Which of the currently manufactured Leica analog M bodies is your favourite?

[CSG123]

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6 hours ago, TomB_tx said:

Style and personal preference. Leica clearly thought the pivoting end on the M4 style was an improvement, and I agree in actual use. In 1968 I could have bought a brand new M3 or M4 for the same price, and I spent some days working with both at the camera shop where I worked part time. I much preferred the feel and leverage of the M4 style, and so I bought the M4 instead of an M3, and I've never regretted it.

Much later I added many Leica models to my collection, and the levers on my M2 & M3 never felt right, even though they looked authentic. So now I've changed both to the M4 lever.

But I'm an engineer, so I prefer function to style.

When I was first researching which used film M did I want to purchase, I went through the same thing and in my opinion, the M4 is Leica's finest M film camera, in part, due to the ergonomic design (rewind/advance levers and framelines).  I wish they could have done the advance lever in all metal for aesthetic reasons but my M4 is a first batch camera 56 years old and has the original plastic bits with zero issues.  I grew up on rangefinders but when I graduated college in 1978, my grandparents gave me an Olympus OM-1 with a few lenses) and the advance lever is a similar, hinged design.  I didn't buy my M4 until 2010 so its design was very natural for me to use as to advancing and rewinding film.

[madNbad]

8 hours ago, hansvons said:

I’m relatively new to the M system and learned that the M4 - M7 advance lever must be a major flaw because every real Leicarista on these forums swaps it for the old M3 lever. 

Is that true? Or is it a style thing? So far, I’m enjoying the wobbly levers as quick and ergonomic.

The articulated lever was introduced with the M4 along with the new, faster loading system and the angled rewind crank in an effort to make the M camera more modern and better competition for the SLRs from Japan. I have both a M4 and a M4-2. I like the articulated tip on the M4. It feels solid and is held in place with a metal rivet. The M4-2 was at a service shop for quite a while and was returned when the owner became too ill to continue working. Somewhere in the time it was there, the wind tip caught and broke the plastic rivet that held it in place. Fortunately, I had just bought a solid MP style lever from Huss. I like it on the M4-2.

Edited July 15, 2023 by madNbad

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[hansvons]

8 hours ago, TomB_tx said:

But I'm an engineer, so I prefer function to style.

I‘m not an engineer, but I have deeper insights in ergonomics. Great response. Will leave it as it is. Thanks!!

[hansvons]

4 hours ago, rich_ said:

I prefer how the black paint models slide around on my (cheap) wooden desk without the unsettling scratchy sound of the black or chrome version!

 

You are certainly crazy. 

[Huss]

The rewind crank on the M5 is by far the best.  Strongest design as it is a straight rod - doesn’t have an angle.  Recessed so it cannot suffer impact damage if dropped, and ratcheted so if you let it go it stays put and does not unravel.

It’s the design that Minolta copied w the CLE, and Cosina with the Zeiss Ikon ZM.

[TomB_tx]

21 minutes ago, Huss said:

The rewind crank on the M5 is by far the best.

Agreed! I passed over the M5 when it came out due to the snarky comments of people who hadn't used it. But I jumped on the M6 in 1985. Much later added an M5 and loved all the careful thought and engineering that went into it. I love the "true" spot meter, and wish the M6 had that metering pattern to select just the right part of the frame to meter. But you can get good exposures with either if you understand its metering pattern. While I love small cameras, I use larger lenses on my M5 and it then feels "right."

[thrid]

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Black paint MP .72

I need another M film body like I need a hole in the head, but that would be my pick for a current production model.
;-)

 

 

[Studienkamera]

If I were in the market, I still would get the MP. It looks great in all colours.

[colint544]

Agree with @Huss and @TomB_tx about the thoughtful design touches on the M5. I love mine - solid, tank-like and dependable. I find the rewind and shutter speed dial are much easier to use than on other M film cameras.

Of the new M film cameras Leica make, I've really come round to the M6. It's like the old M6 but with meaningful improvements. The Leitz roundel is a nice touch. The only thing that both the new and old M6 share, which I'm not hugely keen on - although it's only cosmetic - is the skinny film advance lever, which tapers severely on its way to where it meets the plastic thumb grip. The metal arm of the articulating lever on an M4 or M5 is much broader and beefier, and just looks better to my eyes. 

[LocalHero1953]

I have a M4 and MP. Yes, I notice the advance lever and rewind mechanism differences, but they have no bearing on which one I pick to take out, which one I like, or which one is easier to use (yes, the crank rewind is faster but it's not nice to grip). I find that living with a Barnack for a while helps you see subtle distinctions between knobs, levers and cranks in context. 🙂

[Bart D]

On 7/13/2023 at 7:48 PM, Roy Bigsby said:

There are currently five analog M bodies in regular production: MP black paint, MP silver, M-A black, M-A silver, and M6 reissue. Which is your favourite? Or, rather, if you had to delete one from the lineup, which model would it be? I’ve handled and used all of them except the black M-A. I think the black paint MP is the most stunning. That said, I believe the M6 reissue holds its own against the MP and M-A and is quickly becoming my go-to analog camera. 

the (only) one I have 

[espelt]

For the days when it needs to be easy, fast, practical and pack as little as possible: The M6 (I have an old Classic). The small exposure meter is simply very practical. And also works very reliably. The film transport lever... Belongs to the M6. The function is top notch. And in winter you don't freeze to it. From handling and function for me the best analogue M.
But there are also days with more time. Paris in spring - it can be something with style. Even if things don't go that fast. But actually sunny 16 goes quite well... So the M2 is simply unbeatable in terms of style. Pressbutton - the most beautiful M for me. Well, a new M-A in silver would be an adequate replacement. But I have the M2....

[Mikep996]

M6!  I'd buy one if I didn't have a perfectly functioning '84 M6.  If I was buying a new film M but didn't want a light meter I'd buy the M6 and not install the battery!  

[Smudgerer]

I'm pleased that Leica did re-introduce and update somewhat the M6, pleased enough to buy one earlier this year even though I have an M6TTL that I  will keep as well mostly because of it's .58 VF. I do though wish that the new M6 was available with .58 without having to return it to Wetzlar for an expensive conversion to .58.

But I can't help wondering why Leica did not update and re-issue the M7 instead of the M6. There already existed in Leica's current film line-up the M-A and the MP and apart from the rewind crank and the option of a Black Paint finish there is really little to differentiate the new M6 from the MP, so why did they not update and re-issue the well loved M7? Does anybody know the reason?

Of my film M's my M7 is my favourite, the Aperture Priority setting / option is very useful to have and couple that with the fact that my M7 like my M6TTL has a .58 finder which is perfect when one's "normal" FL is 35mm..........Maybe someday I will have to bite the bullet and get the M6's VF switched to .58 then all my film M's will be better set-up for my FL preferences.

[Fotoklaus]

vor 4 Minuten schrieb Smudgerer:

I'm pleased that Leica did re-introduce and update somewhat the M6, pleased enough to buy one earlier this year even though I have an M6TTL that I  will keep as well mostly because of it's .58 VF. I do though wish that the new M6 was available with .58 without having to return it to Wetzlar for an expensive conversion to .58.

But I can't help wondering why Leica did not update and re-issue the M7 instead of the M6. There already existed in Leica's current film line-up the M-A and the MP and apart from the rewind crank and the option of a Black Paint finish there is really little to differentiate the new M6 from the MP, so why did they not update and re-issue the well loved M7? Does anybody know the reason?

Of my film M's my M7 is my favourite, the Aperture Priority setting / option is very useful to have and couple that with the fact that my M7 like my M6TTL has a .58 finder which is perfect when one's "normal" FL is 35mm..........Maybe someday I will have to bite the bullet and get the M6's VF switched to .58 then all my film M's will be better set-up for my FL preferences.

Here you got the answer. You can sell the same camera three times (M-A, MP, M6) without effort. The M7 has different electronics and shutter. Perhaps there is no profit in making new M7s.

[Martin B]

On 7/14/2023 at 10:53 AM, Graham (G4FUJ) said:

Current bodies?  None, they're all way outside my budget!

+1. Exactly. Bought my M6 non-TTL in 2016 for $1.5K, and it is still going strong. No need for a newly made model (I also own the M3, M4-2, and M7). 

[Smudgerer]

9 minutes ago, Fotoklaus said:

Here you got the answer. You can sell the same camera three times (M-A, MP, M6) without effort. The M7 has different electronics and shutter. Perhaps there is no profit in making new M7s.

Good points........Electronics now though are much improved from when the M7 first came out, cheaper too, but I do think that there may have been more people interested in a renewed M7 rather than the M6 if only because of the M7's Auto capabilities are appealing as many people now are sort of out of touch with determining correct exposure quickly. It is probably easier too to cross transition from a digital M to an M7 than to a M6/MP/M-A especially so with the renewed interest now in using film cameras that seems to have taken camera manufacturers somewhat by surprise.

[Fotoklaus]

vor 57 Minuten schrieb Smudgerer:

Good points........Electronics now though are much improved from when the M7 first came out, cheaper too, but I do think that there may have been more people interested in a renewed M7 rather than the M6 if only because of the M7's Auto capabilities are appealing as many people now are sort of out of touch with determining correct exposure quickly. It is probably easier too to cross transition from a digital M to an M7 than to a M6/MP/M-A especially so with the renewed interest now in using film cameras that seems to have taken camera manufacturers somewhat by surprise.

I don´t think so. Leicas marketing is based on the "mechanical perfection", the "pureness", and so on. A Film-M with electronic controlled shutter is something like a

Rolex with a simple qaurtz movement with technical standards from 40 years ago.

i don´t know if any company is even building electronic controlled shutters for film cameras anymore.

[Knipsknecht]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb Smudgerer:

[…] It is probably easier too to cross transition from a digital M to an M7 than to a M6/MP/M-A especially so with the renewed interest now in using film cameras that seems to have taken camera manufacturers somewhat by surprise.

Well, in my case this is very true, and it is the reason why I prefer the M7 over the rather clumsy M6 (I own both). The transition from my M10-R to the M7 is more or less seamless. And I really like this😇.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Knipsknecht

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Smudgerer]

2 hours ago, Fotoklaus said:

I don´t think so. Leicas marketing is based on the "mechanical perfection", the "pureness", and so on. A Film-M with electronic controlled shutter is something like a

Rolex with a simple qaurtz movement with technical standards from 40 years ago.

i don´t know if any company is even building electronic controlled shutters for film cameras anymore.

Isn't the shutter in the M10 and earlier M's electronically controlled? That's not quite yet an antique and outdated system and surely it could be used with a film camera as easily as it is with a digital sensor, and isn't the shutter on the M6 and MP electronically controlled too, ( ie: will not work at all speeds if the battery is dead ), or am I way out in dreamland on this?

As for updating the M7 electronics, didn't Leica farm that work out anyway in the first place? If so there must be electronic suppliers that could fabricate that part for a new M7 for them I'd have thought.

Anyway, it'll never happen now they've committed to the M6, this was just pipe dreaming.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Smudgerer
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