Re: [Leica] a street ready M3?

[TTAbrahams@aol.com]

 The M3 versus M2 is one of the perpetual Leica controversies. The amount of 
drinks that has been consumed during these discussions would have re-floated 
the Titanic! I started off with a battered Double-stroke M3 in 1957 and I 
still harbour a soft spot for those cameras. The Double-Stroke M3 in good 
mechanical standing has the smoothest filmadvance of any M and also a 
remarkably quiet shutter. There are disadvantages to it, the 35/2 becomes a 
clumsy lump with its goggles, and there can be problems with the shutter 
brakes on well used ones. If the finder is dim or defunct, it costs a s mall 
fortune to fix. For true "retro" M-shooting, I recommend two M-bodies. A well 
seasoned M3 for the 50/90 combination and a M2 for the 35/2. The loading 
issue is just a matter of getting used to it. The removable film-spool is not 
a big deal and once you get the hang of it, you can reload as fast as with 
the M4-M6 take-up system. I do recommend a spare spool at the bottom of the 
camera-bag. They have been known to be dropped and lost! At one time I lost 
the spool on an MP and resorted to taping the end of the film to the take-up 
shaft of the camera. Of course, once I got the replacement spool it got stuck 
on the shaft due to the residual glue from the tape and required a pair of 
pliers to change the film after that! The film rewind on the M2/M3 is 
considerably improved by Richard Wasserman's crank. It actually is better 
than the M4-M6 one with that addition. The knob on the M4-M6 rewind is very 
small and it is easy to loose the grip on it. Richard's crank has a 
substantial hold on it. The perfect "retro" kit would be the aforementioned 
M2/M3 combo, the 35/2, 50/2, and the 90/2,8. The addition of a 21/3,4 in the 
60's was normal, although today I would go for the 21/4 Voigtlander as it is 
a better performer and considerably lighter and cheaper. Four lenses, two 
bodies and a pocket full of film, it probably does not get any better than 
that! Another bonus is that these four lenses all use 39mm filters too (if 
you are so inclined!).
 An anecdote regarding rewinding! In my youth, I worked for a newspaper in 
Sweden and being the youngest on staff, I was assigned a handful of battered 
Leica MP's and M2's. Of course, I was hankering for those new-fangled Nikon 
F's that just had been introduced! Charlie was one of the grizzled veterans 
of press-photographers and he was teaching me how to reload fast. Grabbing 
the M3 by the rewind crank, he spun the camera around, thus rapidly winding 
the film back. Suddenly he lost the hold on the camera which shot out of his 
grip, slammed into the wall above my head and without missing a beat, he 
stuck his hand up and caught it on the rebound. It impressed me to no end and 
as they say today, "it was sooooo cool".
Tom A

Tom Abrahamsson
Vancouver, BC
Canada
www.rapidwinder.com
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