The Leica M3 was a 35 mm rangefinder camera by Leica 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). Leica M cameras are still in production today. Production of the M3 model ended in 1966 after about 215,000 were made. The M3 introduced several features to the Leica, among them the combination of viewfi...
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The Leica M3 was a 35 mm rangefinder camera by Leica 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). Leica M cameras are still in production today. Production of the M3 model ended in 1966 after about 215,000 were made. 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, and a bayonet lens mount. It was the most successful model of the M series, with over 220,000 units sold.
This new bayonet mount, which has not been changed in the following half century, is called the Leica M mount. Lenses are changed faster than with a screw mount, and framelines set automatically. Non-Leitz/Leica bayonet-mount lenses can also be used (although none were produced in any quantity while the M3 was sold), and a simple adapter also allows the use of screwmount...
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