madcaplaughs Posted March 4 Share #1 Posted March 4 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello, New to the forum. I have been through a few M3s and have had various issues. Recently bought a new one that was verified as serviced by DAG in 2015 and had a clean bill of health. I received it recently in the mail and upon inspection noticed that there was debris of some kind in the viewfinder. Does this look like fungus or delamination? If fungus, I will have it cleaned, otherwise I may look to get this returned. Thank you all! Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/419652-fungus-or-separation-in-viewfinder-leica-m3/?do=findComment&comment=5767055'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 4 Posted March 4 Hi madcaplaughs, Take a look here Fungus or Separation in Viewfinder? Leica M3.. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jerzy Posted March 4 Share #2 Posted March 4 Looks like fungus. Depending where it sits repair may be costly ( if fungus within the optics in rangefinder). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted March 4 Share #3 Posted March 4 Return it. Whatever it is (could well be fungus or even fungus and separation) it shouldn't look like that. Viewfinder repairers are not abundant and a repair could be both slow and expensive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted March 4 Share #4 Posted March 4 Looks to me like a bit of both! Delamination would concern me more as a slight knock could cause total failure. The viewfinder can be rapaired or replaced with a new assembly from Leica (current M type) but both are costly so I would look to return it for a refund and buy a better one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
archive_all Posted March 5 Share #5 Posted March 5 I'd return that without a doubt. It could be an expensive repair and there are many nice M3 cameras out there. FWIW it could be worthwhile to find a reputable dealer, maybe a Leica store as they often have used and vintage inventory. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcaplaughs Posted March 5 Author Share #6 Posted March 5 (edited) Well its off to YYE for repair. I consulted him first before shipping, providing the same photos. He felt confident it could be repaired at a reasonable rate. The seller has agreed to assist with paying for repairs. I will update on how it goes. This is the 5th M3/M2 I have bought, the other 4 all had serious issues and I went through with returning and holding out for a better unit. I must have the worst luck in the world or there just are no good units left on the market. I have paid the going rate and tried to be as discerning as possible but these cameras just have endless issues. This one had been documented as being serviced by Leica and YYE in the past, and the rest of the cosmetics are so clean, it was hard for me to give up on yet another M camera. Such a frustrating process! I have been hunting for almost 2 years now trying to just get a keeper. Edited March 5 by madcaplaughs 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcaplaughs Posted March 5 Author Share #7 Posted March 5 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) 3 hours ago, archive_all said: I'd return that without a doubt. It could be an expensive repair and there are many nice M3 cameras out there. FWIW it could be worthwhile to find a reputable dealer, maybe a Leica store as they often have used and vintage inventory. I've been to the Leica Stores in both Copenhagen Denmark and Washington DC this year. Both stores had extremely limited stock and the M3s there were in poor cosmetic shape but were listed beyond any online prices. Edited March 5 by madcaplaughs Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted March 5 Share #8 Posted March 5 7 hours ago, madcaplaughs said: I've been to the Leica Stores in both Copenhagen Denmark and Washington DC this year. Both stores had extremely limited stock and the M3s there were in poor cosmetic shape but were listed beyond any online prices. I haven't bought "in person" from a Leica dealer or store in 40 years, but do deal with a couple on the web. But most of my collection has been bought used from other sources on-line including eBay. Almost no bad experiences. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmknoble Posted March 11 Share #9 Posted March 11 I got lucky and just purchased one that had been completely overhauled by Leica Wetzlar. It has the clearest finder I have ever seen, new cloth shutter and perfect vulcanite. There baseplate is completely smooth, which may mean it was repainted, but I am using it, not collecting it, so it doesn’t matter. The shutter at 1/15 is perfect. I did pay a pretty penny, but I’ll likely die before it does! I too have had various M3’s and an M2-R I wish I kept, but I think the key is to pre-pay all the headache’s from getting fixed by getting one that was just serviced - not serviced a year, 2, 3, or more ago - because too much is variable and there is no warranty. All the folks that provide a CLA will provide a warranty 6 months or 1 year. However, sometimes there are issues that cannot be CLA’d away, so we still have to know what condition the camera is in. @madcaplaughs, sounds great the YYE can get this resolved for you and hope you have fun with it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcaplaughs Posted March 13 Author Share #10 Posted March 13 (edited) I got it back today from YYE today. Great work, everything cleaned up nicely. He recemented the prism and cleaned out the viewfinder completely. A few small fungus bites remain on the framelines, but hardly noticeable. Overall the cleanest copy ive owned. He also calibrated the shutter for me while it was open. The seller covered most of the cost minus the rush fees, so i think i have a winner now (knock on wood). I was debating on which lens to go with, ultimately I bought an early screw mount Elmar 3.5f as I really liked the results I had when i used a iiif for a little while. I was close to buying a Zeiss 50 Planar ZM that was locally listed, but I think I want to achieve a dated antique look with this camera. My Nikkor 50 on my F3 is razor sharp and fast as is, so I dont really mind the limitations of the early Elmar series. In fact, I like the Elmar more than a summicron collapsible I used a while back, but maybe that was down to condition. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited March 13 by madcaplaughs 4 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/419652-fungus-or-separation-in-viewfinder-leica-m3/?do=findComment&comment=5771467'>More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted March 13 Share #11 Posted March 13 Big transformation! Enjoy the new camera. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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