WAJDA PHOTO - Gear Talk: Leica M3 with Problems (or does it?)

[@JP1050x]

Youxin Ye. He does excellent work with classic Leica cameras and lenses!

[@kennethwajda]

I've heard that! He's the man!

[@raywilson9450]

Your video resonates with me as I bought a M3 at a flea market with the same symptoms. It was $4. Have sent the camera to YYE camera repair, and anticipate I'll receive the same advice you were given, "....this camera has too many problems..." We shall see!

[@kennethwajda]

Hopefully not. Did you hear back yet?

[@raywilson9450]

@@kennethwajda …not yet. Mr Ye quoted a 4 month wait, and we are only 1 month ‘in’. January, hopefully. Meanwhile, keep the great videos coming. Thank you!

[@kennethwajda]

@@raywilson9450 Hopefully sooner than later. Good luck.

[@neilpiper9889]

I used an M2 and preferred it to the M3. But actually I preferred the Rolleiflex to the Leica because of the 3.5x larger negative and the Schnieder lenses which have no flaring into the light.

[@kennethwajda]

I love my Rolleiflex, so I know what you mean!

[@northstar1950]

Looks just like the one I bought late last year a D/S with no frame line pre-selector on the left side. Mine works perfectly even the slow speeds seem about right but I don't think it has ever had a service . I don't know if you know this and please forgive me if I am telling you something you already know but the lens mount top screw is sunk further into the body or they use a shorter screw but the resultant gap is filled with black wax. This wax is stamped and if it has the Leica 'L' raised then this is the factory stamp. No wax or an indented 'L', I believe means a Leica service but other repair shops use their own markings sometimes. Mine came with an F2.8 Elmar and I would love to get hold of a Summicron F2. I thought I had managed it when I found a UK based dealer with what looked like a nice lens at the right price, I ordered it only to b get an apologetic e-mail informing me they had already sold it and forgot to remove it from their website!

[@kennethwajda]

I'll look for that stamp. Thanks.

[@dangerpowers123]

Great story, have you tried the old range finder patch fix where you with a Sharpie pen put a small black spot in the middle of the viewfinder. Which in effect means the image from the range finder window is darker because it's not competing with the image from the viewfinder as much. I also for an XA put a tiny 3mm square of electrical tape in the middle of the view finder window and it had an even better result.

[@kennethwajda]

I haven't heard of this. I'll try it. Thanks.

[@dangerpowers123]

Kenneth Wajda , it's like magic for a faded RF patch 😁

[@rbruce63]

It looks very nice from here! To have it rebuilt by Youxin Ye, or not, perhaps it can be repaired! At least the former tech might have had the advance repaired by taking the top plate for the assessment! The same thing happened to my Rollei 35S sourced on eBay. I used it daily, threw in color film and Kodak TMax. I even compared it to a Rollei 35 from a friend. After a while it broke. I had it shipped to NJ and the renowned tech said it was toast, “never ever buy anything from eBay.” Then I had it mailed to California and the camera came back working after a long while. I picked it up in a Boston at a university reunion. However, it was a different camera body with my top plate on top of it...still it takes great pictures and I enjoy using it a lot! So the economics of the purchase where bad. The camera was expensive. The former owner said that it had a donor body for me to source the parts, but he disappeared. The shipping from Costa Rica to New Jersey, the phone calls from Costa Rica to New Jersey, the picking of the camera and the shipping to a renowned tech in California. My camera traveled more that I have done in that year. The repair was sensible some US$ 120. The camera was pristine. But I could have spent more for a newer or shinier camera or not.

[@kennethwajda]

Wow, that's an crazy travel story! Glad you have it working now!

[@merlinmarquardt]

A bit of a strange story about the camera not advancing the film first but then later advancing. Explanation? Is it the same camera? I assume it is. When a camera is taken in for service, should there not be a receipt that includes serial numbers? I like the photos.

[@kennethwajda]

It is the same, it has the same serial number as on the repair order form.

[@merlinmarquardt]

Okay, good. Thanks.

[@neilpiper9889]

Elmar collapsible needs a lens hood in my experience as most Leica lenses do. I have a Zorki 4k with the awesome Jupiter 8 lens. Cost $70. I don't beat it because you can't beat it with or without the 40.5 mm lens hood.

[@kennethwajda]

I can agree, though I don't mind some low-contrast shots.

[@Frisenette]

Isn’t a dim rangefinder a question of taking the top off and getting the crud off the glass and prism? Getting even somewhat proficient at simple camera repair really really pays off in the long run.

[@zguy95135]

Helge Frisenette the beam splitter can start to desilver on the M3/M2s which I'm guessing is what happened to this camera.

[@Frisenette]

Joseph Delgadillo I can see my suggestion was hopelessly naive after having had a look at the construction of the mechanism and optics of the finder. You get an idea of why SLRs won out overall. Far more robust and simple in the long run.

[@kennethwajda]

Yep. This one had a bit or rusty gunk in the corner when I took it in, and that was cleaned off in the "non-repair."

[@pepeg.luthier566]

WHERE ARE THE PHOTOS YOU PROMISED?

[@kennethwajda]

Hit the SHOW MORE button under the video. I have one posted.

[@krysryjuly]

Hi Ken! I just got myself a Leica M3, and I think its the same M3 and yours (at least on this video). I got it with a great deal! But the problem is that the advance lever is stuck and the self timer doesn’t. When I got it, I fired the shutter once then try to advance the advance lever but it’s stuck. I really hope I can have it fix. I always wanted to try to shoot a M3!

[@kennethwajda]

Take it to a repair person. They can get it working for sure.

[@vangstr]

I don't know if you had it fixed, but my M3 did the same thing. First advance was fine, second advance stuck. I sent it out to Sherry Krauter. She overhauled the camera and now it works fine. I was told the lubricants dried up was the cause. The camera now has a clear viewfinder and rangefinder aligned. Before it was foggy, dirty specks of dirt all along the white borders and rangefinder focusing patch was off.

[@ianbutler1983]

Ken, You know better than I, but I was once told that you should run away from any appraiser who offers to buy your item. I have expanded that advice and apply it to any repair person who tries to buy my item. It represents a conflict of interest and is, in my opinion, unethical.

[@kennethwajda]

That's a good one to learn. Hadn't heard that. Thanks!

[@EDHBlvd]

Moral of story, find a new repair guy.

[@kennethwajda]

He's local and has been good and honest, so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.

[@vangstr]

Kenneth Wajda Not after a stint like that!!! Still trust them then good luck. If it was me they’d be written off my list asap! What’s the shop name? Ill be sure to add them to the growing online list of repair shops to avoid!!!! Hall of shame shops list is ever growing. This film photography community isn’t too big a bubble but we need to weed out scammers from it. What if it wasn’t you but someone else who was less knowledgeable about their camera? Don’t let fellow young photographers get scammed by that same shop.

[@geradebowden3293]

Kenneth Wajda i would keep an eye on him from now on.

[@geradebowden3293]

I just bought one, its out for a CLA and new leather. Its like waiting for a baby to be born.

[@kennethwajda]

Yep!! :-)

[@gregoryvarano8002]

M3 double stroke is one of the better M3's. if the film pressure plate is glass, it is worth much more than the prices you are stating. Kenneth, you should also check the serial number , to see what year it was made and how many were made in that batch. leica' M's are very durable cameras and repairable as they are totally mechanical. Parts are the issue, however a certified Leica repair facility will get it all working. The only issue you will have with use is, the rangefinder will need calibration once and a while and the lubricants, have to be changed, so a CLA is required every decade. One thing for sure, the more you use it, the better it works. :)

[@kennethwajda]

I'll check the serial. What am I looking for, a small batch?

[@vangstr]

Don’t take any of your cameras to that shop ever again!!! That service dude was trying to make you sell your camera to him or his friend for cheap by giving you excuses about your camera when they know there’s nothing majorly wrong with it! I’ve learned enough about local camera shops whom have simply experimented on my cameras! Research them thoroughly and beware! I make sure that their business name and tech are known as scams by all people I know in my photographic community!!!!!

[@geradebowden2692]

I think the apprentice worked on it.