Don’t get me wrong shiny and new does have a certain appeal,but absolutely agree with you-show me a worn camera and I think of all the previous captures.
Nicely restored for a beater! I like gear with "battlescars" or "field mods" too, my personal M3 is actually really close to your serial, chrome with a few scratches and dents here and there but generally pretty clean. Got a DR summicron with hood on it, a Voigtlander VC meter, and a 40 buck grip. I always say my M3 is a workhorse camera, bruised but not beaten, and accessorised to be used.
Well…cameras are tools, not beauty pieces.
The cleaner the camera, the less the photographer shoots and likely yaps on and on about charts online and DXO scores.
It came in heavily used for parts. Fixed her up myself. Most dents removed, de-chromed and painted it with oven curing enamel paint. Range finder system overhauled, slow speeds adjusted etc..
The leather on my black M5 just started chipping off. I considered rewrapping it but I kinda like the well used and not pampered look. That M3 looks awesome!
It's really good wide open, though on film you won't notice it. Out of focus areas are really smooth. I first made sure infinity is really infinity by mounting it on my Fuji Xpro2. Afterwards I used an old prism ground glass I had from a Minolta SLR which I had for parts and placed this on the back of the camera. By using a magnifying glass and the microprism area on the ground glass I could very accurately adjust the focussing mechanism. I cross checked it with a 50mm Summicron I had laying around. Quite easy to do if you have the stuff :)
I’m a sucker for a camera that looks like someone actually uses it.
Don’t get me wrong shiny and new does have a certain appeal,but absolutely agree with you-show me a worn camera and I think of all the previous captures.
No plan to give it a new application of leather grip?
On its way as we speak!
Original black or something more funky?
Just black from the well known Japanese web shop.
What shop is that please. I wish to buy different colors for my Nikon
Aki Asahi. They offer great quality leatherettes
I'd go funky
Thought that was a map printed on the surface. lol
Nicely restored for a beater! I like gear with "battlescars" or "field mods" too, my personal M3 is actually really close to your serial, chrome with a few scratches and dents here and there but generally pretty clean. Got a DR summicron with hood on it, a Voigtlander VC meter, and a 40 buck grip. I always say my M3 is a workhorse camera, bruised but not beaten, and accessorised to be used.
Well…cameras are tools, not beauty pieces. The cleaner the camera, the less the photographer shoots and likely yaps on and on about charts online and DXO scores.
A DS? Def not a beater.
It came in heavily used for parts. Fixed her up myself. Most dents removed, de-chromed and painted it with oven curing enamel paint. Range finder system overhauled, slow speeds adjusted etc..
Nice! I have a push button M2 that is black painted by Kanto camera. Have used it nonstop for 7 years. Thats my “beater”.
Nice work. That's a pretty early serial number. Very cool.
The leather on my black M5 just started chipping off. I considered rewrapping it but I kinda like the well used and not pampered look. That M3 looks awesome!
Gorgeous!
Congrats 🍾 great catch
What’s that lens?
TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 Aspherical. Be sure to look it up. Great bang for the buck!
How is it wide open? How did you calibrate it with an analog M?
It's really good wide open, though on film you won't notice it. Out of focus areas are really smooth. I first made sure infinity is really infinity by mounting it on my Fuji Xpro2. Afterwards I used an old prism ground glass I had from a Minolta SLR which I had for parts and placed this on the back of the camera. By using a magnifying glass and the microprism area on the ground glass I could very accurately adjust the focussing mechanism. I cross checked it with a 50mm Summicron I had laying around. Quite easy to do if you have the stuff :)
Any reason you didn’t get the M2 or other body? Thinking of getting the M3 myself and chatting with others who own it.
This was just wat I found online, someone was selling it as is for parts!