I love my… I love my M-A

[kivis]

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Leica's website shows the M-A with the slotted release button.

[logan2z]

8 minutes ago, kivis said:

Leica's website shows the M-A with the slotted release button.

I saw that. I believe the M2/M3/M4 had slotted release buttons so maybe it's an attempt to more closely resemble those cameras.  Or maybe someone at the factory found some old slotted buttons in the Leica parts bin and decided to use them 😉

Edited February 9, 2022 by logan2z

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[Topsy]

Don't know if it helps but my MP from 2003 has a slotted release button.

[wattsy]

On 2/9/2022 at 7:08 AM, kivis said:

We've all noticed by now that some M-A's have a slotted lens release button and others like mine have a smooth silver button for the lens release. What gives?

Both my M-A bodies from 2015 have the "slotted" screwhead version. I'm pretty sure the MP bodies I owned also had a screwhead lens release. I think the plain flat button is/was a feature of the more utilitarian aesthetic adopted for the M6/M7 and carried over to the black chrome M-A. Presumably the silver chrome M-A still has the slotted version?

Edited February 10, 2022 by wattsy

[a.noctilux]

Black has flat button

and chrome or silver has "slotted" lens release from start as the difference in "R" lever and the "faux vulcanite" or coverings.

silver

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by a.noctilux

[kivis]

Straight from Leica USA's website

And yet my black chrome M-A has a modern smooth version of the lens release button.

[a.noctilux]

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Strange, even the "R" is not filled white ink.

I've been in the website to see if there are other changes, if there is engravings on the top, etc., not been able to see though.

 

The slotted release may be chosen for easier manufactoring ?

 

If I remember well, in ancient Leica website, the black M-A had the round lever as chrome M-A but on mine black M-A has the square angle R lever.

We discussed this many years ago.

Edited February 10, 2022 by a.noctilux

[kivis]

3 minutes ago, a.noctilux said:

Strange, even the "R" is not filled white ink.

I've been in the website to see if there are other changes, if there is engravings on the top, etc., not been able to see though.

yes you are right. My M-A has the R in white ink (paint).

[JMF]

On 10/17/2021 at 1:44 PM, Guest JMF said:

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

 

My M-A is from 2014 with a plain release button.

[kivis]

Is that some kind of special order M-A? Looks like black Paint and then the Leica engraving on the top plate.

[JMF]

5 minutes ago, kivis said:

Is that some kind of special order M-A? Looks like black Paint and then the Leica engraving on the top plate.

It was a regular black chrome M-A and has been modified with some black paint parts. 

[wattsy]

3 hours ago, JMF said:

 

My M-A is from 2014 with a plain release button.

I think production black M-A bodies have always had the plain release button. The example on the website is probably some early aberrant pre-production model. 

[kivis]

Seems like a lot of folks are not agreeing with this point of view. But who knows, you may be right.

[a.noctilux]

I remember seeing a while back, on plain paper black M-A without white paint filling in "R"

and slotted lens release button.

After searching for a while,

- found in 2014 catalog in french with surprise to see also the round R lever (MP style), pages 40-41

- at page 2 of same catalog, black M-A showed with white R filling AND flat lens release button !

- same in 2017 catalog pages 48-49 and 14-15

...

so we can conclude that shootings of M-A on paper or on line can be different from real delivered M-A

[JMF]

https://leica-camera.com/en-AU/photography/cameras/m/m-a-typ-127-silver
 

Slotted release buttons here !

Round R levers !

[junix]

My 2020 M-A has a slotted release button.

[a.noctilux]

6 minutes ago, junix said:

My 2020 M-A has a slotted release button.

Interesting

Is it black ?

We are talking about black M-A with slotted lens release.

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by a.noctilux

[kivis]

And the mystery continues.........

[junix]

10 hours ago, a.noctilux said:

Interesting

Is it black ?

We are talking about black M-A with slotted lens release.

 

Hm, JMF link was for the silver one so I must have missed the 20-30 posts about you guys talking about black versions.  

Mine is silver chrome, sorry.

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[wattsy]

13 hours ago, kivis said:

And the mystery continues.........

I'm not sure there is much of a mystery. The production black chrome M-A (like the M6 and M7 before it) has a plain lens release. The silver M-A (like the MP and older bodies from the '50s and '60s) has the screwhead version. The black M-A that appears in the stock photos used on the website (and probably elsewhere) seems to be an outlier and is probably some kind of pre-production prototype. My own "black" M-A, made in 2015, does have a screwhead style lens release but that camera was not a regular production model.