Leica M3 framelines?

[mhbphoto]

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I'm just trying to get straight how the M3 framelines work. With a lens off it stays in the 135mm position. When you put a 50mm or 90mm lens on, framelines change automatically. So when you move framelines selector lever with lens off, the lever is supposed to spring back to 135mm position, correct? Is the lever just a preview? So attaching a lens is the only way to actually change framelines? Thanks in advance!

[TomB_tx]

Yes, the frame mechanism is spring loaded so that it follows the rotation of the key lug on the lens. So with no lens attached it springs to the 135 position, meaning both the 50 and 135 frames are visible. (On the M3 the 50 frame is always there, unlike later models.) 50, 90, and 135 lenses all automatically bring up the correct frame, but the preview lever can always over-ride the automatic selection. So if you are using a 50 you can shift the preview lever both ways and compare what a 90 or 135 would cover, to see if you want to change lenses.

I always preferred the later models with at least a 35 frame, as 35, 50, and 90 were my basic set. So even though the M3 was still available new when I bought my first Leica, I chose the M4 instead.