Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/12/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Here's the deal: I ordered a used single stroke M3 from a dealer in Shutterbug (we don't have any dealers near me that carry this sort of thing). It seemed like a decent price: $795 for a camera described as Excellent. I received the camera yesterday and everything is fine EXCEPT: * It is very difficult to mount lenses. The spring inside the mount looks new and it takes an unusual amount of effort to turn a lens (I have four I tried them all) in place. * The rangefinder images are not aligned vertical. A little off I can accept as I understand this will very some with focusing distance but this seems excessive. They don't even line up -- again vertically -- at infinity. * The camera does not have a viewfinder preview. Its 872xxx serial number led me to assume it would. The camera comes with a 14-day return privledge and a 90 day warranty. As I see it, here are my options: 1.) Accept it the way is. (this does not seem like a reasonable option to me.) 2.) Return it for a refund and either a. buy another camera from the same dealer, or b. shop somewhere else 3.) Return it for repair under warranty -- the store (Le Camera) claims to have their own repair facility. I'm not too concerned about the viewfinder preview since the 50mm is always visable and the only telephoto I own is a 90 and I can pretty well judge when I'm going to need a 90. But the other issues (the mount and the viewfinder have me going a bit). So here's my questions for you: Will the mount loosen up on it's own? Is this something that can be adjusted easily so if I send back for repair I can expect it to be right? Can I assume that they will get the rangefinder adjustment corrected or is vertical misalignment some kind of fatal flaw in a M3? Also, is the vertical alignment on an M3 something a person can do themselves without disassembling the camera.? What do y'all think? Bob