Not For Resale ­ Free Download at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/joechan/manuals Not For Resale ­ Free Download at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/joechan/manuals This Instruction Book contains everything you should know about your LEICA M3. Please devote some time to reading it carefully, and practice the simple operations -- without a film, to start with. You will get the hang of it much quicker than you thought. The LEICA is an advanced highgrade camera, but nevertheless - or rather because of that - amazingly simple to operate. ® The Transport Lever Hold the camera in both hands, and with the right thumb push the transport lever to the right as far as it will go. The lever movement tensions the focal plane shutter of the LEICA and advances the film by one frame. You may also work the film advance lever by several short strokes -- if you find this more convenient. The Release Button With the right index finger gently press down the release button - never jerk it! You will hear the click as the shutter runs down. A film in the camera would now have been exposed, in other words you would have taken a picture. Let go off the release button (lift the finger off), and you can once more operate the transport lever to tension the shutter and advance the film. ® = registered 2 Not For Resale ­ Free Download at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/joechan/manuals The Shutter Speed Dial controls the exposure times. The engraved figures stand for fractions of a second thus 1000 1 indicates /1000 second, 125 is 1 1 /125 second, 4 is /4 second, and 1 1 stands for /1 second, i.e. 1 second. The dial engages at each position when the set shutter speeds opposite the small index line, and remains at this setting. You can therefore set or read off the speeds equally well before or after tensioning the shutter. When set to "B," the shutter remains open as long as the release button is depressed. Intermediate shutter speeds can 1 be set within the range of 1 to /8 1 1 second, also between /15 and /30 1 1 second, and /60 to /1000 second 1 (or to /1000 second). The speed dial features click-stops at all engraved settings. The photo-electric exposure meter LEICAMETER "MC" couples to the shutter speed dial as shown on pages 19-21. For exposures with slow shutter speeds you must, of course, have a firm support. A tripod is ideal in conjunction with a locking cable-release. Screw in the coble-release without pressing the button. The handy LEITZ table tripod is very useful when travelling. Counter The Film Counter is coupled with the transport lever. If the film was correctly loaded (see notes on pages 24-26), the film counter indicates the number of exposures made. The counter stops at No. 40, and automatically returns to its initial position when you withdraw the take-up spool. 3 Not For Resale ­ Free Download at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/joechan/manuals The Iris Diaphragm Hold the lens of your LEICA up to your eye, and rotate the aperture ring. You can then see through the lens components how the iris diaphragm opens and closes. It thus works rather like the iris of your eye which also opens or closes to adapt itself to weaker or stronger light. The iris diaphragm of the lens has a similar purpose, namely to cut down very bright light by "stopping down" -- i.e. the use of a smaller lens aperture. Conversely, in poor light the use of a larger aperture admits more light to the film. At the same time the depth of field changes. The aperture or f-numbers 1.4--2--2.8--4--5.6--8--11 -- 16 -- 22 -- 32*) are a measure of the amount of light reaching the film. They are chosen in such a way that closing down the aperture from each number to the next reduces the light by one-half. Similarly on opening up, each aperture passes twice the light of the next smaller one. So remember: a high aperture number signifies a small aperture, and vice-versa. *) The length of this scale of numbers depends on the type of lens. 4 Not For Resale ­ Free Download at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/joechan/manuals Depth-ofThe Depth-of-Field Scale The picture reproduces sharpest those parts of the scene which are at the exact distance ­ in a plane parallel to the film ­ on which the lens is focused. This maximum sharpness gradually falls off in front of, and behind, that focused distance, resulting in a certain zone within which everything is still acceptably sharp, The extent of this zone of sharpness ­ the "depth of field" ­ depends on the subject distance, the focal length of the lens, and the aperture. Stopping down increases the sharp field, which is desirable for most subjects extending appreciably in depth. This also explains the importance of aperture control in photography. To find the limits of this zone, look at the depth of field scale of your lens. The sharp zone is that enclosed between two index lines of the same aperture number. If, for instance, you have set your 50mm SUMMICRON lens to 15 feet, the available depth of field with an aperture of f/4 (see red arrows in the 1 illustration) extends from about 12 /2 to 20 feet. If, however, you stop down to f/11, the zone of sharpness covers a field from about 9 to 40 feet. (When altering the aperture, be sure to adjust the exposure time accordingly.) See also page 9: Optical Depth-of-field Indicator in the measuring field of the combination range-viewfinder. 5 Not For Resale ­ Free Download at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/joechan/manuals BrilliantRangeThe Brilliant-Frame Range-Viewfinder of the LEICA M3 is designed to function as both a particularly efficient viewfinder and as a highly accurate coupled rangefinder. Everything visible within the bright line frame is recorded on the film with the standard 50 mm lens. This holds true even if you are in a hurry and should happen to glance obliquely through the finder. The brilliant frame is coupled to the focusing movement and automatically shifts itself throughout the whole focusing range. This compensates for parallax errors due to the different positions of the optical axes of the lens and the finder. The viewfinder shows the image in almost natural size. So even if you should occasionally open your other eye to survey the field, you will not be startled by a sudden change in image scale. The brightness of the brilliant frame is sufficient to show up the limits of the field equally clearly with dark subjects. An additional advantage is that the subject remains visible even during the exposure. In the center of the finder the sharp rectangular rangefinder field is visible This appears brighter than surrounding viewfinder area. The rangefinder field disappears if you cover the small rangefinder window with your finger. This is useful when you want to observe the effect of your subject in the viewfinder image only. 6 Not For Resale ­ Free Download at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/joechan/manuals This is how the subject appears in the brilliant-frame range-viewfinder with a 50 mm lens in position. 7 Not For Resale ­ Free Download at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/joechan/manuals The Distance can be set on the distance scale engraved on every lens, or with the aid of the rangefinder image visible in the finder. Some lenses lock in the infinity position; for focusing on nearer distances this lock must be released by depressing the infinity catch. Always remember to extend and lock the barrel of collapsible lenses (see also page 16). If you now rotate the focusing lever or mount of the lens, a scale of numbers moves past the fixed focusing index and indicates the distance in feet and/or metres. This way of focusing is less important, as you can set the distance much more accurately with the aid of the built-in coupled rangefinder. The scale is useful, however, for reading off the depth-offield available and for special subjects where the rangefinder cannot be used. Practice in using the rangefinder is important for developing an efficient focusing technique, and is also great fun. Set the lens to infinity, and observe, say, a window a few yards away through the rangefinder. You will see a bright sharp rectangle in the centre of the finder area. Hold the LEICA in such a way that the vertical window bar cuts through this rectangular rangefinder field. Inside the rangefinder field you will see a double image; i.e. the window bar appears as a second image to the left of the main one. This indicates that the lens is not correctly focused on the film. Now adjust the lens while still looking through 8 Not For Resale ­ Free Download at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/joechan/manuals the finder; the second image moves to the right until it coincides with the stationary outline in the rangefinder field. You have now measured the distance by what is known as the coincidence method. Whenever vertical lines cut through the rangefinder field, you can also measure the distance by the split-image method. This is mode particularly easy by the sharp boundary of the rangefinder field. The part of the subject that is displaced sideways in this field moves across during focusing until the image becomes continuous across the boundary of the frame. In measuring the distance you have at the same time set the lens exactly to this distance. The functioning of the optical depth-of-field indicator in the measuring field of the combination range-viewfinder: Objects outside depth-of-field The double image lies within the wide upper marks: Object is still rendered sharp at f/16 Plane of sharp focus 9 The double image lies within the narrow lower marks: Object is still rendered sharp at f/5.6 Not For Resale ­ Free Download at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/joechan/manuals Automatic Finder Adjustment for 90mm and 135mm Lenses 90 mm Lenses Fit a 90mm LEICA lens in your LEICA M3, lock it in position, and again look through the rangeviewfinder. You will now see on additional bright line finder frame which indicates the field of view covered by the 90mm lens within the field of the standard 50mm lens, and reproduced on the film with 1.8 times magnification. An important point is that the surrounding subject area remains visible in the finder, so that you can easily follow moving subjects and bring them within the 90mm finder field. In the same way the finder automatically indicates the view of the 135mm lens when you fit the 135mm ELMAR in the camera. In addition, the parallax error is 10 Field of view with a 90 mm LEICA lens. The subject area covered with the longer focal length is indicated by the additional bright line frame within the large brilliant frame showing the field of view of the 50 mm lens, which remains visible all the time. Not For Resale ­ Free Download at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/joechan/manuals automatically compensated during focusing - just as with the 50mm lens ­ over the whole focusing range. The image frames visible in the finder also allow for the reduction of the field of view due to the fact that the angle covered by the lens decreases at nearer distances. The image frames are designed so as to include the full field taken in by the film even at the shortest subject distances that can be set on the coupled LEICA lenses. At greater subject distances the lens therefore covers a slightly larger angle of view than shown in the finder. When you fit one of the 35mm wide-angle LEICA lenses with integral M 3 finder attachment to the camera, the viewfinder is automatically converted for wide-angle photography. Field of view with the 135 mm HEKTOR lens which yields a magnification of 2.7 times as compared with the standard 50 mm lens. 11 Not For Resale ­ Free Download at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/joechan/manuals Lever in normal position: field of view for 50mm lens Lever pointing inwards: field of view for 90mm lens Lever pointing outwards: field of view for 135mm lens The The Finder Frame Preselector With the small lever on the front of the body you can moke the 90mm and 135mm finder frames visible in the viewfinder even when, for example, the standard 50 mm lens is fitted to the camera. You instantly see then whether any given subject is better taken with a lens of different focal length. If you release the lever, it returns to its original position, and the additional finder frame disappears. When no lens is mounted in the camera, the finder frame for the 135mm lens appears within the frame for the 50 mm lens. Holding the Camera A good camera grip is the best insurance against camera shake. Hold the LEICA M3 so that the base rests in the palms of both hands, with the thumb against the transport lever, and the index finger resting lightly on the release button. Use the left hand to operate the lens focusing lever. Keep the right eye close to the view- and rangefinder eyepiece so that the left eye, when open, can survey the whole view. Practice holding the camera 12 Not For Resale ­ Free Download at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/joechan/manuals so that it is supported as m ...