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MP vs M4


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If you don't want a meter and don't like the battery cover it's simple to remove and recover the camera blanking it off completely!

 

Yes, but you are still left with framelines that are compromised to allow for the metering diodes. If metering is unimportant the M4 viewfinder is superior IMO to that of the MP. The M4 is also the last 'proper' Wetzlar body, built to a standard and not down to a price. I have an MP but if I was buying a film body again I'd almost certainly look for a good M4 instead. Arguably a better camera, certainly better value.

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Considering viewfinders, the M4 is almost like your M2 with 135mm frame in 35mm.

In MP, if it's not à la carte, 2 frames showed (28+90, 50+75, 35+135).

MP's lines are thinner and not completed.

 

Maybe, MP finder is a bit crisper than my old M4's.

Sometimes, I noticed some reflections in M4's (street lamps at night).

 

Arnaud

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In what way are the frame lines of the MP compromised by the need for metering?

 

As Arnaud says, the framelines in a metered M body are incomplete (the bottom line is broken for most frames) to allow room for the metering triangles. The frames are also a bit squished nowadays with the inclusion of 28mm and 75mm frames.

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i prefer the m4. listening to the shutter in the m4 vs the m6 and it is clear the m4 is holding something built for another time. as for viewfinder, the m4 doesn't have the 75mm which may or may not be an issue for you. personally i like looking through the viewfinder and seeing only the scene and framelines, very liberating, a moment of being off the grid.

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Yes, I'd forgotten about the MPs shutter release travel, cluttered viewfinder, and incomplete lines. I've discovered the M4 has a dent in it so it has taken a bang at some point. I think I'll hold fire and perhaps pick up another M2 if mine can't be fixed.

Thanks for your help everyone.

Pete

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Which would you choose? Both black paint. Same price. I don't use internal meter.

I used to have an MP. I prefer the MP rewind knob. I'm not keen on the battery hatch on the front of the MP. Is the M4 viewfinder as good as the MP's?

Pete

 

I have an ALC on order with the 0.72-5 frameset: 28+90, 35+135 and 50. The first two pairs have a pretty good spread between focal lengths so I don't anticipate visual crowding of the frames. Normally the fifty is paired with the 75 and I thought they'd be close enough to bug me, plus I've never owned a 75 in my life and have no desire for one now so I picked the 0.72-5 version. I'll get a clean field for my most-used focal length, like my M3. Prior to ordering I also wrote to Leica, both in Solms and New Jersey, to see if I could get the 135 frame removed too but it was a no-go.

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I believe they are both .72. Being a spectacle wearer, I think you favour the wider viewfinder.

I think the M2 is my perfect M. The trouble with one of mine is it has a light leak that Malcolm Taylor hasn't managed to solve yet, and the balsam in the rangefinder is starting to discolour.

Pete

Edited by Stealth3kpl
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The trouble with one of mine is it has a light leak that Malcolm Taylor hasn't managed to solve yet, and the balsam in the rangefinder is starting to discolour.

Pete

 

Which are both age related problems, which is partly why I'd choose the newer camera all things being equal.....and you said the M4 and the MP were the same price.

 

If price is a factor then of course, the older cameras make sense. I use an M2 and am very happy with it, but if I had been able to buy an MP for the same price, I'd have bought the MP.

Edited by earleygallery
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All I can add is that the M4 is the most beautiful, smooth, hefty, sublime, mechanically perfect camera I have ever had in my hands..followed closely by the M2 and a Rolleiflex 2.8f.

I have handled the MP but was not as smooth and silky as the M4.

Maybe its because my BP M4 has matured over its lifetime through use, I don't know, but it certainly stands out for me.

 

probably not a very fact based reply but some things cannot be qualified by data alone.

 

Good luck whatever you choose.

 

andy

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I've used the M4 side by side with the MP, and also with the M6. The reality is that all of them are perfectly fine and with none any more exceptional than the other in real world use. While the M4 does feel smoother with the film advance only (a bit less 'ratchey' feeling), they are all good. The viewfinders are perfectly fine in each version.

 

A user will get used to any one of these bodies and so any of the minor differences will never be really noticeable over the long run. I think it's really more about splitting hairs and/or a kind of 'psychological' preference, and certain emotional perceptions.

 

And any one of them can have framelines easily masked out for less 'clutter.' (my M4 has only the 35 and 50 and my M6 has only the 28, 35, and 50.) The M6/MP does have an additional advantage of the on-board light meter. And if you have an aversion to light meters and red LEDs, then just take out the battery. But if you absolutely must have a self-timer, then the M4 is pretty much it.

 

Any version can break, despite model or age or where they were made. I say just pick the one that attracts you the most for whatever personal reasons.

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