wlaidlaw Posted March 13, 2013 Share #1 Posted March 13, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Is there anything special about this M4-2? RARE Leica M4 2 in Silver Special Version Mint | eBay I don't see it myself but am I missing something? It looks like a normal chrome M4-2. I believe the chrome ones are a bit rarer than the black but not dramatically so. I cannot spot any feature to account for the huge asking price, about 4 times what an M4-2 normally fetches. As an M4 user, I naturally prefer the better finished and supposedly smoother winding M4 to the later M4-2 and M4-P, even though I don't have the 28 frame lines, which would be nice. The outside of the VF does pretty much the same job however. The finish of the earlier German cameras is definitely superior to the Canadian ones and it is nice to have the proper engraved Leica script on the top rather than the somewhat stark stamped in logo. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 13, 2013 Posted March 13, 2013 Hi wlaidlaw, Take a look here Anything special about this M4-2?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
luigi bertolotti Posted March 13, 2013 Share #2 Posted March 13, 2013 Well... in theory a chrome M4-2 was never listed (the M4-P was)... so the chrome items that time to time do appear are "specials" : original from factory ? I do not know... I remember vaguely that the topic has been discussed time ago in the forum... It is sure that many spare parts were someway "taken away" from the Ontario factory, maybe in a not so clear way... and they can have been a good source to make 3rd party "custom" M4-2 like the chrome version; note that the officially listed non-black M4-2, was the GOLDEN version... which is even not so rare... (1000 items or so) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabears Posted March 13, 2013 Share #3 Posted March 13, 2013 Indeed! The special about this camera is that it's a fake:D Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted March 13, 2013 Share #4 Posted March 13, 2013 Indeed! The special about this camera is that it's a fake:D Well... I think it IS a M4-2... .... I prefer to define it a "probable 3rd party restyling" : the price that one is disposed to pay for is another matter... the dealer's description is "finely tuned"... it says that is on "special order" without stating squarely that it is "factory original". btw.. I found the thread that was held on the topic (I have remembered it was initiated by Ivar in 2009 or before, and found it quickly) http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-collectors-historica/47171-leica-m4-2-chrome.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share #5 Posted March 13, 2013 Luigi, thank you that thread was an interesting read. It is a bit like at a different price level, Ferrari 250LM's. There are now more around than Maranello ever made and in the 1960's some were written off totally (burnt to a crisp). Mind you at around €5m each, a bit of fakery is worth doing on one of those. My local auctioneers were trying to pass off two really bad "gold" Leica Model II fakes done from FED2's. Even after I pointed out a number of salient points at the viewing to one of the staff, explaining what they were and how little they were worth (really basic things like no roller on the RF cam, chromed, coated lenses etc etc), they went ahead and tried to palm them off as Leicas at the actual sale. I had to go up and "have a word" with the auctioneer. They were hurriedly withdrawn. I may be persona non grata there now. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandro Posted March 13, 2013 Share #6 Posted March 13, 2013 This certainly is a M4-2, and whether on special order produced or otherwise, I have always liked the chrome of this camera, as I do with the M4-P. Usually the sellers ask a lot of money, which probably doesn't really reflect the position of the M4-2. As for the camera itself, I like the M4-2 a lot, even though it doesn't feel and sound as smooth as my M4 or M3. But it combines the finder with frames for 35, 50, 90 and 135mm with the hotshoe. Lex Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc_braconi Posted March 14, 2013 Share #7 Posted March 14, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Is there anything special about this M4-2? RARE Leica M4 2 in Silver Special Version Mint | eBay I don't see it myself but am I missing something? It looks like a normal chrome M4-2. I believe the chrome ones are a bit rarer than the black but not dramatically so. I cannot spot any feature to account for the huge asking price, about 4 times what an M4-2 normally fetches. As an M4 user, I naturally prefer the better finished and supposedly smoother winding M4 to the later M4-2 and M4-P, even though I don't have the 28 frame lines, which would be nice. The outside of the VF does pretty much the same job however. The finish of the earlier German cameras is definitely superior to the Canadian ones and it is nice to have the proper engraved Leica script on the top rather than the somewhat stark stamped in logo. Wilson M4-2 "à la carte" (et avant l'heure) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipus Posted March 14, 2013 Share #8 Posted March 14, 2013 At least that one doesn't (seem to; it's always difficult with photos) have the protruding screw head on the front. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share #9 Posted March 14, 2013 It also does not have "Wetzlar" engraved on the top of a Canadian built camera. Having read quite a bit about these chrome M4-2's, I think they are a mixture of ones built by ELC employees moonlighting and later "improvements" by Leica restorers, using a genuine M4-2 as a base. There may be one or two genuine ones, made as prototypes but nothing like the number that have popped up out of the undergrowth over the years. My excellent local chroming company, can reproduce pretty much any style of chrome that you can show them. They copied the satin chrome style of the M8 perfectly for one of Steve Barnett's Thumbies, which he supplied me in brass. They can also remove old chrome plating by various "secret" methods without damaging the underlying metal. They did a brilliant job on a pair of brass vintage Bentley Bosch headlight reflectors for me. I don't think therefore, that changing a black chrome plated top to a satin chrome one, would present them with any challenges at all. Wilso Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
M9reno Posted March 14, 2013 Share #10 Posted March 14, 2013 This one is similar but even more expensive. L-CAMERA-APPS - Leica Sammlerstücke, Ersatzteile, Accessories & Zubehör: Leica M4-2 : Sammlerstücke Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted March 14, 2013 Share #11 Posted March 14, 2013 This one is similar but even more expensive. L-CAMERA-APPS - Leica Sammlerstücke, Ersatzteile, Accessories & Zubehör: Leica M4-2 : Sammlerstücke Wow ! what hell of prices !!! Should I be able to sell a pair of lenses of mine at THOSE prices... I'd have a M next to fully paid... (Elmarit 28 1st and TE 90 chrome... ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share #12 Posted March 14, 2013 I think it's time I went into the chrome M4-2 business:) Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted March 23, 2013 Share #13 Posted March 23, 2013 I think it's time I went into the chrome M4-2 business:) Wilson Be sure to let us know what type of cake you'd like your file baked into. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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