Vintage Leica M3 35mm double stroke camera with 50mm Elmar lens and leather case
The Leica M3 is a 35 mm rangefinder camera by Ernst Leitz GmbH (now Leica Camera 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 M240 digital camera which is still in production today. The M3 has an exceptionally bright viewfinder when compared to any previous or subsequent model, including the modern M9. The M3 has a high magnification factor of ×, which is useful in critical focusing, and especially with long lenses (subsequent Leicas would use ×, × or ×). It was the first Leica to combine rangefinder and viewfinder into one window. (Other cameras, such as the Contax II, already had this feature before World War II; and other companies were making screwmount bodies with combined finders.) Framelines for 50, 90 and 135mm are shown, although none for any wider lenses. However, Leica solved this problem in two different ways: -A separate viewfinder slid into the accessory shoe. -The so-called Leica "Specs" or "glasses": These auxiliary lenses/prisms are put in front of the viewfinder and rangefinder windows for the 35mm focal length. The drawback of this attachment is that they reduce the famous brightness of the viewfinder. -The Dual Range Summicron f/2 lens came with an auxiliary fitting similar to that of the 35mm "specs" attachment with a lens & prism to fit over the view and focus was used when the camera to subject distance was from the near range minimum of about 18 inches to the maximum of 36 inches.
Size: 5760px × 3840px
Location: Studio set, UK
Photo credit: © Daniel Valla FRPS / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 143280_leicam3, 35mm, amateur, barnack, camera, film, german, icon, legend, leica, leitz, m3, oscar, perfection, photo, photography, precision, series, vintage, wetzlar
