've done it.  Sometimes you just need to get the equipment in your hands to know if you like it. So if you're reading this and going back and forth on whether to try an M3, definitely do it.  You can always sell if if you don't like it.

 

The need to have "the best" and most expensive lenses I now view as rather silly, especially since I shoot mostly  B&W.  I'm finding, as the years go by, I'm attracted to the image quality of the 'less perfect,' older lenses.  If you haven't done so already, give some of the old Zeiss stuff a whirl.  You'll be impressed with the glass.

 

The Leicaflex SL is still a great camera.  They (I have a couple) just have to move over on the shelves to allow space for another great camera.

Edited by TheBestSLIsALeicaflex
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The Leicas in our house need to play nice with other cameras.  That was actually an M3 I borrowed on a recent trip.  So impressed with it I went out and got my own.

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Edited by TheBestSLIsALeicaflex
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I shot Leica M's exclusively for more than a decade from the mid-1990's onward (M6 --> M6ttl --> MP & M7 --> M4 & M5), and possessed some of the best lenses.  I sold the lot, when I discovered the Leicaflex SL.  My pictures with an SLR were a lot better and the equipment cost substantially less.  I recently acquired a Contax mount rangefinder (creative people get bored easily), first Kiev then the original from the 1930's, and that led me back into a Leica M.  Chose a Leica M3 this time and I'm absolutely stunned with the viewfinder.  Had I owned a Leica M3 in the way back, I probably never would've gotten completely Leica rangefinders.  

 

I was always reticent to try a Leica M3, because I wore eyeglasses, but that has turned into a non-issue.  Back in 2011 I wrote on this very thread (under a different account name) how I always wanted to try an M3, because my grandmother owned one.  Now I've done it.  Sometimes you just need to get the equipment in your hands to know if you like it. So if you're reading this and going back and forth on whether to try an M3, definitely do it.  You can always sell if if you don't like it.

 

The need to have "the best" and most expensive lenses I now view as rather silly, especially since I shoot mostly  B&W.  I'm finding, as the years go by, I'm attracted to the image quality of the 'less perfect,' older lenses.  If you haven't done so already, give some of the old Zeiss stuff a whirl.  You'll be impressed with the glass.

 

The Leicaflex SL is still a great camera.  They (I have a couple) just have to move over on the shelves to allow space for another great camera.

 

Now that you have an M3, you need to try telephoto lenses.  Composing & focusing with 90 and 135mm lenses is a breeze.  The frame-lines in later M's are so small and focus so difficult that a digital M user manual says to stop down when using long lenses in order to get decent focus.  Not so with the M3!

Edited by hendriphile
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  • 3 weeks later...

X-pro 2/Visoflex I with bellows & Elmar 135 optics

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My M3 ELC from local camera shop which was run by ex Leica Midland technician (Bodo) and now by his son Alex.

 

33736418742_0bdca76863_o.jpg

 

It is with Industar-22 lens, which I took care of. Here is the darkroom print from the negative taken with my M3 ELC and this I-22:

 

34013682313_f065a4bcf5_o.jpg

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