Choosing new film M

[ktmrider2]

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So, did the OP ever decide?  I reread the thread and could not find an answer.  I spent February, 2024, trying to decide between a new MP, new MA, or M10R and ended up with a black paint MP and rediscovered how useful the built in meter is (Owned original M6, M6TTL and M5 a few years ago).  I also own a mint black chrome anniversary M4 so have had a meterless camera for years.  

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[Big John]

Am still deciding - was in Leica UK last wk handling an M6.  I think that's the one.  Ruled out MP BP due to finger print magnet, MP silver is still a possible, M-A.....I really think I need the light meter.  Only issue stopping me deciding right now is the SL3 coming out!  I have the original SL and am contemplating upgrading.

[ktmrider2]

Well, I purchased a new MP last month.  I also have a mint M4 so cameras with both a meter and non meter.  I think the meter in a camera is useful and I wanted something different than the M4.  Both M's are great.

[Big John]

Update: since I am unable to borrow a film M, I borrowed an M11 this week with the main aim of seeing how I got on with RF focussing. Short answer: great. Longer answer: first 20 mins I was all over the place but then I put into practice some of the tips and techniques that I have learned from here and other places such as pre-positioning the lens at a hard stop (infinity) after a shot so that the next focussing starts at a know place and moves in one direction. Result was much much improved speed and accuracy and after just an hour I was capturing sharp car number plates (moving cars before anyone asks, lol). So, answering my own query about whether I can RF focus (eyesight etc) was a resounding yes. But more interestingly, I was amazed at how discrete the camera was to use (in coffee shop at London Underground) and how much I enjoyed seeing the real world thru an OVF. 
 

This thread of mine is about choosing a film M and so the M11 experience was to gain confidence with the RF. Assuming that the RF OVF is same on the film Ms as it is on the M11 (the dealer said it is) then I have made my point.  Just deciding aesthetics now. 
 

And…..I don’t need another digital body (honestly!) as I am v happy with my SL601 but man, I enjoyed that RF experience.  I have another thread running on the M240 as it might be the cheaper option for first digital M. 

[ktmrider2]

I have used Leica M's since 1975 and it was not the lenses or ergonomics which attracted me to the brand.  Even in 1975 a Leica cost double a Nikon F and I would argue that the Nikon F was the superior camera (it certainly had the professional market back then and any SLR is more flexible than any rangefinder even today).  I fell in love with the rangefinder which was way better than any SLR in dim light or with wide angle lenses.  If you want the ultimate rangefinder experience, try an M2 with the single frame lines for 35/50//90.  Leica got something right with that camera (I should have the 28, 75 and 135 lines removed from my MP but am too cheap).

I owned both the M9 and M240.  Nothing wrong with either camera but I prefer film.  If you like the rangefinder and digital, than Leica is the only game in town.  However, no digital M has the same dimensions as a classic M film camera.  All the digitals are a bit tubby with the M240 being the thickest.  However, it works just fine and can be had below $3000 all day long.

I am headed to Scotland for a 95 mile walk in the Highlands in two weeks.  I will take my MP with 21/35/50/90 and probably just carry either 35/90 or 50 with a couple rolls of Ektar 100.  Trying to decide if I want to own two film bodies or sell my mint M4.  Could be happy either way but I do like the new MP and the meter is useful.  And a Ricoh GR3 helps keep film cost down while delivering superior results compared to a phone (much bigger sensor!).

Honest, if you don't need a brand new camera you owe it to yourself to check out the classic M's (M2, M3, M4 etc).  The MP is a modern M6 while the MA is a modern M2.   If you want a great camera with a meter and don't mind the size, take a look at a M5 which has had the voltage adjusted to use modern batteries.  I would still argue it has more features than any film M except the M7 which provided aperture priority auto exposure.  It was in development by Leica for over ten years.

Edited April 29, 2024 by ktmrider2

[Big John]

20 hours ago, ktmrider2 said:

 The MP is a modern M6 while the MA is a modern M2.

Enjoyed reading your comments, thank you. Can you expand on MP as a modern M6 pls?  I know all the differences in the new film Ms.  Thanks. 

[ktmrider2]

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I think I owned a M6TTL back in 2003 when the MP first appeared.  My thought then was that Leica corrected some of the defects of the M6 like the flaring viewfinder or not making the body entirely from brass.  And I thought they were appealing to nostalgia with the M3 style wind lever and the rewind knob vs crank and I still think that.  I have used both style of advance lever and rewind knob/crank and never had a problem with either.

Now that the M6 has been reissued, Leica basically took the MP body and retro fitted the M4 style rewind crank and hinged film advance and put them on an MP body and then added a black chrome finish so the "new" M6 and MP are even more similar than the MP and classic M6 from the 1980's as the viewfinder flare and meter have been modernized with 3 diodes vice 2.

In my opinion, all Leica M film cameras are basically the same camera (with the M5 and CL being the exceptions) with slightly different fittings like film advance levers, rewind cranks or knobs, self timer or no self timer, and slightly different frame selector levers.  I have to wonder how much of the internal parts are identical across the entire M film line.  Did you know a brigadier general from the US Marines once delivered a paper at a LHSA meeting on the shape of frame selector levers on Leica film cameras.  Let's hear it for trivia and minutia!

Edited May 1, 2024 by ktmrider2