Removing 50mm framelines in M3?

[don_v.]

<p>I have two M3's: a "nice" one with a 50 'cron permanently on it, and a beater on which I have a CV28mm with external finder. This question is about the latter camera.</p>

<p>The beater's frameline lever is stuck in the "135 on" position, and I was thinking that when I send it in for a CLA and to turn off the 135mm framelines, if possible I'd like to have the 50mm framelines removed completely. I never use any lens but the 28-with-external-finder on that camera anyway and because of its cosmetics the camera has almost no resale value. For those reasons, and since I do look a lot through the camera's viewfinder (i.e., I often compose without using the shoe-mounted finder), having a frameline-free viewfinder would seem to have no real downsides.</p>

<p>Can the 50mm lines be permanently masked off? If so,<strong> to whom should I send the camera? </strong> Sherry Krauter? (I'm in the Midwest, but I understand from web searches that DAG has a backlog of months and I'd rather not wait until summer or fall to get it back.)</p>

[jay_chadney]

<p>just put some black tape over the rangefinder window(?) - the one in the middle. That will give you a cheap, temporary fix.</p>

[fred_c1]

<p>... and the rangefinder patch will be darkened as much as the framelines.</p>

<p>Instead try Youxin Ye in Boston (google for details.)</p>

[Bill Blackwell Images]

<p>"The beater's frameline lever is stuck in the '135 on' position... Can the 50mm lines be permanently masked off?"<br /><br />It's just a guess, but your 135 framelines are probably being activated by the (35/135) screw-to-M mount adapter you have on your 28mm CV screw-mount lens. If you remove the lens you may find the 135 framelines will go away. If by chance they don't, it's probably time for a CLA.<br /><br />To the second question - the 50mm framelines are permanent in an M3 finder and removing them, if it is even possible, would serve no meaningful purpose if your primary shooter is a 28mm lens since, as you have already pointed out, 28mm framing is only possible on an M3 with an external finder.</p>

[Rob F.]

<p>Agreed; there is no point at all to removing framelines on an M3.</p>

[Alex_Es]

<p>Yeah, don't do it.</p>

[exabetal]

<p>put a piece of tape over the framelines illumination window. That will leave the rangefinder working and remove all framelines.</p>

[orvillerobertson]

<p>If you remove any framelines you'll never be able to sell it. I very rarely use 50s but would never buy a crippled (OK, frameline-challenged!) M3.</p>

[ralph_jensen]

<p>Huub nailed it. Works like a charm, no permanent damage.</p><p>Covering "the middle window" works great too for Mamiya 7 owners who are wedded to that camera's 50mm lens and who instead of using the accessory finder want to use the camera's viewfinder without the 65mm frame lines that appear when the 50 is mounted.

[Troll]

<p>DAG removed the 50mm framelines on one of my CLs, but I think the M3 is a whole different proposition.</p>

[02Pete]

<p>As the M3 was designed primarily for use with 50mm lenses, removing the 50mm frame line would make the camera very difficult to resell -- and even a beater M3 does have at least some resale value if it is in good operating condition. Try the suggestion that others have made for taping over the window that illuminates the viewfinder frames. If you don't like the results, almost any reputable service technician having the skills to CLA an M3 ought to be able to modify the viewfinder frames. Gerry Smith at Kindermann Canada, Sherry Karauter, or Youxin Ye could probably do it. If you mostly shoot with a 28mm lens, though, you might instead consider selling the M3 and shopping for a used M4-P or M4. They were designed to be used with 28mm lenses, have a built-in viewfinder frame for 28mm lenses, and have a .58 maginification viewfinder that provides a good sense of the perspective that photos taken with a 28mm lens will show. Why permanently alter a perfectly good user M3 when what you really want is an M4-P?</p>

[exabetal]

<p>The M4 doesn't actually has 28mm frames, although when you're not a glasses wearer, the entire view through the finder would come close. If you need 28mm frames you want an M4-P or an M6 with .72x finder enlargement.</p>