Leica M3

Introduced in 1954, the M3 was Leitz's first camera to use the M bayonet mount. Its combined viewfinder and rangefinder, with 0.91x magnification, set a standard for 35mm rangefinder design that every subsequent Leica M followed.

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Artists who use this(12)

Henri Cartier-Bresson

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Used a Leica M rangefinder throughout his career; the M3 was his primary camera from the mid-1950s onward.

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Saul Leiter

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Leiter used a Leica rangefinder for his street work in New York; documented in interviews and the documentary "In No Great Hurry" (2013).

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Last updated March 24, 2026

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Davidson photographed "East 100th Street" (1970) with a Leica, using a tripod and slow shutter speeds to make deliberate, formal exposures; his use of Leica equipment is documented in Magnum retrospective accounts of the project.

Helen Levitt

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Levitt used a Leica rangefinder fitted with a right-angle viewfinder throughout her New York street work, a technique that allowed her to photograph sideways without her subjects noticing the direction of her gaze. Her use of this setup is documented in "A Way of Seeing" (1965, text by James Agee) and in accounts of her working method provided to MoMA for her 1974 retrospective.

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W. Eugene Smith

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Smith used Leica rangefinders throughout his career; the M3 allowed him to work in available light during extended stays with his subjects. Documented in the Smith archive at the Center for Creative Photography.

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Lee Friedlander

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Friedlander has used Leica rangefinder cameras throughout his career; his use of the M3 and subsequent M bodies is documented in interviews and in retrospective accounts of his working practice at MoMA.

Larry Clark

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Clark used a Leica for "Tulsa" (1971), his raw documentary of drug use and violence among his circle of friends. The camera's quiet operation suited his participatory approach. Documented in retrospective accounts.

Harry Callahan

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Callahan used Leica rangefinder cameras for his street photography and portraits of his wife Eleanor. His Leica practice is documented in retrospective accounts of his work at the Institute of Design.

Ernst Haas

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Haas used a Leica M rangefinder for his street and motion work; his 1953 Life magazine essay on New York in color, which helped legitimize color photography in editorial work, was made with a Leica.

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Marc Riboud

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A committed Leica user throughout his career, Riboud has discussed his preference for the M rangefinder in multiple interviews; the camera's quiet shutter was well suited to the street and political work he produced over five decades.

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René Burri

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Burri used a Leica rangefinder for his 1963 portrait of Che Guevara and throughout his career at Magnum Photos. His use of Leica M cameras is documented in retrospective Magnum accounts.

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