Weight of M3

[RogerK]

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Wanting, after many many years, to get back to B&W film photography, I splurged and bought an M3 with a 50/2 Summicron for portrait and other work. (I used to own a IIIc.) Now, as I'm old if not frail, I find its weight of ca. 2 lb almost prohibitive for enjoyment. So I'm thinking of switching to a IIIf with a collapsible Summicron. Any advice welcome. (I live in France.)

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[Huss]

You could replace the Summicron with a lighter lens.  The Summicron 40 is very light, as is the black finish 50 2.8 collapsible. The advantages of the M3 are quite significant over the IIIF - ease of viewing and focusing.  Easier loading. Better film advance and shutter speed action.

If you carry the camera using a strap across one shoulder and down by your side, it really distributes the weight and makes it more manageable.  Then you only need to deal w the weight when putting the camera to eye.

Edited June 27, 2022 by Huss

[DoubleE]

My M3 with a 50 DR Summicron is pretty heavy, feels very stable though.  When I switch to my Voightlander 40 1.4, the whole package seems much lighter.

[TomB_tx]

If the M3 is too heavy, don't try Leicaflex! I like the weight, as the mass gives some stabilizing to my tendency to shake. Lighter cameras are harder to hold steady.

[earleygallery]

Buy a nice 5cm f3.5 Elmar and LTM to M adaptor. You can't get much lighter than one of those. If you still don't like the weight of the camera you can sell the M3, get a lllc/f and you have the lens already.

[ktmrider2]

Smallest and lightest 35 camera that I know is the Olympus OM series.  Metal is heavy.  Don't know if there is significant weight savings using an M4P/2 over M3 but zinc is lighter than brass.  An M3 body and single 50 is about as light as a Leica M gets, unless the lens is a Noctilux.  Met a 20 something last week while motorcycling south of Anchorage and he pulls the original Canon F1 out of the bag-talk about a tank compared to my M4.

Edited June 28, 2022 by ktmrider2
added comments

[arichter]

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Just checked my M3 + Summarit 50/2.4 + lens cap + standard strap. Comes at ~830g (1 lb 13 oz). This is the lightest config i have for the M3 and this setup goes with me to hiking trips.

[Fotoklaus]

Some weights I took to compare:

Leica M3: 576g

Leica M4-2: 520g

Leica Summicron 50 (rigid): 257g

Leica Summicron 50 (Type3): 209g

Leica Elmar 2.8/50: 205g

Leica Elmar-M 2.8/50: 209g

Pentax ME- Super with SMC-Pentax 50/1.4: 684g

Rollei 35S with Sonnar 2.8/40 (outstanding lens, but no rangefinder): 333g

Robot Royal 36: 700g (Rangefinder, Spring Motor, but heavy)

Sonnar 50/2 for Robot: 276g

 

So i would take the M4-2 with the newer Elmar-M 2.8/ 50 as a lightweight but also very good to handle combination.

The lens is super sharp, collapsible and lightweight, the M4-2 has a good rangefinder, is built to last with it´steel gears and is lighter than an M3.

This combination weighs in at 687g, the M3 with the Summicron rigid is about 833g.

The collapsible Summicron is heavier than the Type 3 or 4 as, or even the Elmar-M as i read, so no real advantage there.

 

Edited June 28, 2022 by Fotoklaus

[wizard]

vor 12 Stunden schrieb earleygallery:

Buy a nice 5cm f3.5 Elmar and LTM to M adaptor.

You beat me to it! That would have been (and still is) exactly my advice. In fact, this is how I started my own Leica photography. Borrowed my father's f3.5/5cm Elmar and mounted it to my M3, which I was able to buy at a great price back then, via the LTM to M adaptor. Weight savings over a rigid Summicron are significant, and the whole set feels even lighter still, as it is not as front heavy. Give it a try, you will be surprised at how good this combination works (I used it for several years before finally switching to a collapsible Summicron 50).

[Fotoklaus]

Two new lenses that may be an option:

Voigtländer Heliar 40/2.8: 131g with M- Bayonet:

https://www.voigtlaender.de/objektive/vm/40-mm-128-nokton-asphaerisch/

 

Voigtländer Heliar 50/3.5: 187g

https://www.voigtlaender.de/objektive/vm/heliar-135-50-mm-asph/

[Aryel]

A good strap can help a lot as well. 

[250swb]

Also use 24 exposure film instead of the heavier 36 exposure.

[TomB_tx]

43 minutes ago, 250swb said:

Also use 24 exposure film instead of the heavier 36 exposure.

Of course. I'e gone further and usually bulk-load 18 exposure rolls to go with my shorter memory.

[Huss]

3 hours ago, 250swb said:

Also use 24 exposure film instead of the heavier 36 exposure.

Also B&W film is lighter than colour film.  With B&W, you just have the weight of black, and white.  With colour film, you have to carry around all those different colours as well as black and white.

[a.noctilux]

On 6/27/2022 at 3:29 PM, RogerK said:

Wanting, after many many years, to get back to B&W film photography, I splurged and bought an M3 with a 50/2 Summicron for portrait and other work. (I used to own a IIIc.) Now, as I'm old if not frail, I find its weight of ca. 2 lb almost prohibitive for enjoyment. So I'm thinking of switching to a IIIf with a collapsible Summicron. Any advice welcome. (I live in France.)

Hello Roger, welcome,

nice decision in either way, IIIf or IIIg about as light or why not  another M.

I'd try M4-2 (as suggested post #8), mine is heavier 😉 423g and Summarit-M 2.5/50 + 180g (not as light as IIIc but more user friendly, not that LTM is hard to use if 100g less).

...And nylon strap 14312 prefered to leather strap.

 

Arnaud

[Martin B]

The little culprit of heavier camera weight will soon be surpassed by the advantages this camera brought me - best 0.91x viewfinder magnification when shooting with 50 mm or longer focal lengths of all Leica cameras even modern ones. It is the only Leica M which has this rangefinder - owning several Leica Ms, I consider it the best rangefinder for critical focusing. No patch flare issues either like in later M series models. Very rigid camera and does not require a battery either. Cold weather - no problem!

Get ready to vest some money for potentially needed repairs - in older M3s the shutter now seems to break often (happened to me) if it wasn't already fixed by a former owner. The repair shop told me they are now getting many M3s with the same issue.