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Leica MP à la carte: Worth 1300 USD extra?


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In a months time or so, i'm gonna buy a companion for my trusted M6 manufactured in 1998, and i've decided, it's gonna be the MP.

 

I can get a silver MP for a really good price at a dealer. I can get the black as well, but i don't like the high gloss black finish, so this really isn't an option for me.

 

The only thing, i wan't to change, if i buy a black à la carte, is the black finish to the more durable black and a viewfinder without the 135 mm frameline, since i only shoot 35 mm.

 

The price difference in total will be 1300 USD, if i choose the à la carte, where i "only" do get the matte black finish and the viewfinder with a clean 35 mm frameline, over the standard silver.

 

I intend to keep it, and not selling it after some years. Is it worth the 1300 USD? Meaning; will i be 1300 USD happier in the long run just for the matte black finish and a clean 35 mm viewfinder?

 

What's your opinion?

Edited by BjarniM
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1300 USD happier

 

My MP ALC often takes a back seat to my M3 despite its 6+ fold greater price tag, and yet I have never regretted buying it. A la carte is designed to get you the (almost) exact MP/M7 that you want. Maybe even closer than almost. Leica assumes cost is not a factor in your decisions. If the above is actually possible for you to calculate then the worth of either your dollars or your happiness is suspect.

 

Life stumbles on,

s-a

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If the above is actually possible for you to calculate then the worth of either your dollars or your happiness is suspect.

 

English is a foreign language for me, so maybe i wasn't precise enough in my first post.

 

On one hand i'm thinking: Of course i will spend the 1300 dollars extra, since it's a camera i'm keeping and not selling in a few years time. Calculated over many years of use and joy, 1300 dollars is well spent after all.

 

On the other hand i'm thinking: I'm not gonna spend 1300 dollars extra since there are not any photographs i can not take with the "standard" MP over the à la carte. Could i justify for myself that the à la carte actually is worth 1300 dollars more, just for two minor things that have no impact on the results i'm getting on the film? I'm doubting.

 

That's also the reason to my question in the first place: What would you have done?

Edited by BjarniM
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You ask what would I do? I would go for the factory stock model at a, "really good price." Rationale:

 

1) Silver is the most durable for gaining and showing wear marks.

2) Black chrome looses its sheen after 10-15 years. Lots of discussions on cosmetic issues, but many posters have discussed how black paint brasses, silver chrome stays pretty, and black chrome just turns dull. My M7 from the first batch of that model is now dull.

3) You shoot mostly 35 now, but do you want to eliminate the possibility of ever using the 135 without an accessory finder? If it were me, I would buy the stock version and spend the extra $1300 on a nice, modern-style 135/4.0. It's a superb lens, only eclipsed by the newer APO 3.4.

 

Now, if you want to go crazy with personalization, engrave your name, put on green leather, etc., then a-la-carte would fit nicely. It also is the only way of purchasing newly-produced cameras with 0.58 or 0.85 finders. You did not mention if you were considering the 0.85 finder with your preference for 35mm focal length.

 

Enough rambling. Enjoy.

 

Eric

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I'm frustrated at Leica's ala carte. I ordered mine, paid insane money for it (7500 cdn), asked for black exposure counted and black hot shoe.

 

They said they couldn't do it.

 

What kind of "a la carte" is that? I call that half-assed marketing.

 

I'll have to disassemble my MP and strip/paint the hot shoe myself.

 

Black lugs. Is it too much to ask the PEOPLE WHO MAKE these cameras to install black lugs instead of silver ones? It appears that it is indeed too much.

 

And then I got this half-assed brand new feminine MP (yes, I dislike the silver parts on the camera quite a lot) with a vertical misalignment.

 

So on top of waiting 3 months to receive an "a la carte" that I quite don't like because half of the choices we're too hard for them to consider, I was supposed to send it back right away fir another 1-2-3 months for them to fix a basic issue that takes 3 seconds to discern by anyone with a normal set of eyes.

 

Quality check? Let me laugh. There is no quality check. Leica is simply riding on parts that were though and created by real skilled people 50 years ago.

 

Ah yeah, cannot have my name engraved on BP, only on chrome. Why? It's because kt's a cost-cutting measure.

So why did I pay 1500$ extra for a supposed "a la carte" if all the choices are feasible

Only if they are economical for Leica? Honestly, I don't know why i did it.

 

I have another regular mp that I transformed myself. That's a true a la carte, truly a unique piece. Stripped chrome bits down to brass and painted.

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Let me add that the MPs framelines are a disgrace to Leica's past excellence. Unaccurate. Ugly 50mm broken botton line that always falsifies my vision and pushes me to compose higher. 75 lines are a shame. Even 90 is sowhere as fine as the 90 lines on the older cameras.

 

And all that fits weirdly within a weird 0.72 magnification (IMO). So ala carte was my only option so I could erase the 75 lines and go with a much superior 0.58.

 

But in the end It's all about half-assed compromises.

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I'm frustrated at Leica's ala carte. I ordered mine, paid insane money for it (7500 cdn), asked for black exposure counted and black hot shoe.

 

They said they couldn't do it.

 

What kind of "a la carte" is that? I call that half-assed marketing.

 

I'll have to disassemble my MP and strip/paint the hot shoe myself.

 

Black lugs. Is it too much to ask the PEOPLE WHO MAKE these cameras to install black lugs instead of silver ones? It appears that it is indeed too much.

 

And then I got this half-assed brand new feminine MP (yes, I dislike the silver parts on the camera quite a lot) with a vertical misalignment.

 

So on top of waiting 3 months to receive an "a la carte" that I quite don't like because half of the choices we're too hard for them to consider, I was supposed to send it back right away fir another 1-2-3 months for them to fix a basic issue that takes 3 seconds to discern by anyone with a normal set of eyes.

 

Quality check? Let me laugh. There is no quality check. Leica is simply riding on parts that were though and created by real skilled people 50 years ago.

 

Ah yeah, cannot have my name engraved on BP, only on chrome. Why? It's because kt's a cost-cutting measure.

So why did I pay 1500$ extra for a supposed "a la carte" if all the choices are feasible

Only if they are economical for Leica? Honestly, I don't know why i did it.

 

I have another regular mp that I transformed myself. That's a true a la carte, truly a unique piece. Stripped chrome bits down to brass and painted.

 

A la carte is basically "off the menu". You are trying to order things that are not on the menu.

Aside from the "basic issue" you got what you ordered and are whining here because you regret your decision.

IMO don't buy stuff you don't want or don't whine about your bad decisions.

 

On topic: I think Enboe sums it up well.

Edited by Nr90
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A la carte is basically "off the menu". You are trying to order things that are not on the menu.

Aside from the "basic issue" you got what you ordered and are whining here because you regret your decision.

IMO don't buy stuff you don't want or don't whine about your bad decisions.

 

On topic: I think Enboe sums it up well.

 

Yawn.

 

So let me repeat it so you can understand better:

 

Their "off the menu" (as tou say) choice is half-assed.

And the regular MP is half-assed (bad framelines).

 

So in order to get a 3/4-assed MP, one is forced to go in the half-assed ala carte program and, even then, one still can't get full satisfaction.

 

I'm ok with my 3/4-assed MP but they could do a better job. I feel I was firced to pay 1500$ more in order to get decent framelines. Before the MP, decent framelines were included. Now they're not.

 

Oh yeah, and what can you add about the out of whack rangefinder (that seems to be a norm with Leica post-2000)? That's normal to you? NB23 should stop complaining just to satisfy you?

 

Let's say I've seen better.

Edited by NB23
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The black chrome M-A gets you close to what you're looking for; provided you prepared to lose the meter.

 

I've been looking at the M-A, but since i want a built in meter, this isn't really an option for me.

 

Hmmm... I wonder why the OP didn't ask for an M-A with a meter? I wonder if that could be added to the 'menu'.

 

It couldn't possibly be so difficult, could it?;)

 

I didn't ask for the M-A, just because there isn't a built in meter, which i find practical and in handy in certain shooting situations.

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There is a black chrome MP on Red Dot Camera's website at the mo, no connection and I am not suggesting you buy it but at least you can have a look at it, maybe help you make your mind up, cheers Rob

 

Thanks for your suggestion, but the black chrome on Red Dot is a second hand camera. I want a factory new Leica, since i guess this will be both the first and last Leica i'm buying factory new ever.

 

I will never buy a digital Leica as long as they keep throwing new models on the market every second year and forcing us (their customers) to loose money/throw them at Leica every time a new model arrives. It's like a race that never ends if i join the Leica digital race. Besides that i'm perfectly happy and more than that with the results i can get with film.

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If you want a black chrome MP without the 135 framelines, order one. The extra money spent initially is worth eliminating the doubt later of whether or not you should have gotten the camera as you really wanted it. I have spent plenty of cash switching between formats and manufactures. Not to mention how much has been spent getting the current bodies just as I wanted them.

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That's also the reason to my question in the first place: What would you have done?

 

What I did was buy an ALC MP:

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I'm very happy with it. There is no correlation between "how much" I like it and "how many" dollars I spent to buy it. I thought very long and very hard about doing it and once I decided 'yes' the cost in the configurator was of no concern to me. Think hard about what you really want and then make it happen. Then put the rest behind you and enjoy whatever you end up with.

 

Your English is fine. :)

 

s-a

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Hmmm, well the first thing that springs to mind is to do is check the frame lines and not buy the camera if you are going to have problems with them, or those that are left after the a la carte 'chop'. This saves boring everybody telling about how much you hate it later, not that you would, but some people seem to have a problem. But you can have the 135 frame line removed later if it ever went for a service, and the glossy black only stays really bright for a year or so, but longer if the camera is cosseted in boutique half cases etc. You could also cover it in matt black tape. The other option is to buy the black chrome M-A and a light meter, and light meters can be had for much less than $1300, you'd get one for maybe $100.

 

Steve

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I would make up my mind firm on:

 

- what camera model (you chose the MP obviously)

- finder magnification

- finish (black chrome is what you chose)

 

I would scan the second hand sources for this base model.

Even black chrome MP bodies are for sale from time to time.

 

Personally there is absolutely no merit to buying an analogue Leica M new over pre-owned.

I have Leica M bodies several decades older than ones I bought new or lightly used which feel MUCH better than the newer bodies.

 

You can modify any Leica M to whatever specification you might wish by a select number of well known repair specialists for a small sum.

No reason to pay Leica 1300,- USD for an as tiny modification as the body finish and a missing frame line.

 

Second hand MP bodies are less than half the cost of a brand new one.

With so many of the Leica M bodies I have I though "This will be the one I keep for life."

That's BS really.

A camera body is a camera body is a camera body and not one of them deserves you to over pay on it if you can get exactly your dream body + a good lens!

 

Read NB23's rant above.

He could have had EXACTLY his dream body by buying an off the shelf camera (even second hand if you like) and have all mods made to specification as he wanted and saved a few thousand $ in the process, minus the rant that is.

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Hello Bjarni,

 

Welcome to the Forum.

 

Given that you have said that you like to use a 35mm lens & that you also like to use the meter in the camera.

 

Also keeping in mind that a circle bounded on the inside by the corners of the 135mm frame lines is a reasonable approximation of the metering area of the MP with a 35mm lens.

 

Why would you want the 135mm frame lines removed?

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

Edited by Michael Geschlecht
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