Stealth3kpl Posted October 28, 2013 Share #1 Posted October 28, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) 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 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 28, 2013 Posted October 28, 2013 Hi Stealth3kpl, Take a look here MP vs M4. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
earleygallery Posted October 28, 2013 Share #2 Posted October 28, 2013 Definitely the MP, if only because it's newer. 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! 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipus Posted October 28, 2013 Share #3 Posted October 28, 2013 M4 for me. It complements my TTL Millennium (which imho is how the MP ought to have looked). I think the MP is overpriced (I found my black paint M4 for much less than what an ALC MP costs). 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted October 28, 2013 Share #4 Posted October 28, 2013 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. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth3kpl Posted October 28, 2013 Author Share #5 Posted October 28, 2013 Mmm, that's something I hadn't considered. I like the uncluttered frame lines of the M2. Are the M4's the same? In what way are the frame lines of the MP compromised by the need for metering? Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.noctilux Posted October 28, 2013 Share #6 Posted October 28, 2013 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 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted October 28, 2013 Share #7 Posted October 28, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) 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. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblitz Posted October 28, 2013 Share #8 Posted October 28, 2013 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. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth3kpl Posted October 28, 2013 Author Share #9 Posted October 28, 2013 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 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
semi-ambivalent Posted October 28, 2013 Share #10 Posted October 28, 2013 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. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falstaff Posted October 28, 2013 Share #11 Posted October 28, 2013 M4 all the way for the reasons already outlined Falstaff 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted October 28, 2013 Share #12 Posted October 28, 2013 What magnification viewfinders are we comparing here? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth3kpl Posted October 28, 2013 Author Share #13 Posted October 28, 2013 (edited) 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 October 28, 2013 by Stealth3kpl 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted October 28, 2013 Share #14 Posted October 28, 2013 My M2 would be perfect if I didn't wear glasses. The 0.58 in my MP makes a huge difference (my longest lens is a 50mm) as does the rubber eyepiece surround - no more scratched specs... 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted October 28, 2013 Share #15 Posted October 28, 2013 (edited) 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 October 28, 2013 by earleygallery 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym911 Posted October 28, 2013 Share #16 Posted October 28, 2013 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 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
azzo Posted October 28, 2013 Share #17 Posted October 28, 2013 MP ! .. 'nuff said. ... 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted October 28, 2013 Share #18 Posted October 28, 2013 Every MP is going to be a lot newer than the youngest M4 and every mechanical M smoothes out with use and "wear". I'd still take the MP over an M4 any day. 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalArts 99 Posted October 28, 2013 Share #19 Posted October 28, 2013 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. 12 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth3kpl Posted October 28, 2013 Author Share #20 Posted October 28, 2013 (edited) Which do you think is most valuable, a dented M4 Black Paint or a mint, possibly boxed, Wetzler Black Chrome M4? I suppose both wil have framelines 35/50/90/135 Pete Edited October 28, 2013 by Stealth3kpl Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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