[Leica] Omigosh! I'm a Leica User (long)

["Hugh Thompson" <painfree@istar.ca>]

Hello All - what have I done?  Today I traded in my beloved N**** F3 HP plus
those beautiful 50/1.4 and 35/1.4 lenses on an M3 and 50 Summicron. Yikes!

The body has serial number 840609 - the covering is in very good condition,
only a small chip around the base plate, which I might have done myself.  It
is heavily scarred on the top plate by former use of a meter, other than
that it looks very good save for the following, which was part of the deal -
a heavily scarred base plate was substituted, and a well worn back plate -
this was to reduce the price.

The lens is a Summicron f-5c 1.2 Nr.1473634, there was a similar trade-off
here also.  There are scratches on the front element, not deep but a cluster
of them.  Unfortunately, I looked at the lens through a loop and had a
shock, you are right, there seem to be bubbles etc in there - decided that a
few scratches should not hurt.  Why am I content - I got it from Bodo Docker
of Halton Camera Exchange, he is not only a trader in M equipment but was a
technician for Leica previously.  He appears to have a good reputation, and
I enjoyed making the deal.

First impressions - put the camera to my eye and tried to focus, damn thing
wouldn't move - ha, it locks at infinity, lesson #1.  Putting in the film
was fun, first roll was easy, as Bodo was there - second roll, took a few
shots, wow, the base plate fell off,  lesson #2, make sure base plate on
correctly.  Third, the rewind button is small, and hard to tell that it is
moving to check whether the film has been taken up, so lost a few frames,
lesson #3, check carefully - by the way, film loading, with the quick (?)
load seems easy enough, only complaint is that it is difficult to do on the
run, in a hurry, lots of pieces to make sure you don't drop, perhaps lesson
#4, don't be in such a hurry (essence of Leica M?).

Must say I like the rangefinder, better and much brighter than my Fuji
GW670III - will see what happens when shooting into the sun etc.  Shot two
rolls Delta 100 today, gone to my favourite lab, get them back on Tuesday,
will post impressions, good or bad.  I like the size of the camera, the
weight, and the feel, but when carrying it in my hands I seem to get my
fingers all over the rangefinder windows.  Also, I was used to a curve on
the body which gives a purchase for the right hand, so I might go for a hand
grip - will try one out anyway.  One other major item, I like to cock the
shutter after each shot, ready to move on to the next one, however this
became a problem, as, on more than a few occasions, I tripped the shutter
accidentally.  If someone can give me some tips on keeping the camera in the
hands for fast shooting, but avoiding finger prints and tripped shutter I
would appreciate the advice.  Perhaps it only takes familiarity and
practice.

If anyone can give me the history of the body and lens, or tell me where to
find the information on the web, I would be grateful - also, any, and all
advice, will be welcome.  Thanks for listening - Hugh Thompson (now a true
LUGGER)