Leica M3 Buyers Guide

[Leon Berg]

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Dear ladies and gentlemen, 
 

I'm considering to get a second body, coming from a M6, then MP and now having a M4 only. 
I had a M3 in the beginning of 2021 and liked it very much, but then sold it together with the M6 to combine them and got a pristine, used MP. 

For several reasons I sold it and shortly after that got my M4, which I like very much and which is a keeper. 

I am still kind of a newbie when it's about Leica (started last december to shoot and love it very much, I also develop and scan myself, printing is the next step)

..my first M3 I bought because of cosmetic reasons, because it was younger than the other ones I was offered and was a single stroke, I think it was built 1960. 

Now I have several offers, some glass plate DS, which are strangely more expensive than a 11xxxxxx that I actually prefer because it is from 1965.

I could pick one of 6 or 7 M3 from a dealer I trust, all serviced, some DS and some SS from the 60ies. 

I feel someone or the internet put a bug into my ear now, what would you do? I am probably thinking to much, correct? Is there a "right" decision or an elephant in the
room, when it's about Leica M3, meaning, a fact that would keep you from getting this or that model? Regarding repairs in the future, parts etc.?

I am not looking to collect or resell, I know about the M3 (1m focus, made for 50mm and above) and no, I do not want the M2, although also a gorgeous camera.

 

Thank you all

 

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[a.noctilux]

As user's M3 ...

If it was me and if available CLAed, I'd take the highest serial number that I can.

[Leon Berg]

 

vor 18 Minuten schrieb a.noctilux:

As user's M3 ...

If it was me and if available CLAed, I'd take the highest serial number that I can.

Thank you. The one I want is also the cheapest, which I find confusing. Serviced, really mint and with number 11...... just reserved it. 

The most expensive he has is an early single stroke from 58 for 300,- more.. it might be just from a collectors standpoint, who knows. 

[Mute-on]

1 hour ago, a.noctilux said:

As user's M3 ...

If it was me and if available CLAed, I'd take the highest serial number that I can.

This is good advice. DS have some serviceability issues that do no affect late SS versions. 
 

 

[Leon Berg]

vor 2 Minuten schrieb Mute-on:

This is good advice. DS have some serviceability issues that do no affect late SS versions. 
 

 

Thank you for the advice. I bought it now. 

[UliWer]

2 hours ago, a.noctilux said:

… I'd take the highest serial number that I can.

That‘s what I thought as well, and when I saw an M3 from the very last batch I was sure to buy it. Though then I discovered that they left out the collar of the release knob for the lens with the last M3 bodies. The M2 also does not have this collar and it happens that you release the lens inadvertedly. So the last M3 were a little bit worse than the precedessors in a tiny but important detail. Therefore my advise would be to shun numbers higher than 11566031. 

[mikemgb]

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14 minutes ago, UliWer said:

That‘s what I thought as well, and when I saw an M3 from the very last batch I was sure to buy it. Though then I discovered that they left out the collar of the release knob for the lens with the last M3 bodies. The M2 also does not have this collar and it happens that you release the lens inadvertedly. So the last M3 were a little bit worse than the precedessors in a tiny but important detail. Therefore my advise would be to shun numbers higher than 11566031. 

As an M2 owner for several years I have to say I have never released the lens accidentally, I didn’t even know this is a possibility. Personally I wouldn’t worry about the absence of the collar. 

[a.noctilux]

Collar for release button ...

not on late M3 !

I wondered why Leica added this device to MP when I bought one.

Having had the former Leica M without this device, I never know that this can be there to prevent unwanted lens release.

 

This must be useful, as on later M digital or film, this device is always on them.

[kivis]

Love, love all the M3's I've owned. Sold all but the last one for stupid reasons. The last one I could never get it "right", so I sold it and an M6 to buy a new (actually really new (never done that before)) M-A. Now if I am not happy about it, at least I can remind myself that I am stupid. 😅

[a.noctilux]

Me again, forgot to say that wonder x0.72 VF of new design comparing to older ( ...still good enough ) M4/M2/M3

M-A /MP plus x1.25 mag. is something to try out for 50mm onward.

 

I fancy x0.85 VF ( to mimic M3 ! ) on my ex-MP but in real use 0.72 VF can give more comfort in everyday use,

when I need more magn., the x1.25 is there.

[Leon Berg]

Thank you everyone for your advice. Mine is from 1965 and it has the collar.

I have tried the Magnifier 1.25 and also 1.4 and don’t like at all to have an additional extension on the viewfinder. 
 

here in Germany the M2s start getting more expensive than the M3 in same condition.

I guess, because people won’t be able to use wider lenses. I have the M4 for that. For me, the M3 is the most beautiful M. 
The M2 and M4 come next. 
 

I think, it probably doesn’t matter so much if a camera is 56 or 62 years old, because it depends on how it was treated and serviced etc.

I feel the most comfortable now with my purchase, because it looked the best, it was the cheapest, serviced, the serial number starts with 11 (OK, I know, this might be just a bug in my ear) 

All these cameras are old, it probably is more rational to sell both old bodies and combine it into one new M-A.
 

And maybe the old cameras last for another 50-100 years, who knows, there is probably no perfect decision. 
At least both my bodies are serviced and have a 12 month warranty.

[andrew01]

I would narrow it down to the single strokes, then go to the shop and try each one.  Pick the one that feels smoothest and has the brightest rangefinder patch.  These cameras are 60 years old and can feel different due to the amount and type of use they have had, service history etc.

Edited November 7, 2021 by andrew01

[Leon Berg]

vor 50 Minuten schrieb andrew01:

I would narrow it down to the single strokes, then go to the shop and try each one.  Pick the one that feels smoothest and has the brightest rangefinder patch.  These cameras are 60 years old and can feel different due to the amount and type of use they have had, service history etc.

Good point. Can't do it, he is too far away. But I bought my first M3 from the same dealer, he is trustworthy and has a workshop himself. 

There is an original Leica Store close by that sells an M3 with a M4 viewfinder. Also a 11xxxxxx
Was considering that one, too, but prefer the .91 viewfinder. 

[plaidshirts]

12 hours ago, Leon Berg said:

 

Thank you. The one I want is also the cheapest, which I find confusing. Serviced, really mint and with number 11...... just reserved it. 

The most expensive he has is an early single stroke from 58 for 300,- more.. it might be just from a collectors standpoint, who knows. 

Confusing indeed and congrats on your new find. If you happen to see an original black paint M3 at that shop cheaper than the others please let me know…

[Leon Berg]

It’s here. It squeaks a bit when advancing the film.. you feel that it’s an older camera .. but the most beautiful  and the viewfinder is a dream for a 50mm user!!! Forgot how much I love it 😀

I think about selling my M4 and 35. because I rarely use them as much as the 50mm. Probably  a second M3 would be m choice. For 50 + 90

love it! 😊

[hilm3]

I almost exclusively shoot with a 50mm. I've had an M3 for years, but prefer using an M2 for 50mm. There is something about the M3 viewfinder with the big, fat, rounded, permanent 50mm frame lines that I dislike. I know I am in a teeny, tiny minority with this opinion. M7 is nice for 50mm; M6 less so.

All that said, my M3 sn: 1073xxxx from 1963 and CLA'd for the first time in 2016 by YYe is amazingly clear, smooth, and a great shooter. If I 

[Leon Berg]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb hilm3:

I almost exclusively shoot with a 50mm. I've had an M3 for years, but prefer using an M2 for 50mm. There is something about the M3 viewfinder with the big, fat, rounded, permanent 50mm frame lines that I dislike. I know I am in a teeny, tiny minority with this opinion. M7 is nice for 50mm; M6 less so.

All that said, my M3 sn: 1073xxxx from 1963 and CLA'd for the first time in 2016 by YYe is amazingly clear, smooth, and a great shooter. If I 

I have never tried the M2. I like the M4 viewfinder for all my lenses (35-50-90) but just fell in love with the viewfinder of the M3 again,
because of its almost full coverage when shooting 50.
I will probably get another M3 and sell the M4. Don't like the knob and lever (1st world problem, I know, but I had problems with several ghost rolls with the M4
and also aesthetically I am more a fan of the old design) - besides that, the usability of the M3 is amazing for me. 

Also I find myself shooting less and less 35mm. I am just my own personal Bresson. No,  I am not embarrassed of that statement. 😆

[hilm3]

On 11/9/2021 at 9:52 AM, hilm3 said:

I almost exclusively shoot with a 50mm. I've had an M3 for years, but prefer using an M2 for 50mm. There is something about the M3 viewfinder with the big, fat, rounded, permanent 50mm frame lines that I dislike. I know I am in a teeny, tiny minority with this opinion. M7 is nice for 50mm; M6 less so.

All that said, my M3 sn: 1073xxxx from 1963 and CLA'd for the first time in 2016 by YYe is amazingly clear, smooth, and a great shooter. If I 

So just noticed I left this post hanging in mid air. If I……….had to chose a body for a 50mm it would be the M2 for its single frame line and the ample space around it to see the subject. 

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[earleygallery]

On 11/9/2021 at 5:52 PM, hilm3 said:

There is something about the M3 viewfinder with the big, fat, rounded, permanent 50mm frame lines that I dislike. I know I am in a teeny, tiny minority with this opinion.

 

 

I had an M3 years ago and although a lovely camera, with a dual range Summicron, I never really liked using it. It took a while to realise it was those framelines that just put me off, I found them distracting (I never made prints with rounded corners!).

 

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Everybody,

Just for people who might not know the reason for the rounded corners of the 50mm frameline of an M3:

This was done originally because when the M3 was introduced, a lot of Leica camera users were also users of transparency/slide films, like Kodachrome, where the processed transparencies/slides were returned in mounts where the image displayed had rounded corners. 

And the view thru the 50mm frame with rounded corners approximates what is visible when a person looks at a mounted slide.

If the slides were ordered to be processed & returned unmounted: The images captured showed the image to the corners.

Best Regards,

Michael
 

Edited November 11, 2021 by Michael Geschlecht