Leica M3 Viewfinder Repair Question

[jordanstarr]

Heyo! I got a Leica M3 DS from a friend that was completely pooched. The shutter was jammed, viewfinder was so filthy you couldn't see through it and the self timer was stuck. I fixed it all and then when I put it back together and looked through the finder, this is what I got.

It looks like one of the prisms or something was put in wrong. I have attached a photo of what I see (as well as a logistics diagram from an M9 viewfinder that is similar)

, but I was pretty meticulous about getting everything out and in the same way and the mirrors and glass all seem to be facing the right way. Also, the way the viewfinder is designed, it's not like there's a lot of room for error since the glass and prisms can only go in one way.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Jordan

 

[Andrew K]

if you can't see through the viewfinder then one of the prism's has separated. The only way to fix it is to split (usually through heat) the prism elements and then re-glue them back together. A friend of mine did this to his M3 20+ years ago and it worked perfectly. It's much the same as re-gluing a lens that has balsam separation