Quiet, small, accurate and fast. Sharp optics, nice feel.

Slow rewind & reload; but it's good to slow down and use your eye & brain again...if I want speed, I'll use my F100.

I bought a Leica M2 body at an antique store in Vermont. About two wweks later I bought a 50mm f/2 Summicron (black) at ken Hansen in NYC. This camera is one of those things you needed but you didn't know you wanted. I've shot for 30+ years w/Nikon, mostly b&w documentary & people. The first roll of film through this 40 year old camera was like coming home. The camera fit the way my seeing has evolved over the years. It's quiet, looks non-threating, and it is fast. I dusted off my brain and started to recall that I could guess at most outdoor exposures and be within 1 or 2 stops. I check my exposure with a Luna-Pro. For me, the camera is really an extension of my eye. I've come home to what really got me into photography: one lens/camera and good shoes.

Customer Service

Not needed as of yet.

Similar Products Used:

Leica M3 Nikon F100 Nikon F4

Well built, good ergonomics, good lenses. Rangefinder design means you don't miss the moment of exposure.

Rangefinder easily upset, apalling film loading and rewinding.

There is so much nonsense written (and spoken) about Leica cameras and lenses that one feels slightly nauseous about the whole issue. Leicas are nice, well made cameras with very good lenses but nothing is perfect - the problem is that some people have spent a lot of money on Leica equipment and now have to justify it to themselves, which they will do ad-nauseum. The truth is that the M3 is a nice camera within its limitations. Those limitations are sometimes its strengths. The viewfinder is non-reflex so you don't see exactly what you'll get on the film BUT you don't miss the moment of exposure either. The M3 seems to have the nicest viewfinder of the lot, with the possible exception of the M4. The rest of the camera is very well built but you can discount the nonsense about the silent shutter. If you want real quiet, use a Rolleiflex TLR or a digital camera. The lenses are good but then so are the top versions from Canon, Contax and Nikon. Unless you are doing very precise scientific work you're unlikely to see much difference, and probably not even then (a lot of laboratories seem to prefer Nikon equipment). The strength of the Leica, and particularly the M3, is its excellent handling and the *combination* of quietness, continous viewing, accurate rangefinder and good lenses. I'm glad I bought my battered old M3 and I enjoy using it but it is *NOT* the world's best camera.

Customer Service

Don't bother with Leica, there are plenty of independents who will do a good job for lower prices.

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Canon, Nikon, Rollei, etc,etc...

Quiet, reliable, rugged, the 35, 50 and 90 Summicrons (all are f 2) are razor sharp.

I can't think of any.

Leica M2 - Event though my M2 is more than 40 years old, it is still the best 35 mm camera ever made. I have three Summicrons and a Hektor for it. Even the old MR4 meter still works beautifully.

Customer Service

Never needed it.

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There is no similar product other than other M-type Leicas.

Amazing build quality. Super quiet operation. Decades old shutter design means extreme reliability. M3s are cheap compared to other M cameras.

Flash sync at 1/30. Film loading a bit slow. Limited framelines 50/90/135. You need a flash adapter. Some M3s have the larger tripod screw. The camera is so beautiful you can forget that it is a tool.

I love this camera. The rangefinder is better than the M6 and the M3 has a self timer. What decent camera DOESN'T have a self timer EXCEPT the M6? The later SS models have depth of field marks in the viewfinder. DS winding is soooo smooth. SS is good too....but you really need to wind a serviced DS M3 to see what smooth really is. If you don't need 35mm ot 75mm framelines, the M3 is your best choice in an M Leica. If you need 35 but not 75, your camera is the M2. If you need both 35 and 75, get an M4. The TA rapidwinder can be used on a converted M3, making your 40-year old camera as functional as anything on the market. There are many inexpensive lenses that work directly or with an adapter on the M3.

Customer Service

Nope

Similar Products Used:

M4, M4P, M6, Bessa R, Bessa T, Bessa L, Zorki 4K

Bright viewfinder, easy focusing, acurate rangefinder, takes excellent lenses like all M-Leicas, and... it has no batteries...which in extreme cold and extreme heat can become a problem...and what if one has no battery? No Pictures! Mechanical is best.

Film loading, although I have used IIIf for over 14 years, and yes there I even had to cut the film. Further...maybe the double stroke film advance and the rewind, but these days one can buy the gadgets and gizmo's...

A great camera for street photography which is what I'm in to. It's solid, quiet, dependable, unobstrusive, and lovely to work with.

Customer Service

It's worth every penny..a car needs maintenance, so does a good camera. Keep it clean though, and look out for extreme weather..

Similar Products Used:

Leica IIIf, M6, M5, Leica CL, R4.

quiet, unobtrusive. looks like a piece of crap to the average joe, so you are able to get shots of those you don''t know because they''re less intimidated. also less chance of it being stolen because, like i said, it looks like a piece of crap to the average joe. solid, durable, a joy to hold and use.

come on, film loading, get over it, it''s no big deal. there are people starving in the world.

this is also a review for the m2 rather than the m3 because the m2 does not have its own category. this camera gives me a whole new appreciation for photography itself, a great new respect as if i''d gone for years without glasses and then one day got a pair of glasses. that''s how much a leica rangefinder can make you appreciate photography anew. my m2 is a good ten years older than me, and still it is the most solidly made thing i''ve ever put my hands on. i used to get a bit nauseous when i heard leicaphiles speak of their conversion, but now i understand it all so well. i''m in absolute awe of this camera and those who designed it.

Compact; not as light as some say, but well-balanced; controls operate with silky smoothness; accurate and very easy to focus, especially in low light; non-battery dependence and mechanical precision ensure reliability; craftsmanship not found in today''s mass-produced throwaway items. Film loading: many say this is a weakness but I say it is a strength. Why? Bottom-loading precludes the need for light-proof material on an opening back, which often wears out over time. This design also adds to structural rigidity and robustness.

Metal eyepiece which scratches glasses was perhaps the only original design fault. Some site slow film-loading; in reality this just needs practice. The only main advantage (and it is a significant one) I see with the later M6 is the addition of a built-in meter. Sadly collectors who have no intention of using this camera in everyday use have driven prices up, but it is still good value.

It is a testament to the phenomenal build quality and attention to detail by the firm of Ernst Leitz that a camera which is now almost half a century old garners such high praise. It still works perfectly and results are limited only by the ability of the photographer. Of course, it is not capable of everything - that''s why you get an SLR - but what it does do it does brilliantly. They got the design right first time. There are a couple of things that could be improved (a built-in meter being the only main thing) but in this class it reigns supreme.

Customer Service

Not needed on this model, but Leica has an excellent website and fastidious (if expensive) service facilities worldwide.

Similar Products Used:

Olympus 35RC and RD Olympus OM SLR system Leica CL Leica Minilux Ricoh 35S

Once used to the system, using it becomes second nature and people seem to notice it less than a large SLR or video camera. The camera works as well now as it did in 1960, although there are numerous signs of heavy usage.

Not as relatively small as it once was (I now use an old Olymus XA when I want to conceal the camera in a shirt pocket), and an extended system is much too expensive.

I purchased my M-2 about 40 years ago and have put several thousand rolls of film through it. I have replaced the shutter curtin once and have had it adjusted several times. Over the years I have used it for almost every kind of photography, including Alaska wildlife with a Visioflex attachment. Now I use it exclusively with a 50mm. Summilux 1.4 that I purchased in 1970 for available light photography. I have turned to R Leicas in the 70s and Canons more recently for slide work since they have more reliable metering systems for chromes.

Customer Service

I use a local Fairbanks camera repair shop that provides excellent service

Similar Products Used:

Leica III, Leicaflex, R3, Canon EOS, Olympus XA, Rolleiflex, various other 2 1/4 systems.

An extremely well crafted camera! There is nothing that has the feel of a Leica. The lenses are very small, you could easily have three in a coat pocket (if you didn't mind beating them up). Lenses are excellent. Dead quiet.

They are expensive, as are the lenses and accessories. Loading the film is a pain.

I have a very early M3 and a later 50's M3. Both are not only beautful to handle, but are also workhorses. The lenses tend to be outstanding, even the earliest M-mounts. Many people like to bash the Leica "feel" or lens performance, but you have to try one, there really is nothing like it. Just for the doubters, I also have Nikon, Hasselblad and Sinar, and I wouldn't give up the Leica for any other 35mm.

Customer Service

I've always found them to be excellent although somewhat expensive!

Similar Products Used:

M2
M4-2
M4-P
M6
R4
Leitz-Minolta CL
Fuji 645 rangefinder

Immortal. How many cameras can you say that about? My M3 was actually the second one given to me by my 88-year-old father, rather grudgingly. He was blind by that time and didn't really need it, but remembered (and never tired of reminding me) how I had sold another he gave me, in 1961. The camera exudes quality: no sticky shutters, flimsy bits or fragile electronic/plastic innards. Although the lenses (50 years old) seem to have a bit of a milky haze to them, this has not become apparent in picture quality, which remains excellent. Very quiet. The strongest camera alive.

No light meter. Loading film is a bi**h. Every lens and bit of accessory is scandalously expensive, making the camera practical only for rich hobbyists or rich professionals. This also means that any theft becomes a major catastrophe.

Not at all cost-effective, and the actual difference in picture quality miniscule (although having a Leica is a great excuse to sit and exude fantasies about "shade definition" and "bouquet" and "true reds" yakkity yak. Exorbitant compared to Japanese cameras with much more user-friendliness and features. But incredibly strong and simple, and quiet. You have to have one, if you are serious about 35mm. "miniature" photography (Leica pioneered the concept).

Customer Service

Lousy. Cannot for the life of me find where to get old lenses re-coated.

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Friend, there are no others.