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Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 12:54:52 No.2940581 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>2940582 >>2940599 >>2940608 >>2940645 >>2941318

>BUYING USED LEICAS

I want to get an M3, but have no experience with rangefinders or even film slrs in general.

Are there any places online that are reputable (won't sell me a brick) and won't rape me on price?

Also, what 35mm lens would have been used on an M3 in it's time?

Thanks

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 12:55:57 No.2940582 Report

Quoted By:

>>2940581
KEH

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 13:59:47 No.2940599 Report

Quoted By: >>2940610

>>2940581
Buy from a shop with a returns policy.

Buy the most expensive you can afford as opposed to the cheapest you think you can get away with.

Ask for cla records.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 14:03:39 No.2940602 Report

Quoted By: >>2941045

why the M3?

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO 20160214_153132.jpg, 209KiB, 1200x611

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 14:24:08 No.2940608 Report

Quoted By: >>2940615 >>2940624

>>2940581
KEH is the best online camera retailer, no questions. I've bought at least a dozen cameras and lenses from them over the years and have always been satisfied. The two times there were issues (got wrong item), they handled the returns quickly and easily.

If you're looking for a camera to use as opposed to a collector's item, get their BGN grade. They rate conservatively, and there's no point spending extra for a camera in perfect cosmetic condition if you're planning to use it. Pic related, second from left is my BGN grade M3 from KEH.

Any of the 35mm lenses with goggles were designed for use with the M3. The Summicron and Summaron come to mind, but there may be others. But if 35mm is your preferred focal length, get an M4. The M3 by far the best of any Leica finder, but it's optimized for 50mm lenses and doesn't have 35mm framelines.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 14:31:26 No.2940610 Report

Quoted By:

>>2940599
>Buy the most expensive you can afford as opposed to the cheapest you think you can get away with.
For collectors, yes. For users, no.

>Ask for cla records.
Hah, good luck with that.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 14:36:12 No.2940615 Report

Quoted By: >>2940630

>>2940608
I bought a F2 from KEH, and its meter's photoresistors were clapped out to the point where it'd be about three stops off below EV6, with a f/2 lens. Shipping back would've been 40€, so I didn't bother with returns.

Suffice it to say that I was partially jew'd.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 15:04:55 No.2940624 Report

Quoted By: >>2940636 >>2940643

>>2940608

Thanks for the tips. Do you have any idea where the best place to get a CLA for a Leica would be? And what about price?

Also, thanks for tips about the 35mm, I am pretty set on the M3, what would then be a good 50mm option? Something small, f/2 or less would be fine.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 15:08:17 No.2940630 Report

Quoted By: >>2940644

>>2940615
That's just the nature of buying old cameras. They check that the cameras work, but they don't overhaul them. You'd he hard pressed to find any 40 year old meter that didn't need adjustment, and you'll usually need to get them modified to use modern batteries as well. Same goes for mechanically timed shutters and other things that need periodic maintenance. That's why people say to factor the price of a CLA into what you're willing to pay for an old camera.

If you don't want to risk having to return something, you can buy from someone like Sherry Krauter and have the camera CLAd before it ships, but you will pay a considerable premium for it.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 15:19:52 No.2940636 Report

Quoted By:

>>2940624
The 50mm Summicron is the classic lens for the M3, and has always been one of the jewels of Leica's lens lineup. The 50mm collapsible Elmar is smaller and lighter, but bit slower at f/2.8 and not quite as good optically.

I have 3 Leicas, but have never bothered to have one CLAd. Rangefinderforum, APUG, and photo.net all have active and experienced Leica user bases and lots of CLA recommendation threads.

The main thing a CLA would do on an M3 is adjust shutter timing and calibrate the rangefinder. You can test RF calibration yourself easily. Checking shutter timing is a little tougher, but expect the the fastest and slowest speeds to be off by a bit. It probably won't matter if you're shooting B&W film, but could be an issue for color slide film. I used an oscilloscope to check the timing on mine, then wrote the correction factors on a sticker on the back of the camera.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 15:28:54 No.2940643 Report

Quoted By:

>>2940624
if you want to use some 35mm you'd need an external finder to frame accurately. I suggest going for M2 or M4, M4-2 or M4-P if you don't need a selftimer and don't care about whether the camera has been made in Germany or Canada.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 15:31:09 No.2940644 Report

Quoted By: >>2941044

>>2940630
The complaint is that while a wrinkled shutter curtain was mentioned in the item description, the wonky meter wasn't. On the other hand it does work a treat above EV6.

Once I'm rich enough, I'll just send it off for an overhaul at Sover Wong's. Or buy a F2 where the head's got a meter that doesn't clap out with age.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO DSC03776.jpg, 362KiB, 1000x764

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 15:32:51 No.2940645 Report

Quoted By: >>2940863

>>2940581
M3 is a great camera but if you primarily use 35mm lenses, go with an M2, or M4 (M4, M4-2, M4p).

going with an old leica, budget for a CLA within a year. That could be anywhere from $250 no replacement of worn parts, more for a guy who will replace parts with good used parts, all the way to $1000 for sending it to Leica in Germany, who will re-manufacture any worn parts that are no longer available.

I went with the Germany rout for my M3 and got a full report of all repairs, basically it is a brand new camera.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 05 Oct 2016 21:11:27 No.2940863 Report

Quoted By: >>2941013

>>2940645
>fingerprints all over the finder
Absolutely haraam.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO Zeiss Planar.jpg, 1MiB, 1500x1000

Anonymous Thu 06 Oct 2016 01:41:51 No.2941013 Report

Quoted By:

>>2940863
deal with it

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 06 Oct 2016 03:13:11 No.2941044 Report

Quoted By: >>2941212

>>2940644
just buy a new viewfinder?
thats one of the main things about the nikon f range

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 06 Oct 2016 03:23:14 No.2941045 Report

Quoted By:

>>2940602
I did my research a few years back, and settled on the M4 over the M3.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 06 Oct 2016 10:45:27 No.2941212 Report

Quoted By: >>2941298

>>2941044
I'm certain unlike MF prisms which have meters built into the detachable prism it self, the nikon f range isn't, but I'm not 100% on that.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 06 Oct 2016 14:36:57 No.2941298 Report

Quoted By:

>>2941212
No, on the F and F2 the meter is built into the prism. There were several different models available, as well as unmetered prisms. From the F3 onward the meter was located in the body.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 06 Oct 2016 14:52:48 No.2941318 Report

Quoted By: >>2941324

>>2940581
if you have no experience with film theres no need to get a leica out of the gate. a 50 dollar camera will take excellent pictures if you use it right, and a leica will take shit pictures if you don't know what you are doing, and you sound like you don't know what you are doing.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 06 Oct 2016 14:57:22 No.2941324 Report

Quoted By: >>2941327

>>2941318
Sure, but if he wants a Leica and can afford one, why not? Having a nice camera won't impede his ability to learn film.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 06 Oct 2016 14:58:34 No.2941327 Report

Quoted By: >>2941375

>>2941324
Yes but you must use more expensive film in a Leica

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 06 Oct 2016 15:39:22 No.2941375 Report

Quoted By: >>2941539 >>2942588

>>2941327
True, my Leica refuses to fire unless I loaded at least Portra or Tri-X.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 06 Oct 2016 18:11:44 No.2941539 Report

Quoted By:

>>2941375
Kek

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 08 Oct 2016 00:25:16 No.2942588 Report

Quoted By: >>2942589 >>2942655

>>2941375
Strange ... My M3 only likes FP4 and Fuji 160ns

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 08 Oct 2016 00:27:58 No.2942589 Report

Quoted By: >>2942655

>>2942588
My Chaika only takes Fomapan 400 and Svemacolor...

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 08 Oct 2016 02:13:36 No.2942655 Report

Quoted By:

>>2942588
Mine is an M4, maybe that's why?

>>2942589
Your chaika knows its place well.

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