About buying an MP

[loquax ludens]

If you keep the M3 you may lean to getting a 0.72x mag MP if you compare. Although others here have no problem using a 35mm lens on a 0.85x mag body I do; there isn't enough room around the 35mm frameline, at least for my eye.

When you say there is not enough room around the 35mm frameline, do you mean that you can't see everything that is framed inside of it, or that you can't see around the outside of it?

I would be OK for me, I think, if I could just see all of the 35mm frame line, even if I couldn't see around it.

The .85 mag is difficult for 35mm with glasses on.

That's why I want to seek out a dealer that has a .85 and a .72 that I can look through with a variety of lenses. My glasses are fairly close to my eye, but the lenses are thick.

 

[Mudman]

Hi Loquax,
With my glasses on, I can't see the full frame at any one time. I'm planning on getting a -1 diopter at some point so I can just take my glasses off while shooting, and not have to worry about it.

 

[loquax ludens]

Hi Loquax,
With my glasses on, I can't see the full frame at any one time. I'm planning on getting a -1 diopter at some point so I can just take my glasses off while shooting, and not have to worry about it.

I think minus diopter is for nearsightedness, right?

According to the Leica site, the M viewfinder is already corrected for -0.5 diopter. I'd need to subtract another -5.5 diopter, which may not be possible except by wearing glasses. 🙂

 

[Kherberos]

I Just came back from Paris few hours ago, and brought back with me my brand new 0.85, black paint, vulcanite cover MP.

I will still have to test it thoroughfully for the next few days. But I can already say a few things that won't change:

I can use de 35mm frame without a singke problem, and I wear glasses. But I don't wear higly corrected glasses. And I am the kind of guy that don't feel at all disturbed using glasses with the ancient Leica IIIs either.

The build quality, to my eyes and hand perceptions is absolutely overkill. I had, on many occasions, the chance to use, for several months, M3 and M6. But the overall quality, both of the construction and the viewing advantages of the viewfinder of the MP magnified at 0.85, is truly unmatched by anything else, in my experience. Period.

I see the point in comparing MP v M6 or M3, of course, as far as money goes.

But, and I am aware that this may be very personal and am not trying to convince anybody, I really have this feeling that this may very well be THE absolute range finder camera for me. And for the price it cost, I am to put it under serious testing.

 

[Pablito]

I just phoned Sherry Krauter (unrelated to this thread), and we got to talk about M7s and MPs. Suffice to say she has some interesting opinions. Give her a call, a different point of view.

I know Sherry and I know what she'd say!

Have not heard her opinion on the MP specifically but I know she feels quality control at Leica has gone to hell. Personally, I am a photographer and my M6s serve me perfectly well when I shoot film. I would never want an MP. Too many reports of unreliability.

 

[rogerzilla]

I'm surprised were still having the M6 vs. MP argument. To quote Erwin Puts:
The rewind knob has a very useful friction now.

You have to laugh. It's like Ford launching a retro Model T but it's OK - the starting handle now has a rubber grip 😀

The rewind knob has zero practical advantage over the crank rewind and is merely to make an MP look like an M3.

 

[Tzelet]

The rewind knob has zero practical advantage over the crank rewind and is merely to make an MP look like an M3.

Actually, I think the MP solution is way better than the moronic crank on the M6.

As for Leica quality in general, I'm quite sure that their cameras are better than the photographers using them.

 

[Kherberos]

I know Sherry and I know what she'd say!

Have not heard her opinion on the MP specifically but I know she feels quality control at Leica has gone to hell. Personally, I am a photographer and my M6s serve me perfectly well when I shoot film. I would never want an MP. Too many reports of unreliability.

Still, Leica offers full 5 years warranty (including servicing such as cla etc. during this period) on the MP… So I suppose this is because they are, somehow, confident in their hability making good, durable camera…

 

[loquax ludens]

Thank you for posting your impressions of your new MP with .85 viewfinder, Kherberos. That's encouraging news that the 35mm frameline is visible while wearing glasses.

 

[sepiareverb]

Although others here have no problem using a 35mm lens on a 0.85x mag body I do; there isn't enough room around the 35mm frameline, at least for my eye.

I'll agree with Peter here. But I always go for the most view outside the lines that I can get with 28 and 35 lenses. I wonder if you'd agree Peter that the 35 lines on the MP3 can feel a bit close at times?

 

[kshapero]

Nice. A great start. (Yes I said start). 😀

Oh gosh I hope not. I went from R3A to ZI to R3M to M7 to M6 and finally to M3. Can't it ever be over?😱

 

[kshapero]

The .85 mag is difficult for 35mm with glasses on.

Yes I had that problem with my former M7 .85, same problem for me with the R3x series and a 40mm lens.

 

[Kherberos]

I wonder if you'd agree Peter that the 35 lines on the MP3 can feel a bit close at times?

I am not Peter, but indeed, 35mm frame lines are on the physical limits of the 0.85 viewfinder. You don't get space around them. And it jumps right into your face. So, you tend to get an image more like the image you can get in a slr viewfinder: with no margins. Well, actually, you get margins, on the 0.85 35mm frame, but ultra thin ones. For moving subjects, this can be bothersome if you are used to get use of the margins as a way of meeting a trajectory at a precise moment.

 

[peter_n]

When you say there is not enough room around the 35mm frameline, do you mean that you can't see everything that is framed inside of it, or that you can't see around the outside of it?

I want to be able to see what's happening outside of the frame so I can anticipate through the VF what's going to happen next inside the frame. That's the reason to use a rangefinder, right?

I'll agree with Peter here. But I always go for the most view outside the lines that I can get with 28 and 35 lenses. I wonder if you'd agree Peter that the 35 lines on the MP3 can feel a bit close at times?

I absolutely agree Bob. That's the one little disappointment I have with the MP3.

I am not Peter, but indeed, 35mm frame lines are on the physical limits of the 0.85 viewfinder. You don't get space around them. And it jumps right into your face. So, you tend to get an image more like the image you can get in a slr viewfinder: with no margins. Well, actually, you get margins, on the 0.85 35mm frame, but ultra thin ones. For moving subjects, this can be bothersome if you are used to get use of the margins as a way of meeting a trajectory at a precise moment.

Exactly. Couldn't agree more with this statement.

 

[loquax ludens]

I want to be able to see what's happening outside of the frame so I can anticipate through the VF what's going to happen next inside the frame. That's the reason to use a rangefinder, right?

You're right. That is one of the oft touted benefits of using a rangefinder. Ken Rockwell has a prodigious list of other benefits on his site too, some of which had not occurred to me on my own. Rangefinder vs SLR

I'm least qualified of anyone to discuss the merits of seeing outside the lines since my M3 hasn't arrived yet and I don't actually know what the view through the M3 finder is like.

Being mainly an SLR user up until I started shooting with my Bessa R recently, it never really occurred to me that seeing outside the frame lines could be useful when there is movement in a scene. Even though I knew that the frame lines were showing me approximately what would be captured on the film, my devious SLR-conditioned mind tended to ignore them as a distraction at first. I didn't capture what I intended on that first roll of film as a result. Fortunately it only took me one roll to sort that out. 🙂

 

[sepiareverb]

I've settled into the 35/MP3 combo pretty well Peter, but still do find it a bit close from time to time.


via Tapatalk.

 

[Kherberos]

Still testing with great joy my new MP. Here are some thoughts:

- I am mainly a 50mm-90mm user. So the thin margins around the 35mm frames aren't a real problem for me. But I found a work around anyway, not very original, but very useful considering my needs. On my IIIg, I was using an ultra small 28/35mm mini finder from voigtlander (got the idea from the very great site of cameraquest). Doing this, I realised that the margins around the 50mm frame of the IIIg covered actually already the 35mm area. Of course, that leave me with no margins as far as 35mm goes. But when compacity matters, I found that I was doing OK with the sole use of my IIIg finder. Then, I tried the mini-finder (which is black painted) on the MP… And I must admit that this is a great combo! Lot of space beyond the 35mm frame, and also a valuable 28mm frame, in a super small package. If you don't want to trade the 0.85 magnified superb finder of the MP, then I think the mini-viewfinder is the perfect ticket. I got mine from cameraquest, that has still some stock, I think. But it is a sold out item for a long time everywhere else (was not able to find one in France nor in Japan).

- on my new MP, using ltm lenses, when driven to infinity, I found the lens movement becomes harder just before arriving to infinity. On the Heliar 50/3.5, Summitar and Summicron 35/2, all lenses with infinity locks in their ltm format, it demands more strenght to unlock from the infinity position. Nothing very bothersome, but still not as smooth as on a screw mount camera. I even tried with an old 9cm elmar, and regardless the absence of infinity lock, the lens movement clearly get a bit harder on the last few millimeters toward infinity. I ask here and there, and found this was not completely normal. sing the camera more and more, this phenomenon tended to weakened, and it turned out to be an issue with the telemeter arm being set "hard". Leica told me that I had 2 possibilities: a. I could wait, and it will in the end "probably" just go fine or, b. I could have my telemeter checked, and if I want, adjusted in one of their booth in Paris. Of course, I will have it checked this Friday morning, as I want to make sure it is not something else.

I never had a "new" Leica. Only used ones. If this is linked to a kind of "just out of factory" hardness, well, OK. But as it is not always the case with new M, I will make sure of it, and will let you know.

 

[loquax ludens]

I keep on watching the MP auctions on ebay, but I'm sure I'm not going to buy one anytime soon. ... I've managed to acquire a 90mm Tele-Elmarit and a 135mm Tele-Elmar on ebay for my M3. Neither one in my possession yet, but hopefully I'll have them in a few days. Meanwhile, I shot a roll of Tri-X 400 on my M3 today with my 50mm f/3.5 CV Heliar and a LTM to M mount adapter. It'll be a couple of weeks before I can develop it, so I've loaded a roll of Kodak Supra 100 from my freezer. I'll have roll commercially processed so I can see how my "new" M3 is doing.

 

[Kherberos]

The Tele-Elmar, or the 135 elmar for even less money i think, is a GREAT lens.

To end my report on infinity focussing with my MP: everything is OK, now. I came back to my Leica guy in Paris, and he fixed the telemeter lug in 30 seconds. Everything is back smooth as it should. So no real issue here, except that it does mean that at the Leica plant, they should be more careful…

My MP is now loaded with Agfa APX 25, and equiped with the CV Heliar 50mm f/3,5. Ready to start a "dolmen project" (will be shooting it with a Mamiya 6 as well).

 

[loquax ludens]

Your dolmen project sounds like a great idea, Kherberos, especially on APX 25. Great film, too bad it's gone. I've got three rolls of it left in 120.