Leica M3 and M4
This Leica M3 is my first Leica camera, a model n° 783 631 made in 1955 with a double stroke lever, here with a Summicron 50 mm NF and a Voigtländer light-meter; one of my M4 was made in 1968, another one in 1969. Why have more than one camera body? And is it appropriate to practice street photography with several bodies, round the neck, on one shoulder, in one hand?
The viewfinder of the M3 is best for 50 or 90mm lenses, whereas the viewfinder of the M4 is better suited to a 35mm or a 50mm lens. Being able to see what is surrounding the frame is useful when one has to decide what should be inside or outside the frame. For that reason, I tend to keep both eyes open, the right one looking through the viewfinder and the left one outside, in order to see a still or moving item which might complete the composition. Having several bodies allows you, therefore, to use almost simultaneously either wide angle, standard or telephoto. Having said that, discretion and invisibility being essential for practicing street photography, it would often be inappropriate to overplay the David Seymour or Robert Capa look.