M4P questions from new user

[jevidon]

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I just ordered an M4P 70th Anniversary body (Chrome) and expect it in about one week. That model was produced starting in 1983. It is to be a film companion to my M8. I selected the M4P after spending quite a while reviewing the posts on the various M models, paying special attention to Tom Abramson's forum posts. I selected the M4P for two primary reasons.

 

1. It has 28 to 135 frame lines which makes it a nice companion to the M8 with the same frame lines.

2. I didn't want to spend more money for an M6 or M7.

 

Does anyone using an M4P have any comments or suggestions as to use, care, and feeding?

 

And does anyone have suggestions for B&W films? The traditional silver films are getting harder to have processed, while I suppose I could go back to self processing. Please keep in mind that I will be scanning in my Epson 4990 to my computer and completing processing with Photoshop CS3. Any comments in that regard will be appreciated.

 

Jim Evidon

[tgray]

If you don't want to process yourself, I think you're pretty much limited to Kodak BW400CN or Ilford XP2 Super, both C41 films. People are usually split about 50/50 on them; I find them about the same. I have shot more of the Kodak just because I bought a bunch of it last year for $1.50/roll when a local store stopped carrying film.

 

Personally, I'd go with traditional film. That's mostly what I shoot. I'm a big fan of Kodak Tri-X, Plus-X, and T-Max P3200. Self processing isn't hard, its cheap, and I think you get superior results compared to the C41 films - at least to my eyes.

[echorec]

The M4-P is a lovely camera, you made a good choice. Some people will say that it does not have the same "feel" as the classics (M2, M3, M4) but my cameras (standard M4-P and the 70 Jahre model) feels just as solid and smooth as the oldies and the 28mm finder comes in handy too.

[Guest maddoc2003jp]

You might also have a look in this thread here:

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/film-forum/57660-i-love-my-m4-p.html

 

For lab processing, the choices for film are Ilford's XP2 and Kodak' BW400CN. Both can easily be processed (C-41, like color-print film) and scanned at home. I use a Epson V700 flat-bed scanner and get good results with these films.

 

Enjoy your new camera and post some photos !

 

Cheers,

 

Gabor

[Guest Posto 6]

It is an excellent camera; I sold my one in 2004, much to my regret. There is only one issue that you should look for-at the time of it's construction, Leitz used silicon as an internal dust sealant, and this can start leaving vapours which attack the viewfinder window, as well as the rangefinder lens if you are unlucky.

 

I would strongly suggest that you send it for a service, particularly if the is any trace of haze or fog when looking through the rangefinder, as this will only deteriorate further over time if left untreated. The solution is quite simple really- just a cleaning of the window and lens element, as well as removal of the offending silicone. My M6, which was 2 1/2 years younger, never suffered from these problems (which started with the M4-2), as Leitz had by then stopped using silicone.

[MPJMP]

Ilford XP2 is a very nice B&W film that you can have processed at any place that does color negatives. It's nice and contrasty and has a finer grain than Tri-X. It scans very well and you can use any dust/scratch removal software that came with your scanner.

 

Tri-X is probably THE classic B&W to use with a Leica rangefinder. I develop it in my bathroom and often scan it in the same evening. I tend to alternate back and forth between Tri-X with home developing and XP2 with store processing. It just depends on how much free time I have at any given moment. The only drawback to scanning Tri-X is that most dust/scratch removal features on scanning software don't work, so you would have to remove these manually which can be a slow and tedious process.

 

T-Max and Ilford FP4 are also great black and white films, but when the chips are down I always go for Tri-X or XP2.

[jevidon]

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The M4P 70 Jahre arrived from KEH, and it is gorgeous. They rated it as E(-) condition, but I'll be darned if I can distinguish it from mint. I loaded it with Velvia 50 and I'll take it out tomorrow and shoot up the roll to test it and my old mint Weston V which stopped working 25 years ago. I just had it re-furbished and calibrated. I'll compare it with my Gossen LunaLux SBC. I picked Velvia 50 because of the limited latitude, figuring it is a good choice for camera testing.

 

More later.