blacksinner Posted July 22, 2019 Share #1 Posted July 22, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi everyone, so i got this Leica M4-2 from my friend and i realise there are something off with the camera. this m4-2 has red dot on the front of the body. just like M4-P. can anyone explain this anomaly? thank you in advance 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! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/299513-leica-m4-2-with-red-dot/?do=findComment&comment=3783130'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 22, 2019 Posted July 22, 2019 Hi blacksinner, Take a look here Leica M4-2 with red dot. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
lct Posted July 22, 2019 Share #2 Posted July 22, 2019 Got mine like that in the eighties. Was the first time those red things were sticked if memory serves but they were easy to unstick then fortunately. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.noctilux Posted July 22, 2019 Share #3 Posted July 22, 2019 (edited) Leica M4-2 with red dot ... part of mystery in Leica world and M4-2 's variations over it's short production period. If this is in the # 1 468 xxx range, it was discussed about the M4-2 variations just here ( in 2003 ! ) May it be one of the 90 to 95 units produced? Interesting read : dog or bargain ? Edited July 22, 2019 by a.noctilux Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ko.Fe. Posted August 8, 2019 Share #4 Posted August 8, 2019 Order m4-p skin. And red dot. Remove m4-2 original falling vilcanite (it doesn't last as long as on previous M) Apply both on M4-2. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted August 8, 2019 Share #5 Posted August 8, 2019 The red dot of the M4-2 can be easily taken off if needed, at least mine was so 30+ years ago, and this did not do any harm to the vulcanite as you can see here. 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! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/299513-leica-m4-2-with-red-dot/?do=findComment&comment=3793474'>More sharing options...
PFM Posted August 25, 2019 Share #6 Posted August 25, 2019 From the photo, it appears to be set-in, not applied to the surface (I see a shadow around the left side of the logo). Could have been reskinned with an M4-P set of covers. PF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.noctilux Posted August 25, 2019 Share #7 Posted August 25, 2019 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) As I wrote post #3, this M4-2 with red logo can be one of the first made. I remember having M4-2 brochure, so I saw that the illustrated M4-2 on it's brochure has the red Leitz logo. M4-2 brochure can be dowloaded here, from summilux.net date VII/78 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! Edited August 25, 2019 by a.noctilux Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/299513-leica-m4-2-with-red-dot/?do=findComment&comment=3806175'>More sharing options...
lct Posted August 26, 2019 Share #8 Posted August 26, 2019 22 hours ago, a.noctilux said: As I wrote post #3, this M4-2 with red logo can be one of the first made. I remember having M4-2 brochure, so I saw that the illustrated M4-2 on it's brochure has the red Leitz logo. M4-2 brochure can be dowloaded here, from summilux.net date VII/78 Doesn't rejuvenate me that... I got that very brochure when i bought my M4-2 in 1980 and i might still have it somewhere in a drawer. Anyhow i can confirm that this (ugly to me) red dot is nothing but a sticker. Easy to unstick w/o any damage to the vulcanite covering of the camera. Mine went to the bin right after unpacking. I should have kept it for red dot lovers of the 21st century . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFM Posted August 27, 2019 Share #9 Posted August 27, 2019 (edited) That dot is pasted into the image. I have a "Handbook of the LEICA-System" dated July 1982 which shows an M4-P on the cover without a Red Dot, but every other image I've ever seen it has one (including on page 83 of the Handbook). For the M4-P they may have planned to remove the dot, but changed their minds after a few prototypes were made. Someone must sell a covering that eliminates the hole for the dot, and I plan on eliminating it when I get mine recovered (not a vanity thing, it is chipping away). I still think Peter's camera has been reskinned with M4-P coverings. I've recently seen a couple of M4-2's with dots for sale on eBay, both specified as being early production. PF Edited August 27, 2019 by PFM Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.noctilux Posted August 27, 2019 Share #10 Posted August 27, 2019 5 hours ago, PFM said: I still think Peter's camera has been reskinned with M4-P coverings. I've recently seen a couple of M4-2's with dots for sale on eBay, both specified as being early production. PF Maybe change of the whole body from M4-P to M4-2, that I doubt ? Are we aware that those "classic" M4-2 and M4-P were the last M covered with "real" vulcanite, which can't be replaced easily. From M6 until now MP/M'A ...yes, this can be done as "reskinned" with different covering . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huss Posted March 4, 2022 Share #11 Posted March 4, 2022 Reviving this topic... I have a red dot M4-2, and the dot is metal set into the vulcanite, just like the M4-P. It is not a sticker. As the body covering is vulcanite it is very hard to remove and reapply - I think only the factory is able to handle this - so this must have come from the factory. I wonder if Leica had a special order program back then? The serial # of my M4-2 is in the 150XXX range, so later than the initial series red dot M4-2s. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted March 4, 2022 Share #12 Posted March 4, 2022 (edited) Could the answer be that a) the earlier red dots were stuck on top of the vulcanite as @lct says and more like promotional stickers so many have peeled off over the years, and b) Leica had already started making parts for the M4-P and blended these with the last M4-2 cameras that @Huss has? For example at the end of the M4-P run there were M6 parts gradually appearing, such as single sync socket, flush windows, plastic strap guards, until the last few were basically an M6 without a meter. Edited March 4, 2022 by 250swb Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huss Posted October 24, 2022 Share #13 Posted October 24, 2022 I wrote to Leica and they confirmed that my 150xxx M4-2 is a red dot. The dot not being a removable sticker, but metal badge set into the vulcanite. But they did not make a big deal about it, just saying you could order it with or w/o the red dot. As I have seen very few red dot M4-2s, it obviously is a rare camera. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matlock Posted October 24, 2022 Share #14 Posted October 24, 2022 20 minutes ago, Huss said: I wrote to Leica and they confirmed that my 150xxx M4-2 is a red dot. The dot not being a removable sticker, but metal badge set into the vulcanite. But they did not make a big deal about it, just saying you could order it with or w/o the red dot. As I have seen very few red dot M4-2s, it obviously is a rare camera. I think not. 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! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/299513-leica-m4-2-with-red-dot/?do=findComment&comment=4544219'>More sharing options...
lct Posted October 24, 2022 Share #15 Posted October 24, 2022 Rare i don't know but the red dot can be seen in the instructions manual of the M4-2. It appears black there because the photo was in BW. 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! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/299513-leica-m4-2-with-red-dot/?do=findComment&comment=4544234'>More sharing options...
Huss Posted October 24, 2022 Share #16 Posted October 24, 2022 57 minutes ago, Matlock said: I think not. 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! See how many regular M4-2s vs red dots are for sale…. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huss Posted October 24, 2022 Share #17 Posted October 24, 2022 34 minutes ago, lct said: Rare i don't know but the red dot can be seen in the instructions manual of the M4-2. It appears black there because the photo was in BW. 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! On page #2 in that very manual it says the camera pictured is a prototype and regular production models will not have the red dot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madNbad Posted October 24, 2022 Share #18 Posted October 24, 2022 It was possibly the only upgrade for the M4-2. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matlock Posted October 24, 2022 Share #19 Posted October 24, 2022 34 minutes ago, Huss said: On page #2 in that very manual it says the camera pictured is a prototype and regular production models will not have the red dot. I have that manual and there is no such comment on page #2 or anywhere else. Your comment would seem to contradict your post #14 As far as I know M4-2s with red dots are less common but certainly not rare. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted October 24, 2022 Share #20 Posted October 24, 2022 33 minutes ago, Huss said: On page #2 in that very manual it says the camera pictured is a prototype and regular production models will not have the red dot. Interesting indeed. My instruction manual does not say that page 2 or anywhere else. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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