"Dream" photo gear acquired

pingflood · 07-21-2009, 04:35 AM

Just had to share... I finally, after many years of wanting one, picked up a Leica M series. I've had my IIf and previously a III screwmount, but have wanted an M since the first time I saw one. Fortune finally smiled upon me, and I spotted an M4-2 on ebay with the auction ending on a Monday morning -- not a lot of action on it and I scored it for a very good price.

Happy days!

(And it turns out the guy who serviced my other Leicas also works on the all-mechanical Ms so he will do a full CLA on it for me. Should last many years after that.)

geauxpez · 07-21-2009, 05:33 AM

Wow -- congrats! Now...what lens(es) do you plan on using?

pingflood · 07-21-2009, 05:41 AM

I am debating just getting a LTM->M adapter and keep my ~1936 vintage uncoated Summar since it's such a wonderful lens. Possibly pick up a Voigtlander 35/2.5 as well since they perform admirably and are very inexpensive.

séamuis · 07-21-2009, 05:53 AM

the only Leica I would ever want would be an R3. when it comes to rangefinders I think ill take a Bessa any day of the week. mmmmm.... R3a and nokton 40mm.

but congrats on the acquisition! my only rangefinders are Japanese Petri's the colour 35 is an amazing little camera, but its no Leica I suppose.

pingflood · 07-21-2009, 06:06 AM

The Bessas are great and no doubt a more usable and modern camera than an older M body... but I've been wanting one for a loooong time and had to take the opportunity.

Side note on the M4-2: up until the late 70s all the M bodies had been 'handcrafted' in the regard that the factory workers would do a lot of part picking and tweaking and adjusting to get things just so... then Leica was going to drop manufacturing of the M line altogether and focus on the R (SLR) series since they figured it was the future. The guy running the Canadian Leica plant convinced management in Germany to let him have a go at making rangefinder cameras in a more efficient way, and the M4-2 was born. The idea was to have higher precision machining on the components so they wouldn't require so much adjusting and tweaking during the manufacturing process. Initially this lead to a few bumps in the road, the first few hundred M4-2 cameras suffered from lots of issues, and the entire production run got a bad rep from it, even though the bugs were quickly ironed out and apart from the initial batch the M4-2 is every bit as fine a camera as the other Ms... but as often happens, especially these days with all the Internet communications, things get blown out of proportion and the M4-2 suffers from a poor reputation even more today than before. The upside is that they can be had for a bit less than the other Ms, and you still get the same build and quality.

vinzer · 07-21-2009, 08:24 AM

Congrats on the purchase. Care to divulge how much you got it for? There are times when I feel the urge to get a rangefinder, hopefully someday I might push through with it.

pingflood · 07-21-2009, 08:37 AM

$400.01 -- I made a guess that the high bidder had put in $400 max and added a penny to that 5 seconds before closing...

A CLA on it from Youxin Ye (he works on all mechanical-only Leicas and does a *fantastic* job) is under $100 unless parts need replacing so I'll have a nice M4-2 for < $500 all said and done.

Probably will sell the IIf now, as much as I love it... trying to reduce the amount of gear and end up with a handful of things I *really* like.

Just ordered up an LTM->M adapter from Adorama, decided to go with the Summar for now.

If you just want a rangefinder, you can find a lot of nice 60s/70s cameras for well under $100 just to get your feet wet. Feel free to hit me up with any questions and I can probably offer some advice on makes and models depending on your needs and wants.

k100d · 07-21-2009, 08:49 AM

Originally posted by pingflood

$400.01 -- I made a guess that the high bidder had put in $400 max and added a penny to that 5 seconds before closing...

A CLA on it from Youxin Ye (he works on all mechanical-only Leicas and does a *fantastic* job) is under $100 unless parts need replacing so I'll have a nice M4-2 for < $500 all said and done.

damn that's a good price. how have you been metering?

séamuis · 07-21-2009, 09:01 AM

Quote:

If you just want a rangefinder, you can find a lot of nice 60s/70s cameras for well under $100 just to get your feet wet.

that's no joke.

olympus, rollei, petri, canon, minolta, kodak, argus, konica, yashica, zorki, FED, ricoh, mamiya, etc, etc.

the only rangefinders that will cost any 'real' money would be the leica's, viogtlander's, zeiss ikon contax's & the nikon's.

pingflood · 07-21-2009, 09:05 AM

Originally posted by séamuis

that's no joke.

olympus, rollei, petri, canon, minolta, kodak, argus, konica, yashica, zorki, FED, ricoh, mamiya, etc, etc.

the only rangefinders that will cost any 'real' money would be the leica's, viogtlander's, zeiss ikon contax's & the nikon's.

The Canon 7/P and similar will run a few bucks too. My favorite "cheapie" is the Kiev -- I have a 4 which is a great little camera. Fedka.com is a good place for finding good copies of the russian RF cameras.

As for metering, I just eyeball it on the IIf and will continue to do the same. After doing manual or no metering for a while you get a pretty good "feel" for it, and using C41 negative film you have a fair bit of forgiveness for exposure errors. Or use TriX and Diafine and you can pretty much expose it +/- 3 stops and get decent results.

séamuis · 07-21-2009, 09:28 AM

Quote:

As for metering, I just eyeball it on the IIf and will continue to do the same. After doing manual or no metering for a while you get a pretty good "feel" for it

that may be true, but I would not be caught without my sekonic. that thing is more invaluable than any piece of equipment I own. I think I could probably do rather well myself concerning 'eyeballing it' but I imagine I would be second guessing myself every time until I pull out the lightmeter.

vinzer · 07-21-2009, 10:43 PM

Originally posted by pingflood

$400.01 -- I made a guess that the high bidder had put in $400 max and added a penny to that 5 seconds before closing...

A CLA on it from Youxin Ye (he works on all mechanical-only Leicas and does a *fantastic* job) is under $100 unless parts need replacing so I'll have a nice M4-2 for < $500 all said and done.

Probably will sell the IIf now, as much as I love it... trying to reduce the amount of gear and end up with a handful of things I *really* like.

Just ordered up an LTM->M adapter from Adorama, decided to go with the Summar for now.

If you just want a rangefinder, you can find a lot of nice 60s/70s cameras for well under $100 just to get your feet wet. Feel free to hit me up with any questions and I can probably offer some advice on makes and models depending on your needs and wants.

Wow, that *is* a good price. Again, congrats.

Thanks for the assist. I'll do basic research first, so I can get most of the simple questions out of the way. What I do know is that I'd want an interchangeable-lens system just so I could share lenses between that and the E-P1 via adapters.

Originally posted by séamuis

that's no joke.

olympus, rollei, petri, canon, minolta, kodak, argus, konica, yashica, zorki, FED, ricoh, mamiya, etc, etc.

the only rangefinders that will cost any 'real' money would be the leica's, viogtlander's, zeiss ikon contax's & the nikon's.

Seems like there are plenty of choices to pick from. That's good. I like choices.

pingflood · 07-22-2009, 04:38 AM

Originally posted by vinzer

Wow, that *is* a good price. Again, congrats.

Thanks for the assist. I'll do basic research first, so I can get most of the simple questions out of the way. What I do know is that I'd want an interchangeable-lens system just so I could share lenses between that and the E-P1 via adapters.

Keep in mind that pretty much all Leica screwmount lenses will work on M mount cameras via an adapter, so if you get an M to u4/3 adapter you can use just about anything made in either mount. M lenses are pretty costly still but you can find quite a bit of interesting LTM (screwmount/M39) glass that doesn't break the bank. It would be interesting to see how the really old uncoated glass (e.g. the Summar I have) looks on a modern digital camera.

One thing to watch out for, I'd presume, is the collapsible lenses. I'd imagine the E-P1 doesn't have enough room inside to handle those. It's very easy to temporarily make it non-collapsible though, with a rubber band or tape around the extending barrel.

raymeedc · 07-22-2009, 10:50 AM

Originally posted by séamuis

that's no joke.

olympus, rollei, petri, canon, minolta, kodak, argus, konica, yashica, zorki, FED, ricoh, mamiya, etc, etc.

the only rangefinders that will cost any 'real' money would be the leica's, viogtlander's, zeiss ikon contax's & the nikon's.

And Canons.

séamuis · 07-22-2009, 11:09 AM

Originally posted by raymeedc

And Canons.

?

I don't think canons are that expensive. certainly more so than the others listed but not generally in the same league price wise as Leica, Voigtlander, Nikon & Zeiss.

you can get canonets for peanuts. the P is the only one that is overly desirable, but even then its a bargain choice when concerning Leica screw mount.

07-21-2009, 04:35 AM	#1
pingflood Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Borås, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,169	"Dream" photo gear acquired Just had to share... I finally, after many years of wanting one, picked up a Leica M series. I've had my IIf and previously a III screwmount, but have wanted an M since the first time I saw one. Fortune finally smiled upon me, and I spotted an M4-2 on ebay with the auction ending on a Monday morning -- not a lot of action on it and I scored it for a very good price. Happy days! (And it turns out the guy who serviced my other Leicas also works on the all-mechanical Ms so he will do a full CLA on it for me. Should last many years after that.)

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07-21-2009, 05:33 AM	#2
geauxpez Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Atlanta Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,196	Wow -- congrats! Now...what lens(es) do you plan on using?

07-21-2009, 05:41 AM	#3
pingflood Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Borås, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,169 Original Poster	I am debating just getting a LTM->M adapter and keep my ~1936 vintage uncoated Summar since it's such a wonderful lens. Possibly pick up a Voigtlander 35/2.5 as well since they perform admirably and are very inexpensive.

07-21-2009, 05:53 AM	#4
séamuis Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Savannah, U.S./Baguio City, P.H. Posts: 5,979	the only Leica I would ever want would be an R3. when it comes to rangefinders I think ill take a Bessa any day of the week. mmmmm.... R3a and nokton 40mm. but congrats on the acquisition! my only rangefinders are Japanese Petri's the colour 35 is an amazing little camera, but its no Leica I suppose.

07-21-2009, 06:06 AM	#5
pingflood Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Borås, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,169 Original Poster	The Bessas are great and no doubt a more usable and modern camera than an older M body... but I've been wanting one for a loooong time and had to take the opportunity. Side note on the M4-2: up until the late 70s all the M bodies had been 'handcrafted' in the regard that the factory workers would do a lot of part picking and tweaking and adjusting to get things just so... then Leica was going to drop manufacturing of the M line altogether and focus on the R (SLR) series since they figured it was the future. The guy running the Canadian Leica plant convinced management in Germany to let him have a go at making rangefinder cameras in a more efficient way, and the M4-2 was born. The idea was to have higher precision machining on the components so they wouldn't require so much adjusting and tweaking during the manufacturing process. Initially this lead to a few bumps in the road, the first few hundred M4-2 cameras suffered from lots of issues, and the entire production run got a bad rep from it, even though the bugs were quickly ironed out and apart from the initial batch the M4-2 is every bit as fine a camera as the other Ms... but as often happens, especially these days with all the Internet communications, things get blown out of proportion and the M4-2 suffers from a poor reputation even more today than before. The upside is that they can be had for a bit less than the other Ms, and you still get the same build and quality.

07-21-2009, 08:24 AM	#6
vinzer Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Philippines Posts: 1,399	Congrats on the purchase. Care to divulge how much you got it for? There are times when I feel the urge to get a rangefinder, hopefully someday I might push through with it.

07-21-2009, 08:37 AM	#7
pingflood Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Borås, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,169 Original Poster	$400.01 -- I made a guess that the high bidder had put in $400 max and added a penny to that 5 seconds before closing... A CLA on it from Youxin Ye (he works on all mechanical-only Leicas and does a fantastic job) is under $100 unless parts need replacing so I'll have a nice M4-2 for < $500 all said and done. Probably will sell the IIf now, as much as I love it... trying to reduce the amount of gear and end up with a handful of things I really like. Just ordered up an LTM->M adapter from Adorama, decided to go with the Summar for now. If you just want a rangefinder, you can find a lot of nice 60s/70s cameras for well under $100 just to get your feet wet. Feel free to hit me up with any questions and I can probably offer some advice on makes and models depending on your needs and wants.

07-21-2009, 08:49 AM	#8
k100d Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Toronto Posts: 3,911	Originally posted by pingflood $400.01 -- I made a guess that the high bidder had put in $400 max and added a penny to that 5 seconds before closing... A CLA on it from Youxin Ye (he works on all mechanical-only Leicas and does a fantastic job) is under $100 unless parts need replacing so I'll have a nice M4-2 for < $500 all said and done. damn that's a good price. how have you been metering?

07-21-2009, 09:01 AM	#9
séamuis Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Savannah, U.S./Baguio City, P.H. Posts: 5,979	Quote: If you just want a rangefinder, you can find a lot of nice 60s/70s cameras for well under $100 just to get your feet wet. that's no joke. olympus, rollei, petri, canon, minolta, kodak, argus, konica, yashica, zorki, FED, ricoh, mamiya, etc, etc. the only rangefinders that will cost any 'real' money would be the leica's, viogtlander's, zeiss ikon contax's & the nikon's.

07-21-2009, 09:05 AM	#10
pingflood Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Borås, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,169 Original Poster	Originally posted by séamuis that's no joke. olympus, rollei, petri, canon, minolta, kodak, argus, konica, yashica, zorki, FED, ricoh, mamiya, etc, etc. the only rangefinders that will cost any 'real' money would be the leica's, viogtlander's, zeiss ikon contax's & the nikon's. The Canon 7/P and similar will run a few bucks too. My favorite "cheapie" is the Kiev -- I have a 4 which is a great little camera. Fedka.com is a good place for finding good copies of the russian RF cameras. As for metering, I just eyeball it on the IIf and will continue to do the same. After doing manual or no metering for a while you get a pretty good "feel" for it, and using C41 negative film you have a fair bit of forgiveness for exposure errors. Or use TriX and Diafine and you can pretty much expose it +/- 3 stops and get decent results.

07-21-2009, 09:28 AM	#11
séamuis Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Savannah, U.S./Baguio City, P.H. Posts: 5,979	Quote: As for metering, I just eyeball it on the IIf and will continue to do the same. After doing manual or no metering for a while you get a pretty good "feel" for it that may be true, but I would not be caught without my sekonic. that thing is more invaluable than any piece of equipment I own. I think I could probably do rather well myself concerning 'eyeballing it' but I imagine I would be second guessing myself every time until I pull out the lightmeter.

07-21-2009, 10:43 PM	#12
vinzer Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Philippines Posts: 1,399	Originally posted by pingflood $400.01 -- I made a guess that the high bidder had put in $400 max and added a penny to that 5 seconds before closing... A CLA on it from Youxin Ye (he works on all mechanical-only Leicas and does a fantastic job) is under $100 unless parts need replacing so I'll have a nice M4-2 for < $500 all said and done. Probably will sell the IIf now, as much as I love it... trying to reduce the amount of gear and end up with a handful of things I really like. Just ordered up an LTM->M adapter from Adorama, decided to go with the Summar for now. If you just want a rangefinder, you can find a lot of nice 60s/70s cameras for well under $100 just to get your feet wet. Feel free to hit me up with any questions and I can probably offer some advice on makes and models depending on your needs and wants. Wow, that is a good price. Again, congrats. Thanks for the assist. I'll do basic research first, so I can get most of the simple questions out of the way. What I do know is that I'd want an interchangeable-lens system just so I could share lenses between that and the E-P1 via adapters. Originally posted by séamuis that's no joke. olympus, rollei, petri, canon, minolta, kodak, argus, konica, yashica, zorki, FED, ricoh, mamiya, etc, etc. the only rangefinders that will cost any 'real' money would be the leica's, viogtlander's, zeiss ikon contax's & the nikon's. Seems like there are plenty of choices to pick from. That's good. I like choices.

07-22-2009, 04:38 AM	#13
pingflood Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Borås, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,169 Original Poster	Originally posted by vinzer Wow, that is a good price. Again, congrats. Thanks for the assist. I'll do basic research first, so I can get most of the simple questions out of the way. What I do know is that I'd want an interchangeable-lens system just so I could share lenses between that and the E-P1 via adapters. Keep in mind that pretty much all Leica screwmount lenses will work on M mount cameras via an adapter, so if you get an M to u4/3 adapter you can use just about anything made in either mount. M lenses are pretty costly still but you can find quite a bit of interesting LTM (screwmount/M39) glass that doesn't break the bank. It would be interesting to see how the really old uncoated glass (e.g. the Summar I have) looks on a modern digital camera. One thing to watch out for, I'd presume, is the collapsible lenses. I'd imagine the E-P1 doesn't have enough room inside to handle those. It's very easy to temporarily make it non-collapsible though, with a rubber band or tape around the extending barrel.

07-22-2009, 10:50 AM	#14
raymeedc Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 951	Originally posted by séamuis that's no joke. olympus, rollei, petri, canon, minolta, kodak, argus, konica, yashica, zorki, FED, ricoh, mamiya, etc, etc. the only rangefinders that will cost any 'real' money would be the leica's, viogtlander's, zeiss ikon contax's & the nikon's. And Canons.

07-22-2009, 11:09 AM	#15
séamuis Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Savannah, U.S./Baguio City, P.H. Posts: 5,979	Originally posted by raymeedc And Canons. ? I don't think canons are that expensive. certainly more so than the others listed but not generally in the same league price wise as Leica, Voigtlander, Nikon & Zeiss. you can get canonets for peanuts. the P is the only one that is overly desirable, but even then its a bargain choice when concerning Leica screw mount.