Leica M5 lightmeter

[opton]

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Arnaud that is absolutely great, works with out having to buy an M6 0.85x f.

Any advice on where to buy a many years to keep M5 with warranty perhaps,

or if it is easy getting one with a non working light-meter and have it replaced?

I know leia shop, also the one in Berlin, Austria. Foto Sandor, aperture uk, a german shop starting with the letter Z, and a lot of individual ebay sellers.

 

I got my M5 from Leicashop in Vienna (not Berlin!)... A great shop, but with only 2 weeks return period. This can be too short to make a decision if you're unsure about keeping the camera. At least for me it was, I kept the camera though I had some issues with it.

 

In any case, I wouldn't recommend getting one with broken lightmeter anyway. Better get a well used one with a working lightmeter. Mostly, they are not pricier than a good-looking M5 with broken lightmeter.

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[ynp]

I have several film Leica cameras and the M5s are my favorite ones. TheM5 is bigger than my mp3 and M7, and I would like my M5 to be a bit smaller and lighter.

 

But the M5 is easiest Leica camera to load film amongst all the bodies with metering. And the stepless shutter ring if brilliant.

 

The meter is repairable. My first M5 was adjusted for the modern batteries. I bought a second M5, the 50 years model, and use the hearing earpiece batteries in her.

 

At night it is difficult to see the needle and I use my iPhone as my meter

 

 

 

 

Отправлено из моего iPad используя Tapatalk HD

[crow]

I've got the CL, with 40mm/90mm.

The 90mm is difficult to focus, takes long, and may loose the subject.

Therefore a larger RF base, magnified VF is needed, hence the M5 or 0.85x M6.

I like the M5 was the last 100% manually produced cam, and its quiet shutter.

I like the idea of a 0.85 VF on the M6, but not the easy flare and RF easy to loose like some people describe the M6 little focusing rectangle. But then again this may be not serious enough to dislike the M6. I was wrong about the plastic, meaning the electric circuit, but the M5 is made using the old adjust and fit method.

[imsilly]

If you are interested in using lenses longer then about 75mm on a rangefinder you are going to have problems. Every advantage a rangefinder has over an SLR is replaced by a handicap once you go past a certain focal length.

 

A M3 or M6 with 0.85 magnification would be the bet suited M for telephoto lenses, but even they are nothing like as practical as an SLR.

 

Also, having electronics in a mechanical camera is fine. Especially in the case of the CL, M6 and M5 because their film operation is fully mechanical and the electronics only relate to readouts and metering.

 

Having an external light meter won't make you any more obvious while out shooting. What will make you obvious is pointing a camera in someone's face close up. Seeing how you are using telephoto lenses you'll never get anywhere near close enough for someone to notice either you metering or your shutter noise. If you are shooting people with telephoto lenses and they are noticing you it won''t be because of your camera or meter.

 

The M5 is not a great camera, it's larger then the other Ms and the stupid swinging light meter arm means you can forget any collapsible lenses. Given the price is only slightly less then an M6 I'd really forget about it. Why buy a larger and harder to repair body?

[crow]

Already own OM system with wa and tp lenses.

Leica is Leica, presumably, if you know how to use them they'd bring better result. But also different results, OM's are OM's. For example teles, also shift lenses. No can do with RF's. Depends again on what you're searching for. To be Honest, this is the way I learn, try different stuff simultaneously, OM and M.

How far or close you get to a person, that is psychology, it is to do with how many times you've been doing it, and how much you know about it. Since I've been a painter for 25 years I know my way around the human and other bodies. It is like the way you breath, it is not to do with big or short lenses, or cameras. I have to admit the noise between the M6 and the M5 isn't that different, but small differences count, and they count if you start to pay attention to them. If you start to pay attention to them there is a reason for it. If there is a reason you have I don't care if you are Kertesz, or Bresson, it doesn't matter, all that matters is you, your self and what you want and what drives you do things. You can shoot close or have things get near you, but it doesn't have to be people, it can be anything.

Decisions are a hybrid of logic and feeling. To what extent depends on the person, no two people are exactly alike. You start to mess with my reason/s I won't stop being me, same with feeling.

Not so sure if the M6 is easier to service other than the fact it is newer.

However you are right about the degree of electronics into it, and again you're right about how useful they are. To me they are.

I read, listen to people even though I go my own way, I let things and special people help, but the final decision is mine. To be honest I haven't decided yet. But I am not afraid, It is either one of these two cameras. Everybody knows telephotos and rf's don't really get along that much. It is interesting to hear what people have to say. Go on.

[jip]

It doesn't matter M5 and M6 are both sturdy cameras but if there is a camera that would get a certain damage it would be the M5 because of it's weird light metering arm.

[crow]

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The CL has it but I haven't heard any one complain.

I like this cds meter. Perhaps I will on the m5 too.

[jip]

I would never buy a non serviceable camera like the M5, if it breaks it's broken period... M6 is still very serviceable... Plus I like the 'm look' of the M6 which the M5 does not have...

[imsilly]

Painting and doing street/people photography have virtually nothing to do with each other. How you interact and shoot is completely different. Especially if you want to shoot off the cuff and candidly. It's a far more chaotic and confrontational experience. Rarely is it anything else, unless you just want to shoot boring, casual subject matter at a sedate pace. If that is the case, you're probably better off taking out a canvas and some brushes then a camera.

 

You also can't change physics. With a 90mm lens if you'll be so far away that you won't be invading any personal space and ambient noise will be drowning out any shutter noise. Your trepidations are a total irrelevance. Buy a camera based on what will matter, not imaginary neuroses. Cameras are tools, they perform a job, choose the wrong one and you'll just end up wrestling with it to get decent results.

 

What will be relevant is if you can actually focus and see what you are framing. A SLR with a decent screen will give a nice split, just like a rangefinder patch and will magnify your subject to help with composition. Have you spent much time shooting with a M5 with a telephoto?

 

I borrowed an M5 and a 50mm and 90mm from a tutor while on a photography class. It was great with a 50mm, but the 90mm frame lines are tiny in comparison and it's a real pain in the are to work with. Your OM is already a better camera for that kind of work then any Leica M. From personal experience using both systems, you'd have to be crazy to choose the M over the OM. The OM is a great camera, light, ergonomic with small sharp glass. Plus it's cheap for the price of a M5 you could buy a OM, fast tele and enough film and darkroom equipment to shoot for a year.

 

The main reason people gravitate to a M camera is that they want to use Leica glass, shoot fully manual, use techniques like zone focusing, carry a light kit and get in close. In that sense any M will do, there are just better bodies for better techniques and focal lengths.

 

If you talked through the exact approach you have to shooting, the subjects and the conditions we could use our experience to find the best body for you.

[crow]

There is a woman in NY city that services them.

Sorry, I'd have to ask a repairman, then I'd be more likely to believe the M5 isn't serviceable.

Nothing personal here. Same for all threaders.

[TomB_tx]

DAG did a full service / repair on my M5 a couple years ago without problems, and it has been like new since. I don't know if Leica still services them, but a good independent (like DAG or Sherry) is likely more proficient on them than the current techs at Leica.

[crow]

Glad to confirm the M5 is serviceable.

It is not just the weight and dimensions of the Leica.

I am having each camera with its own lens, no changing lens out in the street.

Leica CL + 40mm.

90mm + ?

Good schools from not so good, Art schools I mean, have to do with how much space they leave to the student to grow on his own. PHOTOGRAPHY is a lot to do with painting, from the age of Courbet to today's contemporary Art.

The subject is Leica M5 Light meter.

Please talk on the cds light meter, its properties, weaknesses, but also positive aspects of it. It is a meter I particularly like.

[k_g_wolf ✝]

Should the meter fail on you, unlikely, mine works since I bought the camera s/h >30 yrs. ago,

you could try the splendid attachable Voigtländer lightmeter which will fit the accessory shoe.

 

Or get it repaired. I´m pretty sure, also LEICA CAMERA AG also repairs it. Just "drop" an e-mail

to "Customer Care" and ask. There ought be someone to take care of you.

 

 

Best

GEORG

[imsilly]

As far as light meters go the CL and M5 are only marginally more complex and accurate then the standard M6 reflective ones. On the whole all those pseudo-spot/centre-weighted light meters have the same issues, you won't find any advantage between one an another in real life use. They are of course a lot easier to damage and prevent you from using a number of lenses.

 

In reality it's only complex matrix metering in modern film and digital cameras that will have a noticeable advantage. Even then a handheld meter is far more flexible and reliable. If metering is an issue get a camera with a sophisticated and intelligent metering system, or use a hand held meter. I have seen on a number of occasions people shooting M2, M3 and M4s with a light meter around their neck. I know it's probably a more accurate way to shoot then using a built in meter, if not more convenient.

 

Getting two cameras bodies may seem a smart thing to do, but it really depends on your shooting style. I personally see no reason to carry a 40mm and 90mm equipped cameras together. They are not complementary focal lengths, they really don't give you many choices. Often with those two lenses, you'd not be getting anything a simple 50mm would do by itself. Even better a 24-70mm zoom, or something similar. A single camera with a zoom is more practical then two with individual lenses.

 

Have you actually tried shooting this setup before? What actual advantages do you think it will give you?

 

In my experience shooting after shooting a lot on the street I feel a 40mm lens is too long for working in crowds and intimate spaces. I often find myself running backwards or into traffic to shoot people with a 80mm medium format lens, which is roughly equivalent to 40mm full format. That is why I tend to be between 20mm and 35mm on the street. You'll find about 90% of street work done in these focal lengths for a reason.

 

Going any further compresses the surroundings of a subject so much you are going to loose any contextual elements shooting in the street provides. It can be done, but kinda limits your shots and the point of shooting outside.

 

If all I wanted to shoot was head shots or other kinds of portraits it would be ok, but I'd rather do the same by just getting closer with a wider angle as it's easier then being further away. A lot of the best work at these focal lengths on the street involves having to get the subject to pose or stand still while you shoot. I've seen great work by a few Japanese contemporary street photographers using Rolleiflexs, but they all admit to having to control the subject to get the shot.

 

The idea of shooting a 90mm at all in the street kinda mystifies me. I have on a few occasions tried it, but it only really worked for static subjects like people zoning out on benches, sat a table or those willing to stand there while you shoot them. Again a 50mm might do the job better.

 

Also, carrying two bodies is so much more of a pain then just a spare lens in the pocket. It really is. The thing about an extra body is that it really does get in the way. A single camera in the hand makes you noticeably more nimble. Any camera body with a lens attached will swing around and bang into things, not mention generally getting then way.

 

I have shot a lot with a Hasselblad 500 CM slung under my arm and a Nikon FM2n in my hands. I stopped when I realised that I never swapped between the two cameras quickly enough warrant them both being out at the same time. I was never going, "Oh look that person is too close I'll drop my Hasselblad and go for a wider lens on my Nikon." I just ran to a different position, or figured that I'd take a different kind of shot.

 

Now the only time I carry two cameras is if I want to shoot both colour and B&W film. I tend to have a point and shoot with fast colour film in a pocket that doesn't in anyway way interfere with my main camera shooting.

[gvaliquette]

There is a woman in NY city that services them. ...

 

Crow,

 

That woman is Sherry Krauter. She replaced my CL's CDS cell with a new one in 2006 for about $450. The CDS cell in a camera that age is very likely to have degraded anyway, so whether the meter works or not in the first place, it will most likely be off or will have lost sensitivity. IMHO, you are better off applying the price difference between a good camera with a non-working meter and a camera with a so-so working meter to getting a NEW meter in the former.

 

Sherry LOVES working with CLs and M5s and, if I remember correctly, owns and uses one or two M5s herself. Here is her contact information:

 

Sherry Krauter

118 Purgatory Road, Campbell Hall, NY 10916-2616

+ 1 845 496-8834

www.sherrykrauter.com

krauter@warwick.net

repair@sherrykrauter.com

 

If you want an M5, (and it sounds as though you do!) then get one and she'll make it like-new for you.

 

PS: I use my CL with a CRISS adaptor and a 386 cell.

[crow]

Thanks people,

you've invested lot of time into this.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge regardless if we agree or not.

[crow]

How about the way this light meter works, in contrast to the Leica M6, or M7!

Any folks out there know the difference in capturing images with M5 vs M6,7?

[imsilly]

The M5 has an arm that swings down between the lens and film that has a sensor on it. The M6 and M7 have a reflective white dot on the shutter curtains that bounce light onto a sensor above. In that way the M6 and M7 avoid having a moving arm, that can be smashed by the rear element of lenses. There are a number of lenses that hit the light sensor arm of the M5.

 

Outside that they operate very similarly, much like a large spot meter or a limited centre weighted meter. There are diagrams in each instruction manual to show the area that the light meter reads. I feel in practice there is no noticeable difference in accuracy between the cameras. Though being older the M5 could have aged more.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[TomB_tx]

While both meters cover similar areas, the M5 has the metering area marked on the 50mm frame window that is very accurate and helpful in understanding the metering area. The M5 has almost no response to light outside the indicators, but does have a variation when a bright spot moves across the metering area, with strongest response directly in center.

This is obvious in the M5 because the meter readout is a moving needle, so slight changes in needle position can be seen.

The M6 has LED arrows that are digital response, not continuously variable. As you adjust exposure the second arrow first comes on half-brightness, then changes so both arrows are equal brightness (early M6 at least). I believe the 7 and possibly later 6s have a center dot for best exposure instead of half-brightness of an arrow.

Both work well, but you get more information from the analog meter. However, the M5 Cds cell has slower response due to the "memory" effect of Cds.

The M5 meter is turned on when the shutter is wound, and remains on until the shutter is fired. (No switch in the wind lever like the CL.) A lens cap increases the circuit resistance to help battery life, but as modern cells have less reserve than the original mercury cell, you really need to leave the shutter unwound.

The M5 meter cell begins moving out of view as you add even slight pressure to the shutter release (gradual movement as you press, unlike the snap-acting meter arm in the CL - but the gradual moving is less stress on the arm). In contrast, the M6 meter is turned on by a half-press of the shutter button (when the shutter is cocked) - so it is quite different to switch back and forth. I find the M5 and CL are similar enough to make a nice pair to use.

None of the lenses I use on the M5 have an issue with the meter arm, but if you use a collapsible Elmar or one of the deep wide-angles that can be an issue - but not for most of us.

The M5 viewfinder is cleaner, with fewer extra frame lines (no 75 or 28). Seems like the magnification is a bit higher on the M5. But if you use either of these lenses you might prefer the M6.

I own, use, and like both the M5 & M6 - but the differences are enough that it takes a bit to get comfortable when switching back and forth. My favorite is the one I happen to be using on that day.

[TomB_tx]

Be aware of another common issue with CdS meters like the M5 - they tend to lose impedance from moisture penetration as they age, and become non-linear to dim light so that they under-expose on the low end. Mine was serviced and recalibrated by DAG a couple of years ago, and is perfect in brighter conditions, but progressively under-exposes up to a stop and a half as light gets dim. I've learned to compensate, as my SL also developed this condition, but the silicon cells in the M6 won't have this problem.