I found the late version M3 has brighter viewfinder???

[chuck_t]

I have found something interesting but I am not sure if anyone can

confirm that. The later version of the M3 starting with serial

1 1xx xxx is brighter than any previous made Leica M3. The different

is minor, but significant enough, if the Leicas compare against a

white background.

 

I am seeing that the late version M3 has a brighter viewfinder. I am

not comparing the focusing patch because there are mirrors involved.

[Troll]

I think that you're right. But what bothers me is all the M2 and M3's have a strong BLUE tint to the viewfinders, presumably to make the RF rectangle more visible. This was stopped with the M4 which is quite clear. (It beats the old Zeiss Contax viewfinders, which were billious green with a contrasting pink RF patch.)

[Bill Blackwell Images]

Early M3/2 RF mechanisms were put together with cements that would eventually separate and turn a dingy yellow. I believe what you are experiencing is the result of newer cements (implemented sometime over the 1 million mark in about 1962). The newer cements did not as readily fade or separate. Your VF should look very much like all M3 cameras did off the assembly line.

[david k.]

Bill, didn't know that there was a change in cements, but the older M3/M2's certainly have a warmer look.......being age related is would be a good reason why.

[jim_a]

A while back I had asked Peter at CCR about the blueish cast on the M2's. Here is his response:

 

"The coatings on the rangefinder prisms can be different and the colour cast on some is towards brown and others are colder and more blue and it depends when they are removed from the vacuum chamber and at what temperature they are coated at."

[jim_a]

Sorry, I of course meant <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/">Peter at CRR</a> and not CCR. Must have been think of this <a href="http://www.classicbands.com/ccr.html">CCR</a>

[john_collier2]

My guess is that it is brighter because it isn't as old and may have been better taken care of.

A good CLA can make an amazing difference in finder brightness.

[patrick_owen]

Recently had my M3 (very early) cleaned by Youxin Ye. A VERY nice and conscientious man

with a brain jam-packed with Leica minutia. He had his 11xxxxx M3 out on the table and

even after cleaning of my DS, it was very clearly brighter than mine. He told me that the

>1000000 M3s have brighter finders period. I haven't seen a lot of M3 finders so I can't

speak from vast experience, but the one experience I had, at his home, was not subtle. It

was brighter than my DS M3 as well as his M6 which was also on the table. (I don't

remember the magnification of his M6 finder)

[nemeng]

FWIW - when I compared the finder of my M3 SN 1097XXX (Jan 1964) against both my M4-P and M6TTL, the M3 was significantly darker. One of the reasons I finally sold it :?(

[ken_dibert]

I sent my jammed M3 DS to Sherry Krauter at Golden Touch for a full CLA, and among other things, she transformed the dingy yellow viewfinder into one virtually as clear as my M6TTL. Post CLA, this camera is now silky smooth, and surpasses any other in my collection. Sherry is remarkable!