Minox M3 User Manual

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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

you find this more

With the right index finger gently press down

never jerk it! You will hear

the click as the shutter runs down. A film in the

camera would now have been exposed, in

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

This Instruction Book

This Instruction BookThis 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

The Transport LeverThe Transport Lever

Hold the camera in both hands,

short strokes — if convenient.

The Release Button

The Release ButtonThe Release Button

the release button -

other words you would have taken a picture.

film.

® = registered

h slow shutter speeds you must, of

course, have a firm support. A tripod is ideal in

release. Screw in the

release without pressing the button. The handy

is coupled with the transport lever. If the film was

26), the film

counter indicates the number of exposures made. The

counter stops at No. 40, and automatically returns to

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The Shutter

The Shutter The Shutter Speed Dial

Speed Dial

Speed DialSpeed Dial

controls the exposure times. The engraved figures stand for fractions of a second thus 1000 indicates

second, 4 is 1/4second, and

125

1 stands for

second, 125 is

1000

/1second, 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

For exposures wit

conjunction with a locking cablecobleLEITZ table tripod is very useful when travelling.

The Film Cou

The Film Counter

The Film CouThe Film Cou

nter

nternter

correctly loaded (see notes on pages 24-

its initial position when you withdraw the takespool.

after tensioning the shutter. When set to "B," the shutter remains open as long as the release button is depressed. Intermediate shutter speeds can

be set within the range of 1 to

second, also between 1/15 and 1/30 second, and (or

to 1/

1000

/60 to 1/

second). The speed

second

1000

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.

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The Iris Diaphragm

The Iris DiaphragmThe 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.

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The Depth

The Depth----of

The DepthThe Depth

of----Field Scale

Field Scale

ofof

Field ScaleField 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

illustration) extends from about 12

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.

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The Brilliant

The Brilliant-

The BrilliantThe Brilliant

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.

-Frame Range

Frame Range-

Frame RangeFrame Range

-Viewfinder

Viewfinder

ViewfinderViewfinder

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.

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This is how the subject appears in the brilliant-frame range-viewfinder with a 50 mm lens in position.

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The Distance

The DistanceThe 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

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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

The double

image lies within the narrow lower marks:

Object is still rendered sharp at f/5.6

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