wattsy Posted June 28, 2014 Share #21 Â Posted June 28, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) I prefer my MP too (it is undoubtedly "nicer" than the M6TTL bodies I have also owned) but I wouldn't buy one over an M6 if it meant compromising on the lens or lenses I might be able to buy. IMO lenses trump film (and digital) bodies by some margin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 28, 2014 Posted June 28, 2014 Hi wattsy, Take a look here MP vs the others long term. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Firefly Posted June 28, 2014 Author Share #22 Â Posted June 28, 2014 Thank you for all your replies, as I stated in my first post based on current UK prices it would appear that I can get a nice condition MP with a late 50mm Summicron, as I stated I get the idea and the emotion of the MP and can buy into the idea that it's harking back to another age with the modern convenience of a meter, also the promise of at least 30 years of spares after production ceases although I am assuming that is dependent on Leica surviving in their current form more or less. Â Leaving the emotion out of it, a camera is merely a light tight box that exists to allow a measured amount of light to pass through a lens and be recorded on a film blah blah blah, no I cannot quite buy idea that either...... Â It appears that the M6ttl is just as capable tool as the MP for the intended purpose of taking pictures but appears to be at least half the price of the MP based on advertised UK prices but you possibly miss out on the emotion thing of the harking back to the golden age and the black paint wearing away in time etc etc . Â If a M6ttl was purchased the funds left over would allow for a two lens set up, say 28 and 50 or 35 and 90, really careful buying might even see 28, 50 and 90 being possible as I was always very satisfied with the glass from the 70/80's and do not see why I wouldn't be now but possibly I don't feel the need to lug around extra weight when my feet can zoom in and out as required. Â Right now it feels like each question throws up multiple answers that demand more questions leading to more answers etc etc, some appear rational and some emotional. Â My current thinking is that I need at least a full day off work, travel to London and visit the various Dealer's to see and feel whats on offer and then make a decision from there as to where I finally end up, I am still open to advice and suggestions in the meantime though, best regards, Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jip Posted June 28, 2014 Share #23 Â Posted June 28, 2014 A serviced M3 or M2 or M4... or a M6 if you want a light meter... or MP if you want to buy new, or maybe the new M-A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted June 28, 2014 Author Share #24 Â Posted June 28, 2014 A serviced M3 or M2 or M4... or a M6 if you want a light meter... or MP if you want to buy new, or maybe the new M-A. Â My comments about meter less bodies are at the start of the thread, a no,no for me, as to the M-A I think Most would have an idea of my budget, regards Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJH Posted June 28, 2014 Share #25  Posted June 28, 2014 I bought a near mint M6 before Christmas last year including all original boxes and manual for £700 from a non-Leica camera dealer. When I got it the meter was dead because they hadn't bothered to check/change the battery. Its worked faultlessly since adding a pair of batteries. That is worth thinking about when looking at dropping nearly £2K on even a secondhand MP. I would love an MP but I certainly don't love the idea of spending nearly 3x the price of what my M6 cost me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herr Barnack Posted June 28, 2014 Share #26 Â Posted June 28, 2014 My comments about meter less bodies are at the start of the thread, a no,no for me, as to the M-A I think Most would have an idea of my budget, regards Rob Point taken, you want an in-camera meter; that is certainly your prerogative, since it's your money and not anyone else's that will be paying for it.. Â That having been said when I got my M240, it was my MP that I traded in on it, not my (meterless) M4-P. Whle some may regard that decision as thinly veiled insanity, it made perfect sense to me. Â YMMV. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted June 28, 2014 Share #27  Posted June 28, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Point taken, you want an in-camera meter; that is certainly your prerogative ... YMMV.   Even as a professional news photographer before TTL or BTL metering was invented I fooled myself using a Gossen meter. Sure, I never made a shot that could not be printed, but exposures were all over the place,  So printable images were always available but with some difficulties - and all we had to achieve were shitty newspaper pictures!  Since then I retired and have used two Leica M7s and the exposures across many contact sheets are awesomely accurate. So this might speak to my earlier Incompetence, and I suspect the same of many others. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeplanter Posted June 29, 2014 Share #28  Posted June 29, 2014 Easy answer. If your budget allows for buying an MP, and that what’s you truly want, then buy it. You won’t regret it.  Jim B. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gberger Posted June 29, 2014 Share #29 Â Posted June 29, 2014 I have to agree with pico. Â Over 65 years of active shooting - - first with a IIIc, then an M4 followed by an M6 and now to an M7, I clearly prefer the M7. Its very accurate shutter and Auto capability gives you the best of both worlds, viz., Auto or shutter speed select. Â I've had three M7s. Mine, my wife's and a replacement for mine when a good friend got my earlier one. Never had a problem with any of the three. Â Just a thought. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
xalo Posted June 29, 2014 Share #30 Â Posted June 29, 2014 The "long term" question is possibly more one of the priorities of the owner than the durability of the camera, I'd say. The MP 35/50/90 seemed to be the thing I'd keep 'forever', before I decided to sell it... Yes, the MP is in many regards nicer than the M6 and M6ttl (owned before): though black chrome, too, it is a notch above, the top plate looks more refined (blank for mine), the speed dial & rewind lever is all metal, I liked the "vulcanite"-type covering better than the M6-leatherette. That did not make me take better pictures, though, nor necessarily have more fun taking them. Besides (and of no practical importance), the MP was not as smooth as my M3 or M5. The tech that recently CLA'd my M5 confirmed that there are not really issues to be expected regarding it's future service. I know, there are other voices, but for now I take that and use the M5 with equal or greater pleasure than the MP. For AE (and close-up, tele & pc), I take the R7. Yes, nothing can replace checking out the camera by yourself. Â Cheers, Alexander Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted June 29, 2014 Author Share #31 Â Posted June 29, 2014 I've spent part of the day looking at various Dealer's websites and it strikes me that apart from viewfinder magnification there is little to pick between M6ttl's, there are different finishes but these seem to be aimed at the collectors market and quite possibly do not fit my brief although I understand that the titanium finish is hard wearing. The MP seems to be different though due to the ala-carte menu, should one turn up is there any features considered desirable? or any worth avoiding? regards Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted June 29, 2014 Share #32  Posted June 29, 2014 I've spent part of the day looking at various Dealer's websites and it strikes me that apart from viewfinder magnification   The three different viewfinder magnifications are, to me, very appealing. If you know what lenses you are likely to use the most, then your choice is important. Look into the subject if you like. The .72 is an adequate compromise, but ... Well, others will fill in here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted June 29, 2014 Author Share #33 Â Posted June 29, 2014 The .72 has served me well in the past but I wouldn't mind looking through a .58 just in case I prefer it, regards Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
xalo Posted June 29, 2014 Share #34  Posted June 29, 2014 Rob, viewfinder magnification would also be my first criterion, followed by the frame set. I understand that undesired framelines can be masked afterwards, but not for free, so it's nice if a fitting à la carte option took already care of this. Other than that, the functional options on an MP could be the tilted rewind crank (M6 stye) and the articulated transport lever (native it's an all metal, M3 style lever). If you are into the esthetics of the black paint standard finish and would consider fitting lenses, you might want to consider that black paint versions are invariably quite rare and more expensive (and available only for a very limited range). On the other hand, you will have noticed that the M6ttl has a larger speed dial, which perhaps is more comfortable use. Fwiw, it also turns in the same direction as the one of almost all later Ms (M7 & digital), contrary to the MP's, which is aligned with all more ancient models. Perhaps the only caveat, if I remember well, would be less than enthusiastic opinions about the MP's standard body covering. Hardly decisive. All finder magnifications have pros and cons, best to see for yourself. Also because, in addition to the different frame sets, you may also see the subject through the various magnifications in different ways, providing in turn a different feel for distances, details and focal lenghts. Except for 28mm, I found the .58 (Minolta CLE) too wide in most instances, but I don't wear glasses.  Alexander Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicaphilia Posted June 30, 2014 Share #35 Â Posted June 30, 2014 Don't forget the M5. The best finder and meter of any metered M, and the best built. And probably the least expensive to find a good one used. Â I bought one new in 1976. It's the one M I'll never sell, and I've had numerous M6's and M7's. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikau Posted June 30, 2014 Share #36 Â Posted June 30, 2014 I have a mint M2-R, an M4-2, 2 M6 TTLs and an MP. Â The M2-R 'feels' way better than the MP. It's gorgeous to use. The M4-2 is way better than its many detractors would have you believe. The MP is very nice and I'm glad to have it. Not as nice to use as the M2-R, though The M6 TTLs represent the best value overall and I love the big dial (I know some don't). If I could keep only one of this little collection it would be an M6 TTL. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted June 30, 2014 Share #37 Â Posted June 30, 2014 At the moment I have an MP and an M4-P, but I've had them all more than once. Â The way I would think about a 'camera for life' would be the way people can think about their yard brush, its had five replacement heads and three new shafts, but its the same brush. Film Leica's are so close together in specification that it is only the minutiae that differentiates them. The film goes in there and you look through there, its the same from an M3 to an MP. And choosing a camera based on the specification of the minutiae is a mad task because circumstances are not set in stone, and what you can do without one day you may need the next, or at least in a year or so. Â So don't treat it as an emotional choice that is going to bind you to one camera, they are all Leica M's, try them, they will all make more or less the same picture in the same way. Of the minutiae that I look for is a model with rubber eyepiece that doesn't scratch my glasses, I wouldn't have even considered that twenty years ago, but the difference between having a meter or no meter isn't important at all. Things change, just experiment and eventually you will narrow things down. Â Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted June 30, 2014 Share #38 Â Posted June 30, 2014 Does the MP have the earlier, better viewfinder with a condenser to brighten the frame-lines and suppress flare? . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ansel_Adams Posted June 30, 2014 Share #39 Â Posted June 30, 2014 Does the MP have the earlier, better viewfinder with a condenser to brighten the frame-lines and suppress flare?. Â Yes, it also has multicoated windows and therefore the clearest viewfinder out of all the .72 Ms. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
semi-ambivalent Posted June 30, 2014 Share #40  Posted June 30, 2014 Things change, just experiment and eventually you will narrow things down. Steve  And, there is always wiggle room, e.g. Don Goldberg sells plastic rings that pop on to metal M eyepieces, so you can get, say, an M2, and still protect your glasses from scratches. A brand new M-whatever is total candy, but there's a dozen ways to cut the Leica cake.  s-a Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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