Re: [Leica] My new M3

[Krechtz@aol.com]

In a message dated 9/18/00 1:37:39 AM Eastern Daylight Time, dante@umich.edu 
writes:

<< (1) What is the story with the RF brightness?  I didn't see any fog or
 separation on mine and compared it to about ten M2s.  Nothing really
 notable in differences, but even compared to a Hexar RF, well... let's
 just say that the 0.91 finder on the M3 seems to be more than overcome
 by its old-school brightness.  (snip)>>

The color tends to be on the cool, or blue side, compared to an M6.  I have 
also read that the M6 is brighter due to removal of a condenser from the 
light path, which has the unwanted side-effect of fostering that "flare" we 
know and love.  
You cannot really see fog or dirt in the finder properly unless you face the 
camera and look into the finder from about 12-18" away while shining a small 
flashlight through the eyepiece.  Unless a finder and/or mirror has been 
cleaned recently, it is likely to exhibit some dimming due to accumulations 
of crud..  To me, this tends to explain why most of the 40-or-so-year old 
finders you saw looked similar.
        
            (snip)
 
  <<(3) Are some M3s quieter than others?  This one is a SS PV (927xxx) and
 it is far more quiet than any M I have encountered.  Does it have
 anything to do with the shutter brake someone was talking about earlier?>>
 
From what I am told, the double brake was found only on the DS, possibly only 
the earlier units at that.  Your M3's behavior is, IMHO, more likely to be 
the result of a combination of old thickened lubricant and dirt, a very 
effective accoustical damper.  You didn't mention what the slow speed gear 
train sounded like.  Check it out on a shutter tester.  

<< (4) What was the trick for allowing the RF to work at 0,7m?>>

First, mount a lens that focuses to 0.7 m...?


<< Well, it will be an interesting experience.  The M3 is a much different
 beast from the M6 (and sufficiently different from the Hexar RF), and
 over the next couple of weeks it will be interesting to see how much
 more difficult it is to use the M3-type loading and rewind.>>

You got that right!  I think you will also find that advancing the film takes 
a bit more effort than with the Hexar, and the TTL metering is not very 
reliable.
 
<< I  am most interested in finding out whether or not the finder really 
improves the
 long/fast lens experience, especially as against a Canon 7, which has a
 0.85x magnification and a lot clearer finder.  I hope it does - it's a
 nice camera.>>

IME, the M3 has a better finder, even if one considers only the square RF 
patch.  If your 7 seems to have a markedly clearer finder, I suspect that it 
is either much cleaner or in better condition, hopefully and probably the 
former.
 
 <<Any tips or tricks would be appreciated.>>
 
Don't mention it!  Good luck.  Your M3 sounds like a good candidate for a 
CLA, so don't be too critical of its performance before getting it checked 
out.

Joe Sobel