Is a M3 the right camera for shooting slides? Or would you say it´s better to have a camera with a build-in meter and take the M3 for b&w ? What kind of films do you use with your M3? Juergen

-- Juergen Schliehe (juergen.schliehe@t-online.de), November 12, 2001

Answers

Juergen,

the M3 and all other Leicas (with the exception of the CL, M5 or M6) are just cases for film with a shutter. If you want to shoot slide with these you either have the right feeling for the exposure or better a good external clip-on or hand held meter. Using a meter makes the M3 equivalent to a M6 for shooting slides etc. Recommended is either a hand held meter (Gossen comes to my mind) or a clip-on meter (Leica MR, MR-4 or Voigtlaender, the Leica MC is selenium based and may be not working correctly after some 30 years). There is also the sunny-16-rule which is working ok for BW and maybe slides (I have about 80% hits with correct exposure), but the decision is up to you if you can live with that.

I myself use a M2 which is similar to a M3 and am shooting slides and BW with it. Correct exposure is more relevant for silde film, but you also see the differences in BW. If you just want to shoot around without carrying / using a uncoupled meter (which all of the above are), the M6 / M5 / CL might be your camera. Otherwise stick to the M3 which is a very nice piece of a camera -

Kai

-- Kai Blanke (Kai.Blanke@iname.com), November 13, 2001.

Juergen asks:

Is a M3 the right camera for shooting slides? Or would you say it´s better to have a camera with a build-in meter and take the M3 for b&w ? What kind of films do you use with your M3? Juergen -- Juergen Schliehe (juergen.schliehe@t-online.de), November 12, 2001

As noted, if you have a meter the M3 is well suited. I used an M4 (also meterless) for several rolls of Provia 100F recently and had the Voigtländer VC in the accessory shoe. Very nice results.

-- Craig Zeni (clzeni@mindspring.com), November 13, 2001.

If you have a meter and learn how to use it it will work just fine. I found an M3 with MR meter (for example) to be a fine machine for taking slides.

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), November 13, 2001.

More important for shooting chrome than the issue of a built-in vs handheld or clip-on meter is knowing the true shutter speeds of your camera. They don't necessarily have to be spec'd up to match the numbers on the dial, you just need to know what they really are. As little as 1/3 stop can make a noticeable difference in exposure with slide film.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), November 13, 2001.

Juergen: I once had an M3 and attempted to shoot slides with it. A complete disaster since I did not use a light meter. Since that time I sold my M3 (regretably) because it did not have a built in light meter, but the M6 did. I purchased an M6 new and have had excellent results shooting transparency film. My M3 was excellent for shooting black and white print film and color print film since most of these films have a fairly broad exposure latitude. Not so with slide films.You almost certainly need to use an exposure meter when shooting slides.

-- John Alfred Tropiano (jat18@psu.edu), November 13, 2001.