[Leica] Deep s------

[Alastair Firkin <firkin@netconnect.com.au>]

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hi LUGgers

I'm in deep shit.  I'm getting lazy and I hate to bring out my Sekonic
meter. So... many a times I wish my trusty M3 has a meter on-board! Of
course, the perfect solution is to get a M6J!!!

Now, I have many friends waiting to get my minty SS M3 with serial over 1.1
million.  I will miss the retro styling, the smooth advance level, the
rewind knob (which I burnt my fingers while winding used film), the nice .91
mag on 50 frame lines, the  super-safe film loading (as opposed to M6's
wind-and-guess method) and many others. I have ordered a 5cm bright-line
finder for my 50 DR Summicron with a metal shade for this lens. This
combination is SOLID and CLASSIC. This is the kit used by war photographers
during the vietnam war, indo-china and so on...

The joke is that my first M is a M6 classic, then I sold it to get this M3
thro' my friends as I like it's 50 lines and classsic beauty.. but the
meterless design is inconvenient.

SO... what do my crazy friends of LUG think? What do u suggest? Should i
keep my M3 or sell it together with Sekonic meter .. for a M6 classic? One
thing is that with the cash, I can still buy a used 90 summicron (early
version with removable head for viso...). Hmmmm....
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ericssan,
Simple really, the M3 is great with its own on board meter. Now I know that
you want to use the viewfinder in the accessory shoe, but you cannot have
everything ;-)

When I first bought my M3, it sat in the cupboard gathering age. I really
did not know what to do with this camera without a meter. Strangely, its
only been after joining this group, that I've seen the advantages of the M3
over the M6 extend to more than just the larger view in the finder. It has
become my HCB camera. I use it for mainly B/w people images with the 50
summicron or the 90 elmar C. Often I just estimate the light and the
distance [with the 50], raise the camera to my eye and shoot. Could not be
faster or more discrete. The speed with which the camera goes up and down
makes the subject quite at ease [I suspect they think I've "chickened out
of the image"] except for my smile as the camera descends. It is so much
faster than any other method I've used, that I'm loath to try any other
now. So what if I am becoming a bit "nervous" about the light reading? If I
use the M6, then the camera is raised to the eye before the image is made,
but if I use the MR meter atop the M3, I can meter discretely before
raising the camera. Again, the subject is not put in any sense of
discomfort. In crowds, I use the MR meter to take several readings, and
then knowing these I estimate from there. One for sun, one for shadow. The
MR meter is accurate, it takes a reading from the same area as covered by
the 90mm lens, it runs for "ever" on its battery [my MC meter was less
accurate, but still quite nice], and I've never regretted the cost of this
accessory. Oh its also quite retro, and will not "destroy" the classic
lines of your M3, but beware, it can scratch the top plate, and so mine is
covered in --- you guessed it Black Tape ;-)

Alastair Firkin

http://users.netconnect.com.au/~firkin/AGFhmpg.html