[Leica] M3 Double Stroke

[Mike Gil <dtt2150@yahoo.com>]

During the last recession in the US, I had to sell my
double stroke M3 and other various pieces.  Fast
forward to the future.  I re-stocked with Canon, hated
the point and shoot feel.  Then moved back to manual
focus Nikon's.  But I still wanted my Leicas, so I
also started to buy back my Leica M equipment.  I was
on such good footing that I bought a string of M6's
and M4-P's.  But I never could justify buying a mint
M3 DS.

Over a year ago I bought a M2 and thought it was a
great camera as a back up to the M6's, but wow the
price was a killer.  I bought it over the M3 because
of the wide angle viewfinder and a bit of nostalgia
plus the higher prices I've seen for nice M3's was way
above M2's.  I had bought my M3 over 15 years ago for
$475 with a close focus Summicron with out oculars, it
was a little dirty, it had a bit of corrosion, after a
couple hours of cleaning a gem emerged and it was a
Leica for less than $500.  I loved that camera.  Who
could of treated this Leica so badly.

A week ago I saw a decent user M3 for about $600.  It
was not as perty as my M2 or black paint M6.  The
cameras covering was falling to pieces, some of the
covering was missing, there was dirt built up from
years of use, the lettering was almost all gone, a few
dents and scratches.  It was a user for sure.

It had a clean wax "R" over the fifth screw and when I
opened the bottom cover there was a engraving in the
bottom plate that it probably was serviced in 97'.  I
knew I had made the right decision after I picked it
up for the first time.  The camera felt so solid, the
shutter speeds appeared to the ear to sound as they
should.  The film advance was so smooth, the
viewfinder was crystal clear even thought the outside
was dirty.  The rangefinder was on the button even
with the Noct, I compared it to my M6.85 that I know
is accurate.  Or was it the M6 compared to the M3.

This M3 DS is amazing how it feels in my hands.  I
know cameras are about geting images on film.  But
this camera was from the 50's and had seen alot of
abuse over the years and probably have taken thousands
of photographs to be this worn. I picked up my M6 to
compare it to the M3.  Picked up my M4-P to compare.
Picked up my M2 to compare.  The M3 is something
totally different, I can't fully explain it but the
workmanship is amazing.  My M6 felt weak against the
M3. Even the M2 felt different.  Actually the M2 feels
more like a M6 than a M3.

The finder was so clear and completely free from flare
from every angles not like the other Leica's.  The
frame marks where still bright even the center patch. 
The focus was so positive.  Even with my M6, sometimes
I play with the focus back and forth, bad SLR
practice. The M3 focus just stops when its in focus, I
know its weird but I think it knows when its in focus.
 The big view is fantastic.  It's so close to life
size that I wanted to keep both eyes open and for the
first time truly be part of the action.  The m6 .85 is
close to .90 but its a big difference to this user.

The frame advance is so smooth, even after all these
years it was better than my virtually new M6.  If
brass wears faster than steel, then I like brass. I
think 45 years of wear is perfect.  Will the gears
still be there in 50 years, I think so I hope so. The
double stoke action took a bit to get use to but even
it became more natural than one long stroke the more I
used it.  

Every thing else worksed as it should, the self timer,
rewind knob, even the film spool was still solid when
put into the camera.  You would think that it would
wiggle after so much use but no.

I've made a temporary fix of the covering with a
combination of black wax and black rubber cement. I
know I'll have to change the covering one day.  Or
maybe I'll just put it in a half case to hide its
wounds.

I think the M3 was a show piece from the start.  A
representation of what Leica can make to near
perfection.  A machine made to display the art of
manufacturing and design.  It can be said that the M3
was the last of anything manufactured in quantity that
has the feel of hand craftmanship.  Every thing from
that has been slowly cheapend.  Is the M3 going to
take the place of my M6, yes, now the M6 will back up
the M3's, I hope.  If a camera can be said to mold
into a persons hand and make its self transparent to
the act of photographing your subject then the M3 will
continue to do that for many more years.  With the M6
I have always felt that I have a Leica in front of my
face. The M3 only in a very small and discreet way
says "I'm a Leica let me serve you."  It's not about
the red dot, not about the name, not about the finish.
 It's about the photography.

So now I remember why I missed my first M3 DS so much.

mike gil



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