Leica M3: yellowish RF-patch normal or not?

[Nitrox]

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Hi Group!

I‘ve got a very clean Leica M3 (CLAed one Year ago, high s/n). The only thing that worries me about this camera is that its rangefinder patch has a slight warmish tint. The camera was checked at Leica in Wetzlar a few days ago: They said everything is perfect, and the somewhat yellowish RF-patch is normal.

However: A few weeks ago I asked Peter from CCR Luton about the patch. He said that a brownish patch is NOT normal and needs to be resilvered (he offers this service).

So now I‘m confused. Since the patch on my MP is more contrasty and shows no yellowing, I wonder if the resilvering is worth the money or not (and wether it inproves anything or not).

What do you think?

Thanks!

Peter

Edited November 9, 2017 by Nitrox

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Nitrox,

 

Some, if not all, M3 rangefinder patches had a color cast which was created intentionally by Leitz.

 

The thought at the time was that the slight loss of brightness was more than compensated for by the increase in contrast.

 

Some people think it is a good idea. Other people disagree.

 

Sometimes, over time, the range/viewfinder image can darken.

 

What is useful or/& acceptable for you is something to be determined individually.

 

You might try looking thru various M3's & later M's such as 4's & 5's to see which works better for you.

 

A slightly darker but contrastier image. Which may, or may not, have darkened further.

 

Or a brighter image with less contrast.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael 

Edited November 9, 2017 by Michael Geschlecht

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[Maarten]

Peter, the patch of your 50 years old M3 is slightly yellow. I also would say this is normal. CCR Luton speaks of a brownish patch, these can be resilvered. The difference between a bit yellow and really brownish is immedeately visible. I can only recommend to put a film in your camera and enjoy the feel and sound. Stop worrying!

Maarten

[UliWer]

Comparing my M3 with the M2 - which is two years younger and had a CLA by Leica - I don‘t see any difference other than the bigger version of the M3 patch.

 

Though I have seen M3 rangefinders with very yellowish almost muddy looking patches of the rangefinder. There are some advises in the net, that first one should do before buying an M3 is checking the color of the rangefinder. It‘s said that the yellow colour is caused by deteriorating glue of the prisms in the rangefinder - some say that it‘s irreparable, others say a technician could clean and reglue the prisms - though this might be at least as expensive as building in a new finder, or even getting a better M3.

[Nitrox]

Well, resilvering costs approx. 300 Euros, and then I'd have an almost mint, perfectly working M3. So it would be worth the price. 

 

Thanks for your comments, although I'm as smart as before. So many posts, so many opinions :-). 

Does anyone have any experience with the resilvering CCR Luton offers?

[jerzy]

It‘s said that the yellow colour is caused by deteriorating glue of the prisms in the rangefinder - some say that it‘s irreparable, others say a technician could clean and reglue the prisms .

Canada Balsam used to cement prisms is natural resin and tends to get yellowish with the time. Modern glues , UV light hardened, are told not to change the color. It is possible to recement the prisms but it is risky, during prism separation and cleaning surfaces the silvering gets very often damaged. I have done it on several prisms that were partially separated with partially damaged silvering. In order to separate prisms you need to heat it up to 150-180 Celsius, apply some force to separate and than clean the Canada balsam. During this process very often the undamaged silverinig got damaged. Silvering may be restored, however nowadays it is rather alu vapor which is applied in vacuum environment. Afterwards regluing, mounting in RF, adjusting, etc, no wonder that it costs that much.