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Oooh! Love it!! :D

that said, the M3DS's are my favorites to use - they have the smoothest feel of any camera I've ever touched, in any format.

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Right - 35 is my main focal length, and hence it stays matched with the M6 or Hexar. The M3s are linked to a 50/1.4 and a 25/2.8 w. viewfinder, which are my close seconds for lens favorites. 21 and 75 I don't use often, but they work well on any of the cameras, so it's a system that works well for me. I'll probably be selling one of the M3s to finance the repair of the M6, as I'm currently a little cash-strapped after sinking a lot of money into a 4x5 system.

This is my trusty 0.85 mag M7.

That's one gorgeous looking M2...

M3 with Summarit.

M2 and Rigid Summicron.

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My M3 was the second one posted on this thread. I just dug up a pic of my new acquisition as of just a bit over a month ago:

M6 classic titanium w/ Tri Elmar and grip

My recently departed tribe.

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Not the entire family, but most of them...

1) M2 with collapsible Summicron and VC-II meter.
My battered, but beloved M2. The L.A. smog ate the vulcanite shortly after I got it, but the camera feels smooth as silk.

2) M4 with Summicron DR and VC-II meter.
The camera that will have to be pried from my cold, dead hands. I have another M4 that I stripped and is awaiting a coat of black paint.

3) M6ttl with 2/35 Summicron-M (4th) and SBOOI finder.
My first Leica. Sherry Krauter knows this camera intimately. It started out as a .85, but I had her convert it to a .72, because I couldn't see the 35mm framelines. Then it was knocked out of my hand and she had to replace a cracked bodyshell.:bang: Most recently Sherry added the MP/M7 flare fix.

4) M7 with 1.4/35 Summilux ASPH and Leicavit.
The hood is a Contax GG-2, to which I added a vent. For the past two or three years this camera has been my metered workhorse. It is from a very early batch and Sherry Krauter added the M7/MP flare fix to the finder.

Works REALLY well. It's very accurate and pretty much mimics the meter in my M6ttl.

The VC-II is a huge improvement over the original model. For one thing it is half the height, but more important Cosina added a lock to the reading. The original VC meter was borderline useless, because it metered continuously.

With the new meter you look through the viewfinder and use the RF patch as your guide. The metering area equals that of the 90mm framelines.

Next, without taking your eye off of the viewfinder, you tap the little orange button on the back of the meter and take a reading. The meter will store that reading for circa 20 seconds or until you press the button again. Now you dial in your aperture and shutter speed settings and Bob's your uncle.

They aren't cheap, but well worth the money.

In any case I don't think I would totally give up my incident meter for one, but use both. You could meter off of your hand, but it's not as fast.

Roundg;
DAG does a 3/4 and a full CLA. A 3/4 starts at around 200.
Sherry did a full CLA on my black M5 and also replaced the rangefinder patch, which had small cracks. The total cost was not inexpensive, but worth it. Its like a new camera now. Both people are top notch (los dos grandes) for m5 service.
Thanks for the comments.

M2 and latest 50mm Elmar.

Not having an M, I haven't paid a lot of attention to M lenses. I wasn't aware the old Elmar is still in production. It's a little faster and a little larger with modern glass and materiels but it's still a compact 4 element 3 group lens. I'm always amazed how good my Elmar clone Industar-50 is. An M2 with a new Elmar -- sweet!

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i've been waiting all day for that first shot ray!

sooo pretty.

You did a great job with the covering, Joe.:)

Sadly the Lux is no longer with us...

Some fine looking examples. However I am wondering how many of you use your cameras which have been re-skinned?
I'm ordering a kit from cameraleather.com for my M3.
BTW: It will see use even after re-skinning it.

Thanks for the kind reply and info. My M3 is under some 3/4 CLA in DAG now. I will check with them about my M5. Currently my M5 (still with the L seal) works flawlessly. But some haze I can see in the VF.

1965 M3, 1966 rigid Summicron 50/2, dark yellow B+W filter, third party vented hood, Luigi case/strap