luigi bertolotti Posted April 30, 2012 Share #21 Posted April 30, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I considered including the Contarex on my very select list, but decided not to. Partial list of reasons: Craftsmanship always takes account of aesthetics and ergonomics. Craftsmanship always relies at least as much on experience as on theory. Craftsmanship doesn't have with a high factory defect rate or warranty repair rate. Read Servicing a Zeiss Contarex Body to get an idea of what the Zeiss engineers wrought. Impressive reading, thanks for the link: indeed the only lab in Italy that still services Contarex has a precious number of original special tools for maintenance : to be honest, the owner (an aged man who used to be the official Zeiss maintenance shop from the time - 1973 - when Zeiss Ikon closed the operations) told me that the factory defect rate was not so high... apart the meters which really never were completely reliable : he says that, after all, the Bullseye' selenium was the more reliable... the TTL one of my Contarex Super works fine till the battery isn't drained... which takes a pair of days of amateur shooting... let's say around 50 measurements or even less... ). But he admits also that repairing was a very delicate task... and more and more today, when some parts are simply unfindable : probably, shouldn't Zeiss Ikon had closed (and the Contarex surely had a significant role in the decision) that hugely complicated camera could be still maintainable... at stellar costs : Zeiss, when Contarex was announced said with PROUD () that it was made by "over 1000 parts finely machined"... they really understood the market's evolution... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 30, 2012 Posted April 30, 2012 Hi luigi bertolotti, Take a look here Leica M3. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
to_arch Posted June 1, 2012 Share #22 Posted June 1, 2012 Hi guys, This is my first post and I am excited to tell everyone this is my first Leica (M3)! It is not just a camera and a piece of art! I just put in a roll of ASA 400 to start shoting today. I just have a dumb question to ask because I don't have a manuel. How am I setup the ASA on the camera or there was no such function for the camera. I tried goodle search but seem like no one mentioned it, may be too dumb to ask! Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
}{B Posted June 1, 2012 Share #23 Posted June 1, 2012 Welcome to the forum. The M3 has probably the best viewfinder of all the M series providing that you do not want to use any lens wider than 50mm. As for setting the film speed this is not necessary and in fact is not possible with the M3 as it has no built in light meter. You will either have to use a separate meter or guess the exposure. I use a hand held meter with my M3 and take incident light readings. If you are not familiar with hand held meters a bit of online research may be necessary. Leica did produce a meter that fitted into the camera's hotshoe but these are now only available second hand however Voigtlander have produced a similar meter. See link Voigtlander VC II Enjoy your M3. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted June 1, 2012 Share #24 Posted June 1, 2012 Hi guys,This is my first post and I am excited to tell everyone this is my first Leica (M3)! It is not just a camera and a piece of art! I just put in a roll of ASA 400 to start shoting today. I just have a dumb question to ask because I don't have a manuel. How am I setup the ASA on the camera or there was no such function for the camera. I tried goodle search but seem like no one mentioned it, may be too dumb to ask! Thanks! I hope that I do understand your question. As the M3 does not have a built-in meter of any kind, there is no such setting on the camera. There is a film reminder indicator on the back, but its only function is to ... remind you of what type and speed of film you put in the camera. The earliest M3 cameras had indicator dials with ASA values (roughly = ISO) of 6–200. This was later changed to 4–1000 and then to 4–1300, as film speeds increased. (Kodak Tri-X was originally rated at ASA 200.) Actual film speed settings were done on the Leicameter, or alternatively on your hand meter, which many preferred. You couldn't have both a Leicameter and a wide angle finder in the accessory shoe at the same time. Or if you use a 'Voigtländer' meter, you set it on the meter – one of the two dials on top. The old man from the Selenium Age Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
to_arch Posted June 1, 2012 Share #25 Posted June 1, 2012 Thanks everyone for the quick respond, I am using a handheld meter and just want to make sure there is not setting for the film ASA. I have the early model and the film indicator is up to ASA200. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted June 2, 2012 Share #26 Posted June 2, 2012 Thanks everyone for the quick respond, I am using a handheld meter and just want to make sure there is not setting for the film ASA. I have the early model and the film indicator is up to ASA200. Without any built-in meter there is nothing for a film speed setting to do – except of course to keep the user posted as to what film he put into the camera last Friday. All M cameras up to and including the M4-P had such a 'reminding device' on the back door, except the M5, which had a TTL meter and thus a functional film speed setting dial (on the top of the top plate). The M6 of 1984 and then the M6TTL, M7 and MP have a functional film speed dial on the back that looks a lot like the old M3/M2/M4 reminder dials. The old man from the Brass Age Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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