Film Need help on pricing for Leica M3 and lenses

Boid

All-Pro
Location
Bangalore, India
Name
Rajiv
I'm very new to the film camera game. Could someone please help me with a pricing for this setup?
I understand that a lot would have to do with the condition of the gear. But assuming it's in a good condition, how much would this cost approximately?
I'm speaking to the seller tomorrow, he hasn't posted a price on this gear.

Camera model- M3 (1135703) with additional light meter(leica-meter MC) (sn#1135703)
Leather original leica camera cover.

Lens-
Leitz wetzlar,summicron - 1:2.8/35 (sn#2101147)
" " " - 1:2/50 (sn#1833093)
" " elmar - 1:4/135 (sn#1769614)

Every lens has lens hood and UVa filter. also has orange,
green and yellow filters. Lenses have original cover case.


Any help much appreciated!
 
Boid,
You will need to know the serial numbers of the lenses as Leica produce several versions with the same name over the years that have differing values. This site gives a good starting point of what you should expect to pay: Antique and Classic Camera Home Page. The heat has come out of the market at the moment so prices are generally at the lower end of their range.

Happy hunting!
 
this could turn into a long complicated thread Boid!
It gets complicated with Leica lenses as there are often multiple versions of each which tend to command different prices.
I don't know enough to offer help, except to say that a 35mm 2.8 is a Summaron not a Summicron (Summicron = f/2) , and to suggest you have a look at the classifieds at RFF and GetDPI.
 
Boid,
You will need to know the serial numbers of the lenses as Leica produce several versions with the same name over the years that have differing values. This site gives a good starting point of what you should expect to pay: Antique and Classic Camera Home Page. The heat has come out of the market at the moment so prices are generally at the lower end of their range.

Happy hunting!

He did provide serial numbers but I took them off thinking it was unnecessary info! I've added them back in now. It's all Greek to me.

Thanks for the link. Will read through and try and make sense of it.
 
this could turn into a long complicated thread Boid!
It gets complicated with Leica lenses as there are often multiple versions of each which tend to command different prices.
I don't know enough to offer help, except to say that a 35mm 2.8 is a Summaron not a Summicron (Summicron = f/2) , and to suggest you have a look at the classifieds at RFF and GetDPI.

Uh oh. I was looking through RFF since earlier today. Conversations like "Should I go for a .72 or a .85" left me completely flummoxed.
 
The Leica MC meter is (now - they are old), not really any good - (I have 2 or 3) - all they do is scratch the top plate on the M3 - the readings they produce are - well, just of no use

with the M3 either get used to and use the "sunny 16" method or buy a digital light meter

The following link may help you with info on M Lens

Leica M Lens Users Guide

Good luck
 
Prices for M3 - searching EBay - Leica M3 - then advanced - then completed listings is probably the best way to discover the current price of an M3 - (by the serial number it looks as if the one you are looking at is a "single stroke")

The lens serial numbers are on the following link

http://www.forloren.dk/lbf/leica_lens_serial.htm

and this is a useful Leica lens info site

http://www.antiquecameras.net/leicamlenses.html

The guy puts a value on lens - but I would only use these values for comparative purposes - e.g between one lens and another
 
Condition is everything, easily a factor of3x in pricing.

On the M3: if it has not been cleaned-lubed-adjustedin the past 15 years or so, factor in an extra $200 to have a repair shop take care of it. Viewfinders fog up, shutters need adjustment. M3's go for $600 to $2000 depending on condition and serial number.

The lens: the SUMMICRON is an F2 lens, goes for over $1000 more than the 35/2.8 Summaron. Very different. These days, a Summaron 35/2.8 for the m3 should go ~$600 to $800. again- is the glass clean, no marks, and without haze?

A 50mm F2 Summicron type 1 Rigid, good condition, $800 or so these days. Long gone are the $100 Summicrons. Not to mention the $71 Summicron.

The 135 F4 Elmar- about $250.
 
Condition is everything, easily a factor of3x in pricing.

On the M3: if it has not been cleaned-lubed-adjustedin the past 15 years or so, factor in an extra $200 to have a repair shop take care of it. Viewfinders fog up, shutters need adjustment. M3's go for $600 to $2000 depending on condition and serial number.

The lens: the SUMMICRON is an F2 lens, goes for over $1000 more than the 35/2.8 Summaron. Very different. These days, a Summaron 35/2.8 for the m3 should go ~$600 to $800. again- is the glass clean, no marks, and without haze?

A 50mm F2 Summicron type 1 Rigid, good condition, $800 or so these days. Long gone are the $100 Summicrons. Not to mention the $71 Summicron.

The 135 F4 Elmar- about $250.

Thanks Brian. Leica service centers don't exist in Bangalore. Will have to cart it 2000 kms to Delhi to get it serviced. But this is all academic till I get my hands on the gear. Thanks for the figures again.
 
Boid, remember that the M3 is made for the 50mm naturally. You'll need either the BugEye 35mm or a finder for the top end. It could be a single or double stroke. Double strokes are less $$$. As Brian stated, the lens is a Summaron. It came in a few versions but one thing for sure. In every copy we had at Kosmin's, there was a fog on the inner elements. Sometimes it was like a white fog and other times it was almost invisible but under a collimated light source, you could see it. It's not the sharpest lens they ever made and it's a medium contrast lens. It is really amazing for doing IR stuff....
 
That is low- but it all depends on condition. If the camera and lenses need major overhaul, the price is good.

If the stuff is ready to be used out of the box, someone got a real steal. I plan on putting more film equipment up for sale in the classifieds. Probably one of the M3's will go up for sale, have not decided which yet. Forty years of collecting equipment.
 
The seller sold the whole lot for 1000$ last night. Insane!

When I miss out on a deal like that I have to tell myself that there was something wrong with it and that the person who bought it is about to be hit by a bus :tomato2:. Whoops, better book into that anger management course.

Seriously though, you may be better to buy the camera and lenses as separate purchases to get what you really want at a decent price. Don't be scared to look at the newer Zeiss and Voigtlander glass or the older Canon and Nikon lenses - they are generally considerably cheaper and should hold their value if you want to trade up later. A lot of the older lenses and Voigtlander use LTM so you will need an LTM to M mount adapter that brings up the right frame lines. As Streetshooter pointed out the M3 doesn't have frame lines wider than 50mm so if that doesn't suit your shooting you may be better to look at one of the other models. Work out what focal lengths you would like to shoot at and then choose the model based on that as the frame lines available differ between them.

If you have any specific questions you want help answering send me a pm and i'll help if I can.
 
I bought a pair of Leica's with lenses for $15 each at an antique store. A Black Leica III with Elmar and Chrome IIIa with Summar. Sent them to Youxin Ye for rebuild, add $200 to the cost. And a Rollei 35TE and Rollieflex IV for the same. Told the shop owner that these were valuable cameras, they were in on consignment. His response- "I knew you were going to buy those the moment you walked in."

Sometimes life smiles on you.
 
And they (I spoke to the wife and then the husband) seemed like a really nice old couple. I just mumbled something about them having received a good price for it (they certainly seemed to think so) and hung up. THEN I went and bought a Yashica Electro 35 GTN on ebay to cheer myself up. Sigh. Today I can completely empathize with every fishing yarn ever told by any angler and would certainly stand them a round of beer. Two even. :crying:
 
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