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Apologies if there are similar threads to this one - I haven't been able to find answers to my questions specifically. I recently sold my M3 since I'm looking for a body that accommodates wider lenses and has a hotshoe. I don't need a built in meter and am on a budget, so I wouldn't consider the M6. I also find the M5 too bulky, so this leaves the M4-2 and M4-P. I will mainly be shooting 28mm and 35mm lenses, so the M4-P seems ideal since it provides framelines for both. My first question is therefore whether the extra cost is warranted for 28mm framelines, or if I should opt for an M4-2 and use the entire viewfinder to approximate the 28mm focal length. Also, since there are few "user condition" examples of both models available online, I'm wondering how reliable the hotshoe is on these cameras - I use flash a lot and problems in this department would be a total dealbreaker for me. Would it make a tangible difference to opt for a late M4-P, or is it safe to assume that the hotshoe will function well in most cases regardless of model or year? My instincts tell me the M4-P is the ideal camera, but since there are a few M4-2's available for very attractive prices, I'm hoping someone can convince me otherwise!

Got my first ever Leica M body last year. It's a M2. It came bundled with a Summicron 50mm F2 Collapsible. I'm really enjoying this combo, but I'm a 35mm shooter. I've found a Summaron 35mm 3.5 for sale in my country, for a decent price. It's serial number is the following: 1176436. However, I know that users have trouble defining their lens models, because they were produced in a large numbers. I've checked this one's number on a lot of different sources and foruns, but I failed on identifying it. The weird part is that checking through this website: https://reddotcamera.net/leica/serial-number-tool/ and in this page: https://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/Summaron_f%3D_3.5_cm_1:3.5 The information I have is that this lens is identified as a Summicron 50mm f/2, build in the year 1954 and a Summicron 5 cm 1:2 (M), respectively. Why is that? Has anyone here ever seen one of these? I wanted this to be the M2 version (to activate the 35mm framelines) but I have no clue what this all means. Any guesses are welcome. Thanks!

Hi Leica lovers, I have a silver MP (purchased in Korea in September 2022, serial starts with 5613xxx). In November, I came to notice that lower line of 50mm frame vanished when attached 50mm summicron for the first time. I had M3 and was using MP with 35mm lens only till that time. When I look into viewfinder in the very center, it is fine. However, with slight downward movement of eyes, the lower line of 50mm frame vanishes - with upward move it remains clearly. 28mm and 35mm frames are clearly visible with same position of eyes. I took it to local Leica seller (Bando, authorized seller in Korea) to check and repair. They replied that it was not a flaw, saying that they communicated to Leica Headquarter in Germany and got the same reply - it is a normal viewfinder status. I don't know how exactly they communicated to Germany. I really can't accept the response as it really vanishes and giving me a hard time to re-position eyes to get exact frame. IMHO, the internal reflection angle from the light in-take window to viewfinder is failing to brighten the lower frame line for 50mm. MP users, please share your experience with 50mm frame line. And will there be a kind of Q&A channel(English) to communicate to Leica service in Germany? Thank you in advance. ---------------------------------------- Here are some pictures that I took with my smart phone camera. I've tested with 50mm summicron, w/o lens, and even holding up-side down - always the same line vanishes. Note that I put camera facing floor to eliminate any possible light interference. A. With 50mm summicron.Note that upper line remains clear edge to edge compared to lower line. B. Without lens. 28mm lines are very clear with all movement C. With 35mm lens. All clear edge to edge.

Hi again community, During my last days with my recently acquired 50 Summilux Asph I’ve realized that at close distances (about 1,5m and closer) there’s a very pronounced inaccuracy if the frame lines, I’d guess it’s about 1-2cm at least? It seems to be more pronounced on the bottom frame line when shooting horizontally but also observed above of course. I’m obviously familiarized and fully aware of the rangefinder parallax design effects but I thought they mechanism was pretty much correcting this... Moreover, am I crazy or I’ve seen it more pronounced when mounting the 50mm compared to 35mm? If this is totally normal, how do you usually handle this? Just trying to guess more room for framing? Thanks a lot! Sergio

Hi, I have found something on my M2 I ordered a couple months ago off ebay to have something very interesting. The camera that I have is an M2 serial number 993880, but in my viewfinder I see 28,35,50,75,and 135mm frame lines which I know is not normal. It looks almost exactly like an M4. My thinking was that someone must have had the RF repaired with a newer M series framelines, but the black seal is still intact (although it could be fake now). If anyone has any information about what i now own i would be very grateful as I am super confused to be owning a camera that shouldn't exist haha. I attached pictures of what the VF looks like. Thanks!! Adam

Hi all, So last weekend I had my first full weekend shooting with the M240 and a new summicron 35mm ASPH. I have run into a problem which I kind of noticed but thought it was 'just me' when I shot a few snaps in NY before returning to Braz. The upper frame line through the camera's viewfinder seems to be out by quite a bit when using the summicron 35. When I frame for a shot, the sensor detects and records significantly above the upper frame line leaving me with rather unbalanced shots at all distances. When using the EVF, the sensor records exactly what is seen and I had to rely on this a lot to frame accurately which was really not ideal because of the shutter lag and the way it chews through batteries. The manual says that the frame lines should be accurate from 2 metres to infinity - 'largely congruent.' Am I doing something wrong? Can I personally fix this? Best,

Today I got my first Leica rangefinder (an M4 in a very good condition) but I stumbled upon 2 issues Loading Film I followed the manual instructions and everything seemed to be fine until I discovered that the film was not advancing (at frame 40+): what did I do wrong? Bright Framelines In some angles in the 35/135 lines framelines mode I see (sometimes) one of the 50mm framelines reflection (just a thin line and only the bottom line): is this a normal reflection issue? thanks in advance for your feedback