SolaresLarrave
My M5s need red dots!
I agree. The M3 led me to re-discover my 50mm lenses (it's a focal length that looks strange to me in other VF magnifications), and the M5 just confirmed how handy a 35mm lens really is.
BTW, the M5 bodies below 134xxxx were plagued with mechanical problems (shutter and film advance, from what I've read). However, once fixed, they perform as flawlessly as the newer ones.
jacksondonald
Member
i think someone mentioned that M5 has a "brutalist" design. in use, the camera feels more like an overengineered concrete block compared to earlier Ms. i go back and forth. purely a matter of personal preference.
venchka
Veteran
Bigfoot's serial number places it in the early 2 lug <134xxxx group. Sherry K. brought the camera up to full 3 lug >135xxxx specs.
To use the M5 is to love the M5. All other opinions from non-users are just that. Opinions.
Wayne
Confirmed card carrying M5 user in Texas.
thegman
Veteran
I think the M5 is pretty ugly, but I like the way a Lomo LC-A looks, so my opinion is pretty dubious.
shadowfox
Darkroom printing lives
Racheted rewind crank? Genius!
I don't need another M-camera but if I were to pick another one, I'd probably like M5 better than M3 which I wasn't impressed with at all.
I don't need another M-camera but if I were to pick another one, I'd probably like M5 better than M3 which I wasn't impressed with at all.
SolaresLarrave
My M5s need red dots!
Yes, Will, ratcheted rewind crank. That means never having to say "$#**@¡ when your fingers let the little crank knob slip, and all the film returns to the take-up spool in the camera. You can actually start rewinding, take a brief break to pick up your cup of coffee and have a sip, then continue exactly where you left off.
The work of genius... The Leica M5.
And I agree with Wayne too!
The work of genius... The Leica M5.
And I agree with Wayne too! 
jcrutcher
Veteran
I'm a fan actually have 2 of them.. I also shoot the other m models so I really don't have a favorite and m5's are included in the rotation equally.
andredossantos
Well-known
M5's are great cameras. I used one for a while and really liked it. Unfortunately, I had to sell it, opting to keep my M4. The meter on mine died and I didn't want to pay to have it fixed as I hardly ever use in camera meters. I was mostly thinking about keeping the camera with the most longterm value and the functioning properly M4 felt like a safer bet. I do still miss the M5, I have to say!
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SolaresLarrave
My M5s need red dots!
About buying an M5 body...
Leica made the M5 so radically different that it had two lugs on just one side of the body (I think the left, if the camera is in front of your face), so that your right hand would be unencumbered with straps and other things to handle the shutterspeed dial, advance film and shoot.
There were some, however, who asked Leica to add lugs on the lugless side of the body, and Leica obliged. Hence, some bodies had one lug added and Leica started making 3-lugged M5 bodies after a while.
Usually, a two-lug camera is part of the early batches, but not necessarily one of the "unreliable" ones because that's associated with the SSN. A three-lug camera may have had a third lug installed by Leica, or be simply of a newer batch.
The supposedly safer bodies have SSN from 135 onwards. A late 134xxxx may be reliable. Anything lower than 134xxxx either was fixed by Sherry or will need it. There is a nice number of older M5 with SSN like 129xxxx. They are "at risk," so to speak.
Leica made the M5 so radically different that it had two lugs on just one side of the body (I think the left, if the camera is in front of your face), so that your right hand would be unencumbered with straps and other things to handle the shutterspeed dial, advance film and shoot.
There were some, however, who asked Leica to add lugs on the lugless side of the body, and Leica obliged. Hence, some bodies had one lug added and Leica started making 3-lugged M5 bodies after a while.
Usually, a two-lug camera is part of the early batches, but not necessarily one of the "unreliable" ones because that's associated with the SSN. A three-lug camera may have had a third lug installed by Leica, or be simply of a newer batch.
The supposedly safer bodies have SSN from 135 onwards. A late 134xxxx may be reliable. Anything lower than 134xxxx either was fixed by Sherry or will need it. There is a nice number of older M5 with SSN like 129xxxx. They are "at risk," so to speak.
venchka
Veteran
The most visible upgrade to a user is the stiffer detents for the shutter speed dial. The first M5 I ever handles was an early model. The shutter speed dial would almost turn by itself. When Sherry upgraded Bigfoot she added the stiffer spring to hold the little ball bearing firmly in place.
Don't forget the continuously variable shutter speeds. Try that with any other M camera.
Wayne
Don't forget the continuously variable shutter speeds. Try that with any other M camera.
Wayne
cee
Member
For the uninitiated such as myself, and in all seriousness, how and why did these end up so damn ugly?
None of Leica's cameras before or since have been hit so hard with the ugly stick.
To be honest, I previously wrote them off simply because of this, but am now intrigued. For some reason I had in my mind this was tainted by mid-70's QC problems, or a collaboration gone bad, but perhaps the CL was the only collab w/a Japanese manufacturer?
Good stuff guys- why I love this place.
None of Leica's cameras before or since have been hit so hard with the ugly stick.
To be honest, I previously wrote them off simply because of this, but am now intrigued. For some reason I had in my mind this was tainted by mid-70's QC problems, or a collaboration gone bad, but perhaps the CL was the only collab w/a Japanese manufacturer?
Good stuff guys- why I love this place.
filmtwit
Desperate but not serious
I own an M5 and M6 and really over all they don't look that much different other then slightly different looking top plate. If you're looking at piece of equipment as a purely form vs function, then the M5 isn't for you. But if you're more of a function vs form person, then M5 is a sweet piece of machinery that can be had for less then most of the rest of the M series and is more likely to be used as it's more functional then most or the rest of the leica's out there.
venchka
Veteran
I'm sorry. OK, I'm prejudiced. But how does this look ugly? Photo of Bubba prior to sale. Still questioning that decision.
Wayne
Happy to use Bigfoot. Pretty is as Pretty does.
Wayne
Happy to use Bigfoot. Pretty is as Pretty does.
rxmd
May contain traces of nut
Teuthida
Well-known
Richard G
Veteran
The M5 is great. It is a bit bigger and it is heavier. The size offers two things: real estate for the left hand, not only for shooting, but also carryng, and a longer base for leveling the camera which I have found helpful with a 25 and a 21. I have to carry my other Ms in the right hand with the strap wound around my wrist. I put a half hitch in the strap around my left wrist with the M5 and carry it left which I really like. Feels so secure. The vertical hanging of the M5 is brilliant, very stable, very discreet. The original strap and case was very clever: the strap ran through the lugs, so it hung at the side and could be lifted up for the shot, the strap running through the lugs. I have to get a leather strap made to revisit that which I first experienced in the early '70s. I don't have and don't want the third lug, my right hand sits so nicely round that end of the machine. A big 50 like my compact C Sonnar or the 90 Elmarit M sit very well balanced on the M5. Others have mentioned the ratcheted rewind but the mechanical advantage of that crank is huge compared to any other M rewind. Reminds me of my OMs - I sometimes worry there's no film being rewound.
I think the M2 is very beautiful, a jewel. The M6 is great but lacks slightly that earlier M refinement. I can't see the M3 as beautiful, except on account of its marvellous function. I don't like the running boards and wheel arches of those bumps around the range-viewfinder windows. The improvements of the M5 do then result in a beautiful camera too in my book, especially in chrome where the form and function are more obvious. It is the pinnacle of M development, best appreciated in the hands of owners of other Ms, just like certain focal lengths or M mount manufacturers help the appreciation of other focal lengths and other M mount manufacturers' lenses. Orville Robertson who used to post here a lot rightly said that Leica isn't just about the lenses at all, it is the liberating function of the M body that is the key and he loved his M5.
I think the M2 is very beautiful, a jewel. The M6 is great but lacks slightly that earlier M refinement. I can't see the M3 as beautiful, except on account of its marvellous function. I don't like the running boards and wheel arches of those bumps around the range-viewfinder windows. The improvements of the M5 do then result in a beautiful camera too in my book, especially in chrome where the form and function are more obvious. It is the pinnacle of M development, best appreciated in the hands of owners of other Ms, just like certain focal lengths or M mount manufacturers help the appreciation of other focal lengths and other M mount manufacturers' lenses. Orville Robertson who used to post here a lot rightly said that Leica isn't just about the lenses at all, it is the liberating function of the M body that is the key and he loved his M5.
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Charles D. Orze
Established
M5 has the best ergonomics
M5 has the best ergonomics
The M5 has the best ergonomics of all the M cameras--it should have been the base for the m8! sorry to say I sold mine in a fit of madness.
Charlie
M5 has the best ergonomics
The M5 has the best ergonomics of all the M cameras--it should have been the base for the m8! sorry to say I sold mine in a fit of madness.
Charlie
shadowfox
Darkroom printing lives
I'm sorry. OK, I'm prejudiced. But how does this look ugly? Photo of Bubba prior to sale. Still questioning that decision.
Wayne,
That's not ugly at all, it's a beauty in a 'steampunk' -kinda way
(I like steampunk style gadgets, btw)
yossarian123
Sam I Am
I covet that black M5. I've got a chrome but I've always preferred the black.
elmer3.5
Well-known
Damn me!
I had the chance to shoot a test roll with a fully functional m5 and i just fell completelly in love!!!
The fact that i can see the speed and the status of the lightmeter with the needle gives me better chance to set the camera´s speed and lens diafragm!!!
Damn me for saying this, but when shooting fast with my m6 i just forgot many times the settings and all in all the m6 is much slower than the m5 for fast and even more precise shooting!!!
Bye!!!
I had the chance to shoot a test roll with a fully functional m5 and i just fell completelly in love!!!
The fact that i can see the speed and the status of the lightmeter with the needle gives me better chance to set the camera´s speed and lens diafragm!!!
Damn me for saying this, but when shooting fast with my m6 i just forgot many times the settings and all in all the m6 is much slower than the m5 for fast and even more precise shooting!!!
Bye!!!