Newbie M3 owner with 2 questions

[jon_grider1]

I've looked through many of the old posts but failed to find answers

to my questions,perhaps I didn't look long enough but my eyes are

spinning from reading for about 30 minutes.My questions:where exactly

is the L seal located with the identification marks pertaining to last

servicer and is there an adapter available for the tripod socket that

will allow the common smaller tripod screw that I use for my SLRs to

be used.As a sidenote,I inherited my Leica M3 DS and love it.My

Japanese SLRs now will be paperweights.Thanks in advance to any

responders,I have been reading this forum with great interest and am

glad there are so many knowledgable M users in one place.

[mostly sports]

The "L" seal is located at the top of the lens mount, covering a recessed screw. If not intact,

you won't see it. It may just look like a small amount of black wax in a hole. It's in the shiny

ring with the flat surface that meets the rear of the lens mount.

Yes, there are adapters that screw into the tripod mount socket, and have internal american

threads (I think it's 3/8.)

[al_kaplan1]

The old "European" sockets are 3/8 inch and the "American" tripod screws are 1/4 inch. There's an adapter available to fit the camera. They're usually slotted so you can tighten/loosen them with a screw driver.

[Bill Blackwell Images]

Look here...

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00AG5j

[Bill Blackwell Images]

... and here...

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00D6mZ

[jon_grider1]

Ok,now that I know what to look for,I see a raised "L",so I'm going to assume it's never been cla'd or cla'd by Leitz.Seems to work well at all shutter speeds so at this point I'm just going to enjoy it without worrying about having it serviced.Thanks all for the help.I'm going to look tomorrow at the local camera shop for a 3/8" to 1/4"adapter.

[stuart_richardson]

Given that it is now almost 50 years old without being serviced, you probably want to send it

out if you plan to use it extensively. Though it may work at the moment, it will be better for

both the camera and you in the long run if you have someone put fresh lubricants in the

camera and make sure that it is operating at full capacity. The viewfinder might become even

clearer after a cleaning. Since you inherited it, you can think of the money as purchasing an

insurance policy.....<P>In any case, I would recommend sending it to DAG for a CLA.

[charles_stobbs3]

I always find it hard to believe that the Europeans wouldn't have used a metric tripod socket thread. In any case you need to know the thread pitches as well as the diameters. The American thread is 1/4-20 (20 threads per inch). You need to know the pitch of the larger thread as well.

[jerry_lehrer]

Chas,

 

I have found that the europeam 10mm metric thread size machines into a perfect fit in the larger size tripod thread. Most people believe that the thread is 3/8 NC.

 

Jerry

[richard_saylor]

Whether or not the original socket was 3/8", a standard 3/8" to 1/4" bushing works fine on my M3.

[canfred]

Hi Jon ,The thread is British Standard Withworth

The normal 1/4" is 20 pi. The older 3/8" is 16 pi.

Adaptors are not hard to find. If your M3 like mine is the older version

and you need the adaptor send me a note I have a few .Free of charge.

Someone here made a note about metric thread , Withworth is still in use

all over Europe and Germany too. I have never come across a camera with metric tripod thread , my oldest camera is the Meagher tailboard 1/2 plate from 1874 it already has the Withworth 3/8" thread.

[jon_grider1]

Thanks for the info and Manfred for the offer.I may take you up on that if I can't find the adapter locally.In retrospect of my original post,I wish I had asked an additional question,that being is there a viewfinder attachment for the M3 that shows framelines for a 35mm lens?Any help?

[canfred]

Jon , no problem just let me know. The M3 did not have the 35 lines

since the finder magnification is too high. One way out is just use the whole field its not far out you need to practise. 35 mm lenses dedicated came with additional lenses in front of the finder window's. These are known as " glasses " when fitted the 50mm framelines become the 35mm.

There are no current lenses with conversion finder for the M3.

[neil_parker]

Actually there is a good possibility it HAS been serviced. Leica stopped using the 'L' wax

imprint around 1981 or earlier. Some independent repair people use an imprint (not L) and

some don't. I believe the M3 originally came with a raised L on the seal (early ones

excepted), so yours probably has been serviced at some point.

[Bill Blackwell Images]

"...so yours probably has been serviced at some point."

 

No. Jon specifically said his camera has a raised 'L' seal. If this is true, the camera most certainly has not been serviced.

 

In any case, I would agree with the prevailing wisdom - the camera most definitely should get serviced. Just be sure to use someone reputable and reliable like Don Goldberg ("DAG"). His email and web address are dagcam@chorus.net and http://www.dagcamera.com/.

[jon_grider1]

I will follow Stuart and Bill's advice,off to DAG it will go.Hope it doesn't take a long time for the CLA.

[dan flanders]

There is an urban legend about, fostered primarily by the Metricians that all Europe is metric. Anyone who has mucked around bicycles more than twenty years knows it is a crock of hogwash. In the standard metric thread systems there are several sizes that mesh with the US standard and in some instances with the British. In any event, the adapting ring is readily available at many camera stores and techies and can be had for modest cost. It has always puzzled me why the 1/4 - 20tpi was ever adopted in this country. The larger 3/8" -16 is much more secure and less potential damaged to the camera.

[charles_stobbs3]

I have read of a mishmash of diameters and pitches on Italian bicycles after WWII when they had to buy American and British machine tools to replace machines lost in the war. I think it mostly involved cutting inch pitches on metric bar stock. It must have carried over into cameras too.

[Bill Blackwell Images]

"Hope it doesn't take a long time for the CLA."

 

Don is, IMHO, among the best there is. However, if you want your camera back within a certain time frame you need to verbally discuss it with him (and remind him what he agreed to in writing) or it will be months before you see it again. If you do this, in my experience, he will reliably return what you send him within the time frame mutually agreed upon.

[dan flanders]

Somewhat off topic but the problems I encountered with bicycles was primarily with the French frames. It was often impossible to know which headset or frameset could be used until the frame was delivered and often it would vary from one frame to the next. I spent a lot of money for a Campagnola set of tools that were often useless when working on a French bike. Wheel dropouts and derailleur hangers were also problematic and seatposts sometimes had to be turned down in a lathe or fitted with shims. When center pull brakes were popular the French ones often had to be refitted with new bolts even for a French frame. I never had that problem with English or Italian frames.