M3 - any good for varifocal glasses wearer?

[astral]

I have a very smart collapsible Summicron and pristine 1963 Elmar which don't

get much use on my late-model M2 (a 35/2.8 Summaron is permanently mounted). So

I am thinking of getting a clean & tidy M3 just for use with these lenses (just

for B+W use).

 

But, having just tried a Leica 1.25 magnifier on the M2, to give me a high

magnification viewfinder (.90), I find that with varifocal glasses/specs the

viewfinder is very difficult to use. (With varifocals I have to hunt up/down for

a non-fuzzy view - PITA).

 

Question: broadly, how suitable is the M3 for spectacle wearers (with just a

50mm lens)? Will it be significantly better than the M2 with 1.25 magnifier?

 

Any words of advice and wisdom please?

 

Alan

 

(NB Failing this I'll aim for an M4 and a swap-around with the lenses).

[dan flanders]

I have found the M3 with 50mm lenses perfectly usable when wearing spectacles. I resort to a WA only occasionally and it does take a bit of adjustment, but with the standard 50 the M3 is probably more usable than the M2 with magnification.

[jtdnyc]

I guess it depends on the shape of your face and perhaps your prescription. And I think you're raising two separate issues.

 

When wearing glasses (which, for me, is all the time), I found the M3 UNusable.

 

The second issue has to do with varifocal eyeglass lenses. I've found they've made my rangefinder life much easier. I can actually look through viewfinder and set the controls on the camera without switching glasses or doing it by feel.

 

My conclusion: the only way you'll ever know for sure is to try it yourself.

[SCL]

M4 is great for me with varifocal lenses...I typically use a 35 or 90 mm lens, but occasionally a 50 or 135 (others with aux. finders). Can't speak to the M3. Best bet is to actually try one out at your dealer or if you have a friend with one. I found other people's opinion of what works with glasses to be exactly worth what I paid for it...nothing. Actually trying the product before purchasing helped me make an informed decision based on my particular circumstances....not somebody else's. In any case there's lots of opinion out there for you to sort out.

[Troll]

I can't use my M3 with specs on.

[ronald_moravec1]

Use the top portion and put a diopter correction on the camera so you don`t need to hunt.

 

An M3 with glasses is a pain as you can not get close enough to the eyepiece to see the 50mm frame. With .72 mag finders the view is smaller and the 50 lines are not at the edges so they are more easily seen with glasses.

 

Fade in 35mm lines on an M2 and see if you like using it with glasses assuming you could correct the vision problem. The 35mm lines are as difficult to see as the 50 lines on an M3.

 

The 35 with eyes does not count as it brings up 50mm lines and expands the view which is why it works on the M3 which has 50 lines close to the edge of the finder.

[john_newell2]

I can't use any of my cameras very well with my glasses, Leicas or otherwise. Among the problems is that the correct portion of the varifocal lens requires me to get my head into an uncomfortable position and even then doesn't work very well...and I can't see the wider framelines (50mm in the M3, 35 and/or 28 in the M4/M6).

 

Note that I *can* use the M camera without glasses...I can see enough, usually, to determine what's in focus, as long as there's some kind of distinct line to focus on.

 

Best solution for me is diopters.

 

As the answers above indicate, YMMV - good luck, you can definitely work something out.

[astral]

Thanks gents. Well, the votes seem to suggest the M3's not the best option for me. I'll have to sell the kids and get an M4 then.

 

I'd previously considered correction lenses for other cameras, but felt that their thickness may negate any other benefits, by increasing the eye to v/finder distance. So far I haven't sourced cheap holders for an M (the prescription glass isn't the problem).

 

Unfortunately my nearest dealer with a selection of Leicas is 130 miles away (we only have toyshops locally now!). I can a have 10 day sale-or-return option from most decent dealers nationally, but your advice suggests it could be a waste of time and money that's best spent tracking a decent M4. However, while many dealers currently have good prices on clean M3s and M2s, good M4s remain significantly dearer. A few hundred pounds saved would mean I get a Leica 24mm sooner, rather than later. Ho hum!

 

Thanks again. Alan

[john_newell2]

...is the M6 or M6TTL with the .85x finder, though you lose the (almost useless IMO) 28mm frames and the 35mm is tough to use, probably impossible with glasses. The higher magnification helps me a lot (I'm farsighted). However, there is the flare issue that is common to all Ms after the early M4-2s until the problem was addressed in the M7.

[christopher_a._junker1]

My M3 was awkward to use with variable lenses or any type of eyeglasses. Lasik surgery resulted in enough vision correction that I can focus and frame it without glasses.

[astral]

M6(ttl) & laser surgery ... Hmm. Actually, I'm waiting for a replacement for my .58 M6TTL which I dropped and broke (it was insured): it was dedicated to using modern lenses only. The idea of an M3 is to have a camera contemporary with the classic collapsible lenses, and which would go with me everywhere as a replacement to my faithful, but bulky, Nikkormat & 50/2 for B+W work.

 

The M6TTL replacement should be a .58 M7, when I can find a mint chrome one. But for about the same price laser eye surgery could be attractive.

 

Apart from that, my camera club buddies would be sneery if they saw me with a 'new' Leica stuffed in a jacket pocket, they expect me to carry an obsolete camera everywhere ... it allows them a few moments of superiority as they unveil their new digital toys , he-he!

 

Cheers, Alan

[joe_thornton]

I use the M3 with glasses with not trouble at all. I have the .72 M6TTL, but prefer the M3 viewfinder hands down!