Leica M3 Leitz Rangefinder camera on White Background with Collapsible Elmar 50mm M Lens B & W
The Leica M3 is a 35 mm rangefinder camera by Leica AG, introduced in 1954. It was a new starting point for Leitz, which until then had only produced screw-mount Leica cameras that were incremental improvements to its original Leica (Ur-Leica). The M3 introduced several features to the Leica, among them the combination of viewfinder and rangefinder in one bright window, like on the Contax II, and a bayonet lens mount. It was the most successful model of the M series, with over 220,000 units sold by the time production of the M3 model ended in 1966. It was succeeded by a number of later M series cameras, including the M7 film camera which is still in production today. Contents Mount This new bayonet mount, which has not been changed in the following half century, is called the Leica M mount. Lenses are changed faster than with a screw mount, and framelines set automatically. Non-Leitz/Leica bayonet-mount lenses can also be used (although none were produced in any quantity while the M3 was sold), and a simple adapter also allows the use of screwmount lenses (whether from Leitz or other companies). The M3 is one of the all time classic and most desirable camera - used by many famous photographers- notably: Henry Cartier Bresson (HCB), Nan Goldin, Matt Stuart, Lee Friedlander, Sebastiao Salgado, Garry Winogrand, Joel Meyerowitz,Tod Papageorge, Araki, Bruce Gilden, James Ravilious, Ernst Haas, Raymond Depardon, Ralph Gibson, Tony Ray-Jones, William Klein, Charles Harbut, Leonard Freed, Garry Winogrand, Bruce Gilden, Larry Towell, Robert Frank.
Size: 5013px × 3222px
Photo credit: © Jack Grieve / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: araki, bresson, bruce, camera, cartier, charles, depardon, ernst, frank., freed, friedlander, garry, gibson, gilden, goldin, haas, harbut, henry, james, joel, klein, larry, lee, leica, leitz, leonard, m3, matt, meyerowitz, nan, papageorge, ralph, rangefinder, ravilious, ray-jones, raymond, robert, salgado, sebastiao, stuart, tod, tony, towell, william, winogrand
