David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
Welcome aboard. The M2 is lovely camera, many think it the best of the M series for build quality and user friendly-ness...
I wonder if I dare add to the thread by suggesting that you look up the body number and year and then search for a lens of the same or previous years? A lot of us fussy people end up doing that, so I thought I'd warn you now.
The Summicron is lovely but the hordes after them mean they are dear to very dear and often a little iffy on the quality scale. Mainly because we are talking about a lens from the 1950's onwards and some have had a rough time of it.
Far better value is the Elmar f/2.8 50mm lens, as others have pointed out. Or there's the Summitar, which is almost a Summicron but a little older. And there's also the older (perhaps) Elmar of f/3.5 fame but most are pre-war and uncoated.
BTW, by the time you've found a LTM to M adapter and paid for it you'll be wondering why you didn't just buy a lens made for the M series. Beware of the non-Leitz ones but the Voightlander ones are OK. So are some of the unbranded ones. Often they set up the 50mm framelines, even for 35 or 90mm lenses. So you could be lucky. Few/none of the unbranded ones are engraved with the focal length they were designed for.
All the Leitz lenses need lens hoods, imo, and the genuine articles are expensive or very expensive and you'll wonder why when you see what our Chinese friends offer on ebay for about a fiver post paid.
Cheaper still are the USSR made lenses, the Jupiter-8 in black or bare metal is the best looking and f/2 and the Industar-61 (several models) are sharper and f/2.8 Both need adapters (see above) and may not focus precisely at short distances and when wide open. This can be adjusted by getting them re-registered or else using your brain.
BTW 2 or 3, if you've down loaded the manual, remember to tip Mr Bukus a few dollars. The print it and search for the real thing, or Kisselbach's book. (Or even the Focal guide which may start you on a slippery slope towards buying one of everything.)
The M2 manual should come with a wrap round quick start guide (officially "Instructions in Brief" and with a blue background to it) and you can go mad searching for one with your M2's variations shown in the pictures...
If you want to go the whole hog, then find a MC meter for the M2, there's lots about and most of them still work. They do get in the way of an ERC and mark the body over time. Most have the incident light screen missing (mine has) but there's a nice booster cell available that many find very useful.
I've not mentioned flash because the thought of writing another two pages puts me off.
The dealers you should know about, and who I trust, are ffordes and Simon Chesterman and the repairer and supplier for everything for M2's is Malcolm Taylor.
On ebay, beware, the word Leica attracts hordes willing to outbid you and the descriptions often leave much to be desired. That applies to one or two dealers (not mentioned) too.
Anyway, it's a superb camera, I hope you get a lot of pleasure and photo's from it. And, of course, we are all here to help.
Regards, David
Welcome aboard. The M2 is lovely camera, many think it the best of the M series for build quality and user friendly-ness...
I wonder if I dare add to the thread by suggesting that you look up the body number and year and then search for a lens of the same or previous years? A lot of us fussy people end up doing that, so I thought I'd warn you now.
The Summicron is lovely but the hordes after them mean they are dear to very dear and often a little iffy on the quality scale. Mainly because we are talking about a lens from the 1950's onwards and some have had a rough time of it.
Far better value is the Elmar f/2.8 50mm lens, as others have pointed out. Or there's the Summitar, which is almost a Summicron but a little older. And there's also the older (perhaps) Elmar of f/3.5 fame but most are pre-war and uncoated.
BTW, by the time you've found a LTM to M adapter and paid for it you'll be wondering why you didn't just buy a lens made for the M series. Beware of the non-Leitz ones but the Voightlander ones are OK. So are some of the unbranded ones. Often they set up the 50mm framelines, even for 35 or 90mm lenses. So you could be lucky. Few/none of the unbranded ones are engraved with the focal length they were designed for.
All the Leitz lenses need lens hoods, imo, and the genuine articles are expensive or very expensive and you'll wonder why when you see what our Chinese friends offer on ebay for about a fiver post paid.
Cheaper still are the USSR made lenses, the Jupiter-8 in black or bare metal is the best looking and f/2 and the Industar-61 (several models) are sharper and f/2.8 Both need adapters (see above) and may not focus precisely at short distances and when wide open. This can be adjusted by getting them re-registered or else using your brain.
BTW 2 or 3, if you've down loaded the manual, remember to tip Mr Bukus a few dollars. The print it and search for the real thing, or Kisselbach's book. (Or even the Focal guide which may start you on a slippery slope towards buying one of everything.)
The M2 manual should come with a wrap round quick start guide (officially "Instructions in Brief" and with a blue background to it) and you can go mad searching for one with your M2's variations shown in the pictures...
If you want to go the whole hog, then find a MC meter for the M2, there's lots about and most of them still work. They do get in the way of an ERC and mark the body over time. Most have the incident light screen missing (mine has) but there's a nice booster cell available that many find very useful.
I've not mentioned flash because the thought of writing another two pages puts me off.
The dealers you should know about, and who I trust, are ffordes and Simon Chesterman and the repairer and supplier for everything for M2's is Malcolm Taylor.
On ebay, beware, the word Leica attracts hordes willing to outbid you and the descriptions often leave much to be desired. That applies to one or two dealers (not mentioned) too.
Anyway, it's a superb camera, I hope you get a lot of pleasure and photo's from it. And, of course, we are all here to help.
Regards, David
lxmike
M2 fan.
thankyou everyone and especially david for a comprehensive overview, very helpfull indeed
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
FWIW, an elastic band around the lens barrel will stop it going back too far or, perhaps, reminding you not to collapse it. The CL and, I guess, M5 with an adapter are a great test bed for M and threaded lenses. Mostly because of the accurate centre area metering.
Regards, david
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
I hope no one will mind if I add to my previous rant/missive.
With Leicas the little things are what catch you out. Taking ebay for the source you'll soon discover that what you expect to get and what you get differ. For example, a Leica Elmar f/2.8 ought to come with a lens cap in metal with "Leica" on the front and a black plastic, with a grey lining, rear lens cap.
Alas, mostly they come off ebay wrapped in newspaper and then you discover that the correct cap will cost a fortune and that the rear lens cap, once found, will probably be defective and, of course, expensive. The rear ones sort of split, then when the lens is fitted it turns round and round and round in the thing and never stops in the right place. So the best practical solution is a Japanese or Chinese plain plastic one.
But, you'll need the black and grey plastic one because the base of it has three studs on it to engage with the Leica adapter for 39mm threaded lenses and free them from the body.
As for front lens caps, a lot of us fussy old gits like the correct cap but take the camera out in public with a nondescript one because we are terrified of losing the expensive one that took us x years to find on ebay. Again the Chinese make nice cheap ones and there's all the plain former USSR made metal ones (also beginning to get expensive).
Looking at the former USSR lenses, a lot of them are nice lenses but need a little TLC. Often the helix for focusing has old, dried grease on it and they are almost locked solid when this happens. OTOH, they are also dirt cheap and 50p in the market would be a typical price for some. get them re-registered and re-lubricated etc and you'll be surprised and delighted.
The other problem with all lenses is damage to the filter threads. Malcolm Taylor can usually replace the damaged part on Leitz stuff but for ex-USSR lenses it's best to forget screw in filters and hoods and look for slip-on ones. Luckily there are dozens out there but they can get in the way of the RF windows, so be careful. It is, of course, also possible to get the ring bashed into shape and the thread re-cut. Specialised technicians can do it for most lenses.
Experienced engineers would also say it can be done with care and carefully cut wooden tools... The trouble is, bashing away at the filter ring can damage the lenses' elements. So it pays to get them stripped right down and all the work done at once by some who specialises in them. That's easily typed but can be expensive, unless you paid 50p for the lens in the first place... Expensive here means about thirty quid, the last time it was done to an Elmar for my M2.
BTW, I could show some excellent snaps of my wife taken with a J-8 and M2 but getting her permission would cost more than a CLA...
Sorry to add to your reading.
Regards, David
I hope no one will mind if I add to my previous rant/missive.
With Leicas the little things are what catch you out. Taking ebay for the source you'll soon discover that what you expect to get and what you get differ. For example, a Leica Elmar f/2.8 ought to come with a lens cap in metal with "Leica" on the front and a black plastic, with a grey lining, rear lens cap.
Alas, mostly they come off ebay wrapped in newspaper and then you discover that the correct cap will cost a fortune and that the rear lens cap, once found, will probably be defective and, of course, expensive. The rear ones sort of split, then when the lens is fitted it turns round and round and round in the thing and never stops in the right place. So the best practical solution is a Japanese or Chinese plain plastic one.
But, you'll need the black and grey plastic one because the base of it has three studs on it to engage with the Leica adapter for 39mm threaded lenses and free them from the body.
As for front lens caps, a lot of us fussy old gits like the correct cap but take the camera out in public with a nondescript one because we are terrified of losing the expensive one that took us x years to find on ebay. Again the Chinese make nice cheap ones and there's all the plain former USSR made metal ones (also beginning to get expensive).
Looking at the former USSR lenses, a lot of them are nice lenses but need a little TLC. Often the helix for focusing has old, dried grease on it and they are almost locked solid when this happens. OTOH, they are also dirt cheap and 50p in the market would be a typical price for some. get them re-registered and re-lubricated etc and you'll be surprised and delighted.
The other problem with all lenses is damage to the filter threads. Malcolm Taylor can usually replace the damaged part on Leitz stuff but for ex-USSR lenses it's best to forget screw in filters and hoods and look for slip-on ones. Luckily there are dozens out there but they can get in the way of the RF windows, so be careful. It is, of course, also possible to get the ring bashed into shape and the thread re-cut. Specialised technicians can do it for most lenses.
Experienced engineers would also say it can be done with care and carefully cut wooden tools... The trouble is, bashing away at the filter ring can damage the lenses' elements. So it pays to get them stripped right down and all the work done at once by some who specialises in them. That's easily typed but can be expensive, unless you paid 50p for the lens in the first place... Expensive here means about thirty quid, the last time it was done to an Elmar for my M2.
BTW, I could show some excellent snaps of my wife taken with a J-8 and M2 but getting her permission would cost more than a CLA...
Sorry to add to your reading.
Regards, David
David Hughes
David Hughes
And here's an old, U/S rear lens cap showing the studs fitting an old, dirty Leitz adapter.
I ought to clean it but the flange is a nominal 1mm and works OK
Regards, David
I ought to clean it but the flange is a nominal 1mm and works OK
Regards, David
lxmike
M2 fan.
Well it has just arrived and I am in love, the shutter sounds sweet and ever so quiet, the viewfinder very clear and the rf image is contrasty, I will post at the weekend when my new lens for it arrives, a Leitz Elmar M 5cm 3.5