I love my… I love my M-A

[a.noctilux]

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As old user of 75mm, I see that the huge 50 framelines coupled with 75 brackets are good things.

In my pov, those aid in framing and I rarely "see" those 50 framelines when I use 75mm lens.

I use for many decades Summilux-M 75mm and Apo-Summicron-M 75mm on M6/MP/M-A.

The first 75mm protrudes a lot in 75mm framelines, while the last one is just fine.

While using a while, those quirks became "aids".

Edited September 20 by a.noctilux

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[a.noctilux]

As side note, The 1.4/75 was first used on M without 75 framelines, as M4/M5.

This may have some importance .

[FrozenInTime]

In addition to the 50/75 pair, a ~40mm frame would be appreciated; only issue is waiting for Leica to release a 43/1.2 Noctilux and modern take on the 40/2 Summicron-C

[a.noctilux]

Seen this ...

 

 

[wattsy]

On 9/20/2025 at 10:20 AM, a.noctilux said:

As side note, The 1.4/75 was first used on M without 75 framelines, as M4/M5.

This may have some importance .

I thought the 75 Summilux-M was introduced in the same year (1980) as the M4-P. The latter has a full set of six framelines, including 75mm.

Edited September 21 by wattsy

[a.noctilux]

4 hours ago, wattsy said:

I thought the 75 Summilux-M was introduced in the same year (1980) as the M4-P. The latter has a full set of six framelines, including 75mm.

Yes of course.

I might add that in my use, before using the M with 75mm framelines.

That was my use many years, before acquiring M4-P/M6.

[burchyk]

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On 9/20/2025 at 10:24 AM, FrozenInTime said:

In addition to the 50/75 pair, a ~40mm frame would be appreciated; only issue is waiting for Leica to release a 43/1.2 Noctilux and modern take on the 40/2 Summicron-C

Depending on the exact focal length, 35mm frame lines on later viewfinders can be near perfect match for the 40mm lens.

I've only checked against Heliar 40mm (no film, back open, ground glass against the gate, with shutter on bulb). It is damn near perfect, with the frame being a hair larger only when focused close to MFD.

Leaves no room for cropping though.

[jakontil]

On 9/20/2025 at 2:24 PM, Vlad Soare said:

Fair enough. Whoever doesn't happen to use 75mm lenses won't care about this.

But to add insult to injury, they've also coupled them with the 50mm framelines, which are too close. This makes it extremely easy to use the wrong framelines by mistake (don't ask me how I know). I wouldn't mind the sorry corners for 75mm too much if they weren't so damn close to another set of proper framelines that compete for attention.

Whoever designed this should be in jail.

Oh well... I guess these quirks are part of the Leica personality. We've got to love it for them. I remember a scene from Top Gear, in which an Italian guy who had built a Lancia replica told Clarkson about some buttons on the dashboard that didn't work: "if they worked, it would be an Audi".
The framelines are crap because it's a Leica. If they were perfect it would be a Nikon. And we don't want that. We want a Leica, with its imperfect human personality, not a perfect robot.
At least that's what I tell myself whenever it pisses me off. 😂

 

Remember, that CA imperfection that actually make the leica glows 

i wish i have the framelines of M2 though, miss it dearly

Edited September 23 by jakontil

[Eli4-2]

I love my black chrome M-A, but was a little disappointed that I had to send it to get the shutter speeds adjusted already. It was made in 2023 and started shutter capping at 1/1000. Anyone else deal with that? 

[BWColor]

35 minutes ago, Eli4-2 said:

I love my black chrome M-A, but was a little disappointed that I had to send it to get the shutter speeds adjusted already. It was made in 2023 and started shutter capping at 1/1000. Anyone else deal with that? 

What is “shutter capping”?  The word “cap” generally refers to a limit and all M-A cameras, as you know, have 1/1000 as the maximum (cap) shutter speed.

[Eli4-2]

2 hours ago, BWColor said:

What is “shutter capping”?  The word “cap” generally refers to a limit and all M-A cameras, as you know, have 1/1000 as the maximum (cap) shutter speed.

Shutter capping is a camera fault, typically occurring at high shutter speeds, where the mechanical shutter's second curtain catches up to and closes before the first curtain has fully scanned the frame, resulting in an uneven exposure and a darkened, gradient-like appearance on the image. This has been an issue with new MP/M-A because the factory has been over-tensioning the 1/1000 speed.

It's called capping because the second curtain effectively covers or "caps" the remaining part of the film.

Edited September 23 by Eli4-2

[jakontil]

On 9/24/2025 at 1:01 AM, Eli4-2 said:

Shutter capping is a camera fault, typically occurring at high shutter speeds, where the mechanical shutter's second curtain catches up to and closes before the first curtain has fully scanned the frame, resulting in an uneven exposure and a darkened, gradient-like appearance on the image. This has been an issue with new MP/M-A because the factory has been over-tensioning the 1/1000 speed.

It's called capping because the second curtain effectively covers or "caps" the remaining part of the film.

So to say, loosening the tension might solve it?

[Eli4-2]

6 hours ago, jakontil said:

So to say, loosening the tension might solve it?

Yep. I had to get it adjusted from a technician. Everything is good now. I have to get a new pressure plate though. Mine is faulty and scratches my negatives. Thankfully, I have one on the way and I'm going to also get an older non-four-screw plate as well. Probably good to have spares. My Leica parts bin is officially starting. 

[lekitr]

On 9/30/2025 at 5:44 AM, jakontil said:

So to say, loosening the tension might solve it?

Or maybe more break on the second curtain or less brake on the first....

Really need a three point speed meter to adjust this beast.

 

[Eli4-2]

On 11/5/2025 at 4:20 PM, lekitr said:

Or maybe more break on the second curtain or less brake on the first....

Really need a three point speed meter to adjust this beast.

 

Yeah...I thought the issue was fixed, but it is not. I still have horizontal black lines at 1/1000. I'll have to send this to DAG to get it taken care of. He said the new cameras aren't built like they used to be and that for some reason, the M-A doesn't come lubed where it should. DAG thinks it's to safe costs. Shutter and film take-up systems need to be lubed. So off it goes, again. Really frustrating for a $4k+ camera. I picked up a CLA'd M2 a month ago and it runs smoother with zero issues.