Leica M3
Single-stroke M3 with collapsible Summicron 50mm f/2.0 lens | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Type | 35 mm rangefinder camera |
| Lens | |
| Lens mount | Leica M-mount |
| Focusing | |
| Focus | manual |
| Exposure/metering | |
| Exposure | manual |
| Flash | |
| Flash | standard accessory shoe with separate bulb and electronic flash connectors |
| General | |
| Dimensions | 138 × 77 × 33.5 mm |
| Weight | 580 g |
The Leica M3 is a 35 mm rangefinder camera by Ernst Leitz GmbH (now Leica Camera AG), introduced in 1954. It was a new starting point for Leitz, which until then had only produced screw-mount Leica cameras that were incremental improvements to its original Leica (Ur-Leica). The M3 introduced several features to the Leica, among them the combination of viewfinder and rangefinder in one bright window, like on the Contax II, a bayonet lens mount, and rapid film advance lever. It was the most successful model of the M series, with over 220,000 units sold by the time production of the M3 model ended in 1967.
It was succeeded by a number of later film M series cameras, including the Leica M-A film camera in 2014.
The earliest Leica M3 pre-model that was built, sold at auction in 2009 for €72,000. In June 2019 a pre series model from 1952/1953 was sold for €360.000 at the 34th Leitz auction in Wetzlar.