The Leica M3 is considered by many to be the single greatest non-SLR camera ever made, and many more consider it the greatest camera of all time outright. Although I suspect that the Leica-love is sometimes a little more based in emotion than cold hard reality, I have to admit that the M3 is a stunning and highly capable piece of equipment.
Leica sold 220,000 M3s over the course of its production run and there are entire businesses now dedicated to restoring and refurbishing them, spare parts are easy to come by and the online community that surrounds the model is surprisingly large.
The 1963 Leica M3 you see here is an excellent example of the camera, it’s fully functioning and comes with a fitted Summilux 1:1.4 50mm lens. The estimated value is between $1,500 to $2,300 USD which is actually not a bad price for a camera that’ll double as a family heirloom.
Ben Branch has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, the official Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with millions of readers around the world and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
This MV Agusta 861 Magni is the work of Arturo Magni and his sons, Arturo was a legendary Italian engineer who joined MV Agusta in the early 1950s after a stint with Gilera. Any student of motorcycle racing history will immediately recognize the importance of seeing the Magni name on the side of an MV…
Though it’s somewhat comically named, the Douchebags™ Backpack is actually a very well engineered backpack designed by Swedish freeski icon Jon Olsson and Norwegian product designer Truls Brataas. They founded Douchebags™ back in 2012 with the goal of developing genuinely 21st century-ready bags for people with busy, highly-mobile lives. Their bags have won several international…
The Momentum Torpedo Blast 44 is is one of the best value propositions in the outdoor adventure watch genre at the moment. It has an MSRP of just $69.98 USD, a tough stainless steel case, water resistance to 200 meters, a 3 to 5 year battery life, a rotating diving bezel, and a heat-tempered, anti-glare…
The Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 is almost certainly the most famous aircraft engine in history, I’m sure there are other contenders of course but I’m convinced the Merlin has them beat. Although most believe the engine is named for the famous wizard of the same name from the legend of King Arthur, it’s actually named after…
Aside from their bespoke handmade watches, my favorite thing about Bamford is the fact that they rustle the jimmies of snooty purists. At their core, Bamford is a horological blood-brother of tuning houses like BMW’s M Motorsport division and the Mercedes-Benz AMG team. Instead of cars Bamford takes wristwatches made by many of the best…
This series of 26 images were taken in March 1993 by Matt Thompson and his family, on a special birthday trip to the Britten workshop near Christchurch in 1993. These photographs been completely unseen by anyone other than Matt and his family for the past 26 years. 1993 was a big year for the John…
