I love my M-D 262

[Loop Skywalker]

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vor 14 Stunden schrieb Leica001:

That strap is gorgeous, where can I find one similar?

Rock & Roll Straps Black Mamba

The Rope straps are made from climbing rope, the Black Mamba is leather.

[a.noctilux]

Counting her eggs 😏

 

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M-D (typ 262 ), Summicron 35mm 'I'

 

 

[pippy]

The lowest I've ever seen the tide in the old port, La Rochelle.

M-D with 28mm Elmarit asph;

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Philip.

[DaveNC]

I've stopped using lens caps on my MD and put a B&W clear filter on each lens.  I'm enjoying life without the caps!  Here is a shot at the National Harbor a few weeks ago.

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[Toluene]

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[brunner]

No 5150172 lives in Switzerland now!

 

[DaveNC]

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M-D 262, 400 ISO, 50mm, f2.4, 1/125 Edited in Luminar 4 / Topaz DeNoise plugin

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Edited December 1, 2020 by DaveNC

[brunner]

Day prep...

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[Toluene]

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[a.noctilux]

On 2/6/2020 at 2:28 PM, a.noctilux said:

In this tiny market, niche ² in niche , the mystery manufacture units number can be very good thing.

So at most 700 units of M-D in the market.

One day, Leica may confirm this "number" if they want to 😌...

 

Now that we have M10 Monochrom,

will Leica offer one day M10-D Monochrom ?

I'd prefer M-D Monochrom but maybe this will never be on the market, niche ²²²

 

Anyway, as it is , this M-D (typ 262) is good enough for what I do with it now, and maybe some years to come.

 

Now, I even don't want M10-D Monochrom anymore,

Quite happy with my M-D 262 as before ( now that we know each other very well after years of common life ! ) and Monochroms for the rest when I fancy b&w

two choices are better than only one like "eggs in same basket" (as in french, I don't know if it's the same in english)

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Arnaud,

In English a person would write: "It is not a good idea to put all of your eggs in the same basket." Or:: ".......... your eggs in 1 basket."

Both ways are equally good.

Best Regards,

Michael

Edited June 14, 2021 by Michael Geschlecht

[a.noctilux]

Thanks Michael.

Having said that if Leica release one in near future, why not plain/simple M-D Monochrom ( not in M10x variety please ), only one more M doesn't hurt.

[a.noctilux]

Will it be M11- D then ?

M11-MD would be too much , even less would sell.

Leica used to surprise us, so why not ...

[ramarren]

I do miss my M-D typ 262. Probably shouldn't have sold it, but eh? The future remains a possibility and a surprise.  I may even want an M11 enough to spend the bux on it someday.  

G

[gaytejano]

Just purchased off eBay a couple of weeks ago. Still waiting for my 35mm Light Lens Lab. Feel very lucky to have scored it. This my first M, having just joined the Leica family a year ago with the incredible Q2M. 

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[pippy]

On 8/14/2022 at 5:50 PM, gaytejano said:

Just purchased off eBay a couple of weeks ago. Still waiting for my 35mm Light Lens Lab. Feel very lucky to have scored it...

Hearty congrats on finding one; they don't appear on the used market very often. Excellent choice of lens as well. Here's a gratuitous snap of my own similar combo;

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Philip.

EDIT : If you have no objection and can spare the time would you mind having a look through the numbers in post #71 of the thread in the attached link to see/confirm/otherwise whether the serial number of your camera is listed / comes within one of the 'known' batches? I think, from looking at your photograph, that your serial starts 5150xxx - which would place it in the third-last (known) batch - but it would be nice to know for sure.

A few of us are rather curious regarding production numbers. So far there appears to have been 14 batches of 100 cameras which, obviously, amounts to total production (AFAWCT) of 1,400 bodies;

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/297947-m-d-type-262-production-numbers/page/4/#comments

Edited August 17, 2022 by pippy

[gaytejano]

Thanks, Philip.  Very nice photo! 👍

Yes, I feel very lucky.  Had a bit of buyers remorse because it was a bit of an impulse purchase, but based on the research I had done on which used digital M I should buy, I knew this one was rare, so I went for it.  Really looking forward to using it.  Just got my LLL 35 mm yesterday, so I guess that means we have twins now. 😜  On that note, since it's my first Leica rangefinder, any best practices you may want to share would be welcome.

I did see that other post and will go there now to share my serial number.  It's 5150134.  I bought from a man in Alpharetta, GA who seemed to have quite the Leica collection-- I'm sure he's on this forum somewhere..

Thanks again-- really happy to be part of this community.

Jose

[pippy]

2 hours ago, gaytejano said:

Thanks, Philip.  Very nice photo! 👍

Yes, I feel very lucky.  Had a bit of buyers remorse because it was a bit of an impulse purchase, but based on the research I had done on which used digital M I should buy, I knew this one was rare, so I went for it.  Really looking forward to using it.  Just got my LLL 35 mm yesterday, so I guess that means we have twins now. 😜  On that note, since it's my first Leica rangefinder, any best practices you may want to share would be welcome.

I did see that other post and will go there now to share my serial number.  It's 5150134.  I bought from a man in Alpharetta, GA who seemed to have quite the Leica collection-- I'm sure he's on this forum somewhere..

Thanks again-- really happy to be part of this community.

Jose

Thanks for the kind words re: the snap, Jose, and congrats on both acquisitions once more. Thanks, also, for the confirmation of the serial number.

As far as suggestions are concerned? Not much to say, really; it all depends on what your past experiences have been. Have you shot Film? Do you know how to interpret a camera's TTL metering system? The M-D is such an incredibly simple camera in operation there are only a very few basic rules to grasp. For anyone who is familiar with using a center-weighted TTL-metering SLR film camera they'll find that using the M-D is exactly the same apart from having rangefinder focussing.

I would always advise using any camera in Manual Mode and avoid any Auto setting but that's just because of the way I (and my head!) work. YMMV.

Essentially (as I'm sure you already know!) there are only four aspects over which you will have any control whatsoever. On the body there is ISO and Shutter-Speed. On the lens there is Aperture and Focus. That's It. This simplicity alone means that you can forget about all the crap which attends shooting with almost every other digital camera ever made. No possibility to 'chimp' so just get on with finding the next image etc...etc...etc...

FWIW; if you are a newcomer to using a rangefinder my first suggestion would be 'Take your Time'; become fully acquainted with the camera and how it works. Play with your camera any time you have a bit of time to spare simply to become accustomed to the way the focussing mechanism works. Sounds obvious but using an R/F for the uninitiated can be odd. Pour yourself a glass of wine...and have some fun finding out how you get on with one another.

I've found (for the way I shoot) it's always a good idea to expose for the highlights. In a manner similar to the way an M Monochrom works there is plenty of detail which can be brought out of the shadows but highlights which are completely 'blown' can never be resurrected. You will be shooting DNG / RAW so your files should have plenty of info from where shadow-detail can be recovered.

Tilting Horizons can, on occasion, be a pain but it's quite possible to get things fairly straight by using the focussing patch / frame-lines as guidelines.

If you have any specific questions then I'm absolutely sure the members here will be only too happy to help out.

Philip.

Edited August 17, 2022 by pippy

[gaytejano]

Thanks for the suggestions, Philip.  Will definitely take your advice re: highlights.  I always shoot my Q2M at -2/3 exp comp for this very reason.  

I have extensive experience shooting and developing b/w film as I was the yearbook photographer in high school, but that was long, long, long ago .  I've been searching for years on how to replicate that in the digital world.  The Q2M and M-D are a deliberate attempt to recreate that experience.  

I used Olympus OM system in the 80s and remained loyal when they went digital, but have been ultimately dissatisfied with that experience.  Especially their current offerings as they are tailored more for action/wildlife photography, not to mention the weaknesses of the 4/3 sensor.  

Got an EM-1 Mark 2 a few years ago and have never really warmed up to it.  So many custom configurations make me dizzy and indecisive!  That's why I took the leap to the Q2M about a year ago and it has made me fall in love with photography all over again.  Just so elegant and straightforward.  I'm still amazed at the detail in those files.

Thanks again for the warm welcome and advice.

Jose

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[pippy]

On 8/17/2022 at 9:38 PM, gaytejano said:

...I always shoot my Q2M at -2/3 exp comp... 

I have extensive experience shooting and developing b/w film as I was the yearbook photographer in high school, but that was long, long, long ago .  I've been searching for years on how to replicate that in the digital world.  The Q2M and M-D are a deliberate attempt to recreate that experience...

Got an EM-1 Mark 2 a few years ago and have never really warmed up to it.  So many custom configurations make me dizzy and indecisive!  That's why I took the leap to the Q2M about a year ago and it has made me fall in love with photography all over again...

Hello again, Jose, and apologies for the late response.

Having read the above post it's clear that you have a very sound understanding of 'how things work' so I have no doubt you'll enjoy using the M-D alongside your Q2M. As it happens my own reasons for choosing the M-D and an M Monochrom pretty much mirror your own.

One unexpected - but appreciated - result from using the M-D as my primary camera is that when using the Monochrom I now automatically adopt the same 'ignore the screen and just get on with it' approach when out snapping which, for me, helps in various ways. 'No Screen'; No Menu; No Distraction. It also means I give greater consideration to subject matter and composition before pressing the shutter-release...

The only downside to this approach is that occasionally the lens-profile isn't set correctly as that stage can be overlooked but as the Monochrom's set-up is usually done before leaving the house and I seldom swap lenses from one body to the other - and frequently shoot with similar lenses on both bodies anyhow - it's not too much of an issue.

Philip.