Left Side Stablizing Lugs

[Anbaric]

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Is the MD-2 perhaps the missing link here? These were apparently made until 1986, and looking at pictures online the stud was a standard (or at least common) feature, long after it had vanished from the rangefinder models. Perhaps some late M4-P bodies also had the stud either so that they could be used for the same application as the MD-2, or because Leica had body shells fitted with studs to use up? We may be reading too much into this, of course - it's also easy to imagine the stud was a special request or post-production customisation for use with the flash bracket or some other gadget.

Edited June 5, 2024 by Anbaric

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[Mike S]

 

Here we go. Chrome, flush window, no lug, no bumper and my single post modification 😬. Hadn't appreciated how the paint on my flap was wearing 'til just now. Despite the "rarity" this one isn't mollycoddled, it's the favourite child, getting on for 200 rolls in the last year.

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[250swb]

8 hours ago, Anbaric said:

Is the MD-2 perhaps the missing link here? These were apparently made until 1986, and looking at pictures online the stud was a standard (or at least common) feature, long after it had vanished from the rangefinder models. Perhaps some late M4-P bodies also had the stud either so that they could be used for the same application as the MD-2, or because Leica had body shells fitted with studs to use up? We may be reading too much into this, of course - it's also easy to imagine the stud was a special request or post-production customisation for use with the flash bracket or some other gadget.

Yes of course, the last M4-P serial numbers are all within a block of MD-2 numbers, and it makes further sense of Leica using up excess parts that had been shipped from Canada after the factory closed.