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40 minutes ago, andrew01 said:

Very nice. Are you happy with the Ultron? I am thinking of this lens for my M6.  

For many years my main lens was a 35 2.0 Summicron ASPH. It's a phenomenal lens, one of Leica's best. It was sold along with a lot of other equipment to finance some much needed home repairs. The Ultron came to the market about the same time I bought the M4. This particular one had been lent out to a reviewer, reducing the price even more. For the average user, it would be difficult to tell the difference in image quality between it and the Summicron, bench testing and resolution charts  aside. There are a few quirks with the lens that annoy some users. First is the focusing stick. I like it, many don't but it is easily removable. The other is the .05 meter minimum focus. Great on a mirrorless camera, not so great if you're accustom to the hard stop. If you like the look and size of the Summicron ASPH, the Ultron comes pretty close.

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20 minutes ago, madNbad said:

For many years my main lens was a 35 2.0 Summicron ASPH. It's a phenomenal lens, one of Leica's best. It was sold along with a lot of other equipment to finance some much needed home repairs. The Ultron came to the market about the same time I bought the M4. This particular one had been lent out to a reviewer, reducing the price even more. For the average user, it would be difficult to tell the difference in image quality between it and the Summicron, bench testing and resolution charts  aside. There are a few quirks with the lens that annoy some users. First is the focusing stick. I like it, many don't but it is easily removable. The other is the .05 meter minimum focus. Great on a mirrorless camera, not so great if you're accustom to the hard stop. If you like the look and size of the Summicron ASPH, the Ultron comes pretty close.

Thanks.  I also had the summicron ASPH but sold it years ago. I can’t justify the current asking price for Leica M lenses new or used, so was thinking of giving the ultron a try.  I think I can live with the design shortcomings you have noted.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I doubt many people could tell if a Leica lens was used to take a photo verses a Zeiss or Voigtlander if the photos were not labeled by the owners here or on other forums.  I own 7 M mount lenses and will use them all interchangeably.  Differences in film, development, printing or scanning all produce much greater differences in the final image then if taken with a Leitz product or one from the alternative lens makers.

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I added a 50th anniversary mint M4 from Classic Connection last week.  It arrived on my 68th birthday along with a matching and working MR meter.   The M2 and M4 are my favorite M bodies and depending on which way the wind blows and the phase of the moon, one is my favorite for a few weeks and then the other.  The M4 joins a 1958 M2 and a 1952 3f.  

 

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but I also love my M6, just as much!

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I have been walking around this week at various national parks in the southwestern US (Grand Canyon, Zion, Arches, etc) with a mint 50th anniversary M4 in black chrome.  My two favorite M film bodies are the M2 and M4 as I love the single frame lines of the M2 and can put up with the 35/135 combo in the M4 since the 135 frame lines are SO small.  And I like the modern features of the M4 over the traditional features (film loading and rewind) of the M2.  My digital M is living in the camera bag as this trip is begging for Ektar 100.

I have been shooting since 1966 and my first Leica(a CL) was purchased in 1974.  I know the sunny 16 rule but have always enjoyed either a camera with a built in meter or using a incident meter.  I am very pleasantly surprised at how well the sunny 16 rule works, especially for landscape pictures on a clear day as I have been checking my estimates with a meter app on my I-phone.

Have been enjoying the M4 but don't see it replacing my M2.  Both are wonderful!  And I would have to say I love my M2 as much as the M4.

MERRY XMAS

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The new year is soon approaching and I believe that many of us are hoping for a much better 2021 than 2020 has been. For me, I expect that a good start on the new year for me will be the arrival of the package containing my second Leica M4...

Although it is a Canada-made M4-P (70 year anniversary edition) this time, I trust it will be of the same excellent quality as my German M4. I was somewhat doubtful in this respect earlier, but having read quite a few reviews, I may realize that I probably had no reason to doubt the quality of canadian-manufactured M-Leicas!

So, I really am looking forward to load it with a good b/w film, and take it with me for a street photograpy walk on the snowy streets of my home town in northern Sweden (Östersund).

I will let you know in due course, if my high quality expectations have been met (again) - and also let you see some images!  

So, I wish A Happy New Year to all of you, Leica M enthusiasts!

/B

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Hi All, my first M4 arrived today, no special bargain, just an ebay purchase. It’s a silver chrome model - I prefer this classic look. It joins an M3 and a type-F. Although it’s not had any film through I already feel at home with it given it’s close similarity to the M3. After reading how great the M3 finder is in relation to all others I was prepared to approach the M4 with some caution but discovered it to be a perfectly nice view! The film winder lever is also different and a topic of discussion for many but after trying it out I find this M4 winder is perfectly comfortable to use. Next, I’m looking forward to getting time with it, to put a roll of b&w film through it, wearing my Voigtlander 35/1.4 classic. I’ve been restricting myself mostly to using 50mm on the M3 so my ‘new’ M4 will now open up my fov.

So, here I am in the M4 thread and glad to be here!

Edited by Mr.Prime
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22 minutes ago, Mr.Prime said:

Hi All, my first M4 arrived today, no special bargain, just an ebay purchase. It’s a silver chrome model - I prefer this classic look. It joins an M3 and a type-F. Although it’s not had any film through I already feel at home with it given it’s close similarity to the M3. After reading how great the M3 finder is in relation to all others I was prepared to approach the M4 with some caution but discovered it to be a perfectly nice view! The film winder lever is also different and a topic of discussion for many but after trying it out I find this M4 winder is perfectly comfortable to use. Next, I’m looking forward to getting time with it, to put a roll of b&w film through it, wearing my Voigtlander 35/1.4 classic. I’ve been restricting myself mostly to using 50mm on the M3 so my ‘new’ M4 will now open up my fov.

So, here I am in the M4 thread and glad to be here!

Congratulations, the M4 is a great camera.  Enjoy!

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Yes, I congratulate you too!!

- I use my M4 a lot, although I should be careful not to create too many signs of use...!! I´ve just also uploaded an image - taken last summer with my M4 with the Leica Super Angulon 21 mm/f3,4 lens, here in our fairly northern scandinavian town of Östersund in Sweden!

/BN

M4_FP4 2020_07_14_17R.tif

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Here´s a jpeg - my error to enclose a TIFF image above...

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I had my M4 out for a walk yesterday afternoon, sporting a lux 50mm black v4 which being the lightest version of that lens was not at all too heavy for the camera. My M3 is harder to use because I wear spectacles, but on the M4 the 50mm frame lines were easy to see and use. And this seems to have made all the difference because I was able to use the camera more subconsciously than I have done so far with my M3.

 

I noticed that where the film advance lever feels to have a uniform travel on my M3 it feels like there’s two parts to the travel on this M4, first to start advancing the film and then near the end to cock the shutter. I also had to fish-out the lever a few times after it closed flush into the body, something I’ve not had to do on my M3.

Nevertheless, the advantages of the lower finder magnification for spectacle wearers makes the M4 the clear winner in the comparison so far, I even wondered if I will keep the M3. Maybe if I end up trying contact lenses in the future, after the Pandemic, the playing field will tilt back again.

Edited by Mr.Prime
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  • 1 month later...

NOOB to the forum. I previously had an R4s system decades ago and have owned several systems over the years. I've had my Pentax 67 for the last 10 years and I wanted to add a light weight film system to complement the 67. I was leaning toward the M2 however a great deal on an M4 came up and I grabbed it. A great friend has an extra 35mm Summicron so I have been borrowing it. I'm reasonably familiar with my equipment however, I don't know the provenance of the camera and I'm leaning toward getting a CLA carried out (I think the range focus patch is a little off too). I'm aware of YYE Camera and Sherry Krauter for this service. Any experience from others and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

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5 hours ago, analogue pete said:

NOOB to the forum. I previously had an R4s system decades ago and have owned several systems over the years. I've had my Pentax 67 for the last 10 years and I wanted to add a light weight film system to complement the 67. I was leaning toward the M2 however a great deal on an M4 came up and I grabbed it. A great friend has an extra 35mm Summicron so I have been borrowing it. I'm reasonably familiar with my equipment however, I don't know the provenance of the camera and I'm leaning toward getting a CLA carried out (I think the range focus patch is a little off too). I'm aware of YYE Camera and Sherry Krauter for this service. Any experience from others and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

”....getting a CLA...” please forgive me a real rookie...what is CLA??

Sincerely yours

”...The ignorant swede”

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Don Goldberg is the name most associated with Leica service; however, since Leica USA closed the New Jersey shop due to COVID restrictions, he has been overloaded with work. I haven't used Golden Touch service so I can't comment on Sherry from personal contact. Youxin Ye provides good communication and a fast turn around time. If it's a cleaning and rangefinder adjustment. he should be able to do that fairly quickly. After I bought my M4, I brought it to a local shop who had just hired a new technician. He loves Leica's and did a great job. The main reason I sent it to DAG was I wanted a M3 style lens release button collar and Don has the machining available to set the collar at a proper height. The tech who preformed the service and several others have opened a new shop here in Portland:https://www.pdxcamera.com. I've owned an M2 and several M6's including a Millennium but the M4 is by far my favorite so far. Hope this helps and welcome to the forum, there is a lot of knowledge here.

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