londonuk Posted February 9, 2017 Share #1 Posted February 9, 2017 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've been working as a stills photographer for some 30 years. I've gone through all the cameras, formats and digitalisations. I've used digital since the £7000 Canon 1Ds because my job demands it. I've been given a modest amount of money by a close relative and I would like to buy a Leica with it. A film Leica. Film mostly because I prefer film and it will last longer than a digital. I don't have a lot of money but enough to buy a used M. My question is: which M should i buy? I'm not too concerned about measuring the light and I'll use only 35mm and 50mm lenses. Do put in your two cents (I'm English, and i know that's an Americanism). Particularly interested to hear from seasoned Leica film shooters. In grateful anticipation. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 9, 2017 Posted February 9, 2017 Hi londonuk, Take a look here recommendations for a buy once keep forever M. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
earleygallery Posted February 9, 2017 Share #2 Posted February 9, 2017 Hi, Depends what your budget is for a body AND lens. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
londonuk Posted February 9, 2017 Author Share #3 Posted February 9, 2017 At this stage I shall just get the camera and my budget is around £1000, which in this post Brexit era is about the same in US $..... sigh ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim0266 Posted February 9, 2017 Share #4 Posted February 9, 2017 That's about $1,250 USD. Do you want a built-in meter? M6. Otherwise an M2 or M4. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted February 9, 2017 Share #5 Posted February 9, 2017 For £1000 you can buy an M6 (built in meter) and make a pinhole lens. Or you could buy an M2/3/4-2/4-P and maybe a 5cm 2.8 or 3.5 Elmar, or a Voigtlander lens. The differences are the frame lines each model has or hasn't. Buy from a dealer with warranty to avoid the potential cost of a CLA if you buy off ebay and find your new camera has some fault. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macdonald Posted February 9, 2017 Share #6 Posted February 9, 2017 You might look after a M5, f. e. at meister-camera in Munich you’ll find some. Ffordes doesn’t have a M5 currently. I bought one last year from a private seller, after a CLA it works very fine. Before that CLA only fine To find a nice VC Color Skopar 35/ 2,5 should be a minor problem, even in UK. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
friedeye Posted February 9, 2017 Share #7 Posted February 9, 2017 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have had very good luck buying used Leicas from Japan with clean bodies, generally in the $5-700 range. One was in excellent mechanical condition, as well, and needed nothing (an M2). Two of the cameras, an M2 and an M3, needed a CLA and some work. Those wound up costing me about $850 apiece, and looked and worked like new cameras when finished. So, while your mileage may vary, I wouldn't rule out eBay+CLA. It might leave you enough for a modest lens, like the Canon 50 1.4 screwmount. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vhfreund Posted February 9, 2017 Share #8 Posted February 9, 2017 I was in the same situation and I bought an M-A. When I bought it I was told to be insane and I was about to believe that. However, I love the camera and I don´t regret it!! I know, the M-A is not a bargain. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coelacanth Posted February 9, 2017 Share #9 Posted February 9, 2017 (edited) I've owned most regular production Ms other than M1, M4-2, M6 TTL and M7. I currently have M4BP, M5 and M4-P, and I feel I don't need anything else (yah, right). If I were to truly keep one M for the rest of my life and use it for the rest of my life, I think I'd pick the M4-P. It's modern enough that it has many many miles of life left, plenty of parts available, all mechanical with no battery for anything. M4 would be the close second. Self-timer can be handy for family portraits. M5 is great and I LOVE mine, but it is a bit of an acquired taste (size, shape, different UI, etc) with some known limitations or risks. There are incompatible lenses and potential issue with mechanical (many parts are not shared with other Ms) and meter components that will be more difficult to fix in the future. I'd live happily ever after if I can keep my M4-P or M4 BP with a 50mm, 35mm and 21mm. Edited February 9, 2017 by coelacanth 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spydrxx Posted February 9, 2017 Share #10 Posted February 9, 2017 I owned an M4 for about 44 years and finally sold it, later regretting it, and bought an M2, which I'm happy with. In recent years I also bought a Canon P (similar to the M3 in many respects) as well as an old Barnack iif, which I absolutely love. If you're determined to stay with film instead of digital, I'd comfortably recommend an M4 for your budget. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted February 9, 2017 Share #11 Posted February 9, 2017 Your price is going to be the limiting factor. First choice woould be M-A, but you won't find one in your budget. Therefore, I'd suggest an M4 (any variant, as they all have 35mm and 50mm frame lines). Alternatively, my M3 is on the Buy & Sell section - I'll take offers (You'd need to make do with 50mm as it doesn't have 35mm frame lines). Mine has been CLA'd by Leica, so it's good to go. The viewfinder on the M3 is fantastic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mute-on Posted February 9, 2017 Share #12 Posted February 9, 2017 For 35 and 50 lenses with no need to measure light (no light meter), absolutely no question an M2. Get the best one you can from a dealer, in person, with warranty or at least recently serviced. This should be easily achievable for under £1,000. I will emphasise that you should handle the camera in person before purchasing, particularly as a first time M buyer. You will know if it feels right, but be informed ahead of time. Good luck! Cheers J Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antonio Russell Posted February 9, 2017 Share #13 Posted February 9, 2017 I can thoroughly recommend the Leica M4 for use with 50 and 35 mm lenses. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Pellegrini Posted February 9, 2017 Share #14 Posted February 9, 2017 My family has been in the Photography business since 1949. Like you, I have used an owned many cameras. Currently two Leicas. I recommend the M6 (with an upgraded viewfinder) or the MP. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted February 10, 2017 Share #15 Posted February 10, 2017 I'll add a vote for M4. I bought mine in 1968 instead of a new M3 (same price as I recall). It has been rock solid. I also added an M6 in 1985, and the metering is nice. I had the finder upgraded in the M6 - before that the M4 finder was better (no flare in some lighting conditions). Now the M6 is equal. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramarren Posted February 10, 2017 Share #16 Posted February 10, 2017 I bought my "last and forever" film M in 2011: a Leica M4-2, first production run. I remain entirely delighted with it, although I don't shoot that much film anymore. It needed a viewfinder clean, collimate, and calibrate when I got it, and it will eventually need a shutter overhaul, but other than that there's not much to go wrong. When I bought mine, the body was $700 and the viewfinder work cost me an additional $100. The Leica M-D typ 262 is as close to that camera in a digital body as I'll ever need. For me, it's the "perfect digital M" and I have no particular desire to upgrade beyond it. I suspect I'll be using that for as long as I use the M4-2. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted February 10, 2017 Share #17 Posted February 10, 2017 I'll try to avoid the 'you should get xyz because it's my favourite camera'. Instead I'll assume for the sake of argument the OP is looking for an iconic model, perhaps famed in it's day rather than a model that is an adjunct to Leica history. And that would be the M2 or an M4. Look at almost any photograph of the photojournalists working in the sixties and an M2 would be around the neck of one or more, and in the seventies it would be an M4. These were cameras used to make the news and send it around the world, not cameras created as a last gasp attempt on Leica's part to remain at the forefront of photojournalism, or latterly to cater for the nostalgia of film, they were important cameras. The M2 and M4 also play a significant role where reportage crosses over into art, Frank, Friedlander, Gibson, Winogrand, etc. a school of photographers that transformed observational photography and brought it to coffee table books, Sunday Supplements, and the gallery. So be inspired, buy an M2 or M4 as cultural period icons (but forget the safari suit). 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipus Posted February 10, 2017 Share #18 Posted February 10, 2017 It might be a bit tricky to fit a body and 35 or 50 lens in the budget if the body is to be metered. Meister has a nice looking M5 for 799 Eur that was serviced a few years ago. If you don't need a meter they also have an M4 and an M4-2 both for the same price. It will be difficult to find an M6, at least from a dealer, within the budget if you also want a lens. Several 50mm lenses are available at Meister but most of their Rigids have haze or fungus except one. There's a rather nice Elmar-M 50/2.8 at Photohaus. An alternative is to look for a screw mount lens, check Peter Loy in addition to Meister, Ffordes, Red Dot, Aperture UK etc. Generally it seems UK dealers are currently more expensive than those on mainland Europe. br Philip Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
londonuk Posted February 10, 2017 Author Share #19 Posted February 10, 2017 Thank you one and all for your thoughts and suggestions. I quite often buy from the very good store "Aperture Photographic" here in London, they are not much more expensive than ebay and I trust them. I'll do some research on the M2 and M4, they seem the most suitable right now for my budget. I can hang on a while before i get a lens, I just need to use this chunk of money now otherwise I'll waste it on stuff in general. Many thanks again for all your considered observations. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelwj Posted February 10, 2017 Share #20 Posted February 10, 2017 (edited) I can't believe it! A nearly unanimous vote for an M4 or M2!! When I saw the OP I thought there'd be at least recommendations for at least twice the number of replies, but no, everyone more or less agreed. Get. Out. Of. Town. With that, I'd add an M4 or M2 as my choice. Since your budget will only allow chrome, I say an M2 for a chrome lens, M4 for a black one. Edited February 10, 2017 by michaelwj 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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