Guest Paul Jenkin Posted February 8, 2012 Share #1 Posted February 8, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've been using an M6TTL for a while now. I got the chance to acquire an R3 Mot + 3 lenses at a good price but found them to be a bit lumpy compared to the M6TTL so I've just traded the R gear for an M4-P in really nice condition. Okay, it hasn't got a meter but a combination of sunny16 and using my Minolta Auto Meter IVf in tricky conditions will get me through. I love the feel of the M4-P and the fact that no batteries are required. Anyone else here have one? Any stuff to watch out for? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 8, 2012 Posted February 8, 2012 Hi Guest Paul Jenkin, Take a look here M4-P. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
madNbad Posted February 8, 2012 Share #2 Posted February 8, 2012 Not much different from the M6 except for using a hand held meter. Pick a favorite lens and check your meter often and your results will be just fine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckrider Posted February 8, 2012 Share #3 Posted February 8, 2012 .... Any stuff to watch out for? Yes, try a Leicameter MR, You'll be suprised how much more comfortable timesetting with it's greater dial will be! These tiny dials on M6 non TTLs are real bullshit, earlier M's need a Leicameter. Not until the greater diameter dial form M6TTL user-friendlyness became o.k. again. have fun Thomas ...and next time try a M5;) ...and M6TTL also does not require any batteries;) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iphoenix Posted February 8, 2012 Share #4 Posted February 8, 2012 I have both an M6 (non TTL) and an M4P. I much prefer the M4P's feel and, for some strange reason, it's pictures - even using the same lenses. For metering I use a Sixtino 2 (very pocketable), but that's probably because I was brought up on a non-metered Zeiss Icarex (Ah, tender memories!). I have tried to work out why I prefer the M4P, but can't. I guess some cameras just "click". (sorry ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sksaito Posted February 8, 2012 Share #5 Posted February 8, 2012 I have an M4-P. After a CLA, the shutter is buttery smooth. Quiet. I use a Voigtlander meter on the hot shoe. It does't feel as solid as an M3 but the frame lines are more versatile. No complaints. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
normclarke Posted February 8, 2012 Share #6 Posted February 8, 2012 I am on my second M4-2 the precurser of the M4P. I don't like the later frame lines that the extra lines introduced, they cover a smaller field and coming from a Nikon F are very baggy (loose!). When I chose my first M4-2 I had the choice of an M4P but declined in favor of the former. I have yet to experience the problems that some seem to find with this model. Best, normclarke. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted February 8, 2012 Share #7 Posted February 8, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've owned more than one of every Leica M over the years and the M4-P is the only one I still regret selling. It is such a no nonsense camera, the only time I felt I loved it was when I didn't have it. But that is the point, its not a camera to fall in love with and baby, it is brutally efficient, and they are sometimes ugly, but supremely productive because of this. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomasw_ Posted February 8, 2012 Share #8 Posted February 8, 2012 I love the simplicity and functionality of the m4-p; a very fine, no-nonsense camera that covers all the framelines I use -- 28/35/50/75! I dislike using any M body that has those LEDs that flash and distract and can cause a red-ish haze in low light situations. I owned a few MPs -- a sweet body indeed except for the meter-cap zit on the front -- but give me a meterless M to use over it, for I am a man who prefers to keep my VF clear and simple For this reason I love my M2 and M4, too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblitz Posted February 8, 2012 Share #9 Posted February 8, 2012 i have been hunting around to buy an m4p at a reasonable price. going home the other day on the bus there was a guy with one and we started talking, and that clinched it for me. the m4-2 is less well built, the m4p is much more like the m4 -- which was the leica used by photographers in vietnam, so it is a well made camera. the m4p with serial numbers beginning with 5 are made from brass, the 6 series are made from zinc. in the end, of course, it is a just box the film travels through. it the lens that makes it a leica and your vision that makes it photograph rather than a snapshot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbealnz Posted February 9, 2012 Share #10 Posted February 9, 2012 Guys. This thread is what I have been hoping for. After many years in the "other than M wilderness" I am back. Got an M8, an Elmarit 28, and a 50 Summicron plus 21/2.8 Biogon on the way to me. I also splashed and bought an M4-P from the classifieds here, it too is coming. The thoughts and comments are making me even more impatient for the new M4-P. Gary Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
normclarke Posted February 9, 2012 Share #11 Posted February 9, 2012 sblitz, I challenge your comment that the M4-2 is less well built tha the M4P. If you had had any of these models apart you could see the simularity that continued through from the previous generations. True the first batch of M4-2's had problems with the shutter brake, and it seems to have put a voodoo on all of this model. In truth the method of construction was changed with this model and continued unchanged until after the M6TTL. Basic parts like the r/f and the slow speed mech's date back to the M2 with only minor mod's. The body casting and shutter crate continued from the earlier model's also. Best, normclarke. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl E Posted February 9, 2012 Share #12 Posted February 9, 2012 All, My first Leica was an M4-P and when I moved on to an M6 and then an M6TTL, my first reaction was that the M4-P and the Leicameter allowed me to work much faster. What I mean is that the metering and exposure setting would be done on the way up and I would then be able to concentrate more on framing the subject when the camera was at eye level. I now use an M8, but last year I bought an M4 to complement the digital workflow, and I have to say that working with a meterless M is a joy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alw Posted February 9, 2012 Share #13 Posted February 9, 2012 I spotted a NOS M4-2 in a boxed, absolutely unused condition for sale yesterday for 1200€. Tempted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joop van Heijgen Posted February 10, 2012 Share #14 Posted February 10, 2012 I love the simplicity and functionality of the m4-p; a very fine, no-nonsense camera that covers all the framelines I use -- 28/35/50/75! I dislike using any M body that has those LEDs that flash and distract and can cause a red-ish haze in low light situations. I owned a few MPs -- a sweet body indeed except for the meter-cap zit on the front -- but give me a meterless M to use over it, for I am a man who prefers to keep my VF clear and simple For this reason I love my M2 and M4, too A nice summary for the meterless M camera The M4-P the last meterless M camera A very reliable camera! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted February 10, 2012 Share #15 Posted February 10, 2012 I spotted a NOS M4-2 in a boxed, absolutely unused condition for sale yesterday for 1200€. Tempted. Sounds an interesting buy. I'd be tempted myself if I didn't already own two M film bodies. The M4-P the last meterless M camera Don't forget the meterless MP Classic (though, being a limited edition, I'm not sure it properly counts?). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandro Posted February 10, 2012 Share #16 Posted February 10, 2012 The M4-P is a work horse, like the M4-2. They are both simple and relieable, very effective and the basic camera that Leica was and is famous for. Metering with an MR meter indeed can be very efficient: either while walking around so that's settled already when you concentrate on framing, or while framing just push the finger against the button and take a reading. I use them both and I like them a lot. Lex Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZDavid Posted February 11, 2012 Share #17 Posted February 11, 2012 Weren't these later M4s the cameras that got Leica back on track after the ungainly M5, which may have been a capable performer but bombed on the market? From what I read Leica did economize, but only to a minimal extent: they will still function perfectly if well maintained, and produce top-notch results in the right hands. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joop van Heijgen Posted February 11, 2012 Share #18 Posted February 11, 2012 Weren't these later M4s the cameras that got Leica back on track after the ungainly M5, which may have been a capable performer but bombed on the market? From what I read Leica did economize, but only to a minimal extent: they will still function perfectly if well maintained, and produce top-notch results in the right hands. Walter Kluck, the Man who Saved the Leica M System -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62799 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted February 11, 2012 Share #19 Posted February 11, 2012 Quite some time ago the M4-P suffered from some incorrect rumors regarding its build quality and the prices were so reasonable I got a black one and without a second thought, blacked out all the white lettering (lacquer stick). I put an Abrahamsson Rapid Winder on it and it is the slickest Leica I own. It's a great, smooth, rugged setup. I'd get another but I'm up to my ears in Leicas! . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhild Posted February 12, 2012 Share #20 Posted February 12, 2012 I´ve had M2´s, M3´s and M4-P´s apart and mechanically they are all the same, the only difference are the rangefinders. I have kept one M4-P for myself and use it with the latest Leica motor, nothing can beat this! Jo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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