First outing with my very first Leica.

[Swift1]

Very good, for this M2 and for new owner!

It looks like exposure, more than age of film.
The only problem with getting of first M... rest of the cameras might start to collect dust.
Canon and FSU 50mm are sufficient for film, IMO.

Thanks Konstantin.
The film base was pretty fogged. It was Kodak Gold 200, which I shot at 100 (Sunny 16). I probably should have used iso 50 to get a little better shadow detail.

Nice photos! Good luck with your M2! 😀

G

Thanks Godfrey.

 

[farlymac]

Nice! You're going to do just fine with the M2, Colton.

Keep away from lever focus lenses, and you shouldn't have any problems with clearances. I mounted a Nikkor 35mm LTM on my M4-P the other day, and because the infinity stop winds up around 0630 on the flange, the focus lever hits the bright frame changing lever, and I can't focus closer than 6 feet.

Good looking photos as usual.

PF

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Nice! You're going to do just fine with the M2, Colton.

Keep away from lever focus lenses, and you shouldn't have any problems with clearances. I mounted a Nikkor 35mm LTM on my M4-P the other day, and because the infinity stop winds up around 0630 on the flange, the focus lever hits the bright frame changing lever, and I can't focus closer than 6 feet.

Good looking photos as usual.

PF

I had on my M4-2, M3 every possible FSU 50 with focus tab, Summar, Summarit original, Canon 50 1.8. I knew one photog with Elmar 35 on M6...
Oh, and Winogrand has Canon 28 on his Ms...
Leitz actually made 35mm LTM to M adapter, I have one. I'm also having hard time to recall any Leitz 35 LTM lens without focus tab...

It is FED-2 which will not take I-22, 50. Because mount flange of the camera is not high enough from the body.

 

[benlees]

Still remember getting my M4P... As sweet as a mechanical camera can get. Enjoy. I'm sure the M2 is better!

 

[mcfingon]

Thanks Helen, I'm pretty excited to have an M2 🙂

I plan to just keep using my Canon 50mm, my CV 35/2.5, and maybe in future get a Canon 28mm.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

The M2 is a lovely straightforward M, but be aware if you put a 28mm on it, there's no appropriate outline shown because of that nice simple frameline set. My son has mine now, and is enjoying it very much with a Jupiter-12.
John Mc

 

[Sumarongi]

I like the pictures very much, and particularly the dreamy colours you achieved. Definitely not a bad choice this old Kodak Gold!

 

[Richard G]

Nice shots as usual. You have an amazing keeper rate. The M2 was also my first camera. Years later and many cameras later I realize it’s all I ever really needed. It’s still in use. That 35mm frame line view is the most beautiful vista in the whole Leica estate. You mention the MA, a current model that is basically an M2, but just not quite as good. I like the rewind, when it’s properly lubricated and adjusted. Even the loading is fine with me - misloads in 41 years of use, zero. Hell, I even love the Aztec frame counter.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Congrats with the Leica. A nice series with an ethereal quality. Is that Kodak Gold or Photoshop?

 

[Swift1]

Nice! You're going to do just fine with the M2, Colton.

Keep away from lever focus lenses, and you shouldn't have any problems with clearances. I mounted a Nikkor 35mm LTM on my M4-P the other day, and because the infinity stop winds up around 0630 on the flange, the focus lever hits the bright frame changing lever, and I can't focus closer than 6 feet.

Good looking photos as usual.

PF

Thanks PF 🙂

Still remember getting my M4P... As sweet as a mechanical camera can get. Enjoy. I'm sure the M2 is better!

I thought about getting an M4-P or M4-2, and I would probably be very happy with either. I did want a self timer though, and this M2 just seemed perfect for me.

The M2 is a lovely straightforward M, but be aware if you put a 28mm on it, there's no appropriate outline shown because of that nice simple frameline set. My son has mine now, and is enjoying it very much with a Jupiter-12.
John Mc

Hehe, ya after months of reading up on the various Leica M bodies, I'm pretty up on the pros/cons of each finder and their framelines. 28mm on an M2 worked well enough for Henry Wessel 😀

 

[creenus]

Good luck to you. I shoot a 1966 M2 with an Abrahamsson winder and I love it. I also just bought a 1962 to be painted black by Alan Starkie when I save the cash. M2s (and other meterless Leicas) get you right down to the essence of the photographic process, IMO. The M2 does it for me, although other models certainly have their fanbases!

Very nice images as well - you have a really good eye, and that's what matters (rather than gear)!

Steve in New Mexico

 

[Swift1]

I like the pictures very much, and particularly the dreamy colours you achieved. Definitely not a bad choice this old Kodak Gold!

Thanks 🙂
With enough exposure, the film comes out pretty well.

Nice shots as usual. You have an amazing keeper rate. The M2 was also my first camera. Years later and many cameras later I realize it’s all I ever really needed. It’s still in use. That 35mm frame line view is the most beautiful vista in the whole Leica estate. You mention the MA, a current model that is basically an M2, but just not quite as good. I like the rewind, when it’s properly lubricated and adjusted. Even the loading is fine with me - misloads in 41 years of use, zero. Hell, I even love the Aztec frame counter.

Thank you Richard. I'm pretty happy with the M2 so far, and the viewfinder was definitely a major factor in deciding to get it.

Congrats with the Leica. A nice series with an ethereal quality. Is that Kodak Gold or Photoshop?

Thank you, Peter. The color palette is mostly the film and the light of that particular day, and maybe a bit of the rendering from the lens used.
My scanning method (I feel) tends to retain the personality of a particular film, moreso than other methods I have tried, but also has its own look.
I scan very flat (no curve applied in scanning) with the intention of adjusting levels and tone curve in post, but that is the only adjusting I ever do.
You can read about it here,
http://www.coltonallen.com/getting-the-most-from-color-negative-film-with-your-epson-flatbed/

 

[mward]

I couldn't really afford Leica glass for my first one either but ended up with a 50 2.8 elmar and a 90 4 elmar, both render very nicely and aren't very expensive. I got a color skopar for the wide end. Love the tonality of these shots. Maybe it has aged a bit but it has a very vintage feel.

 

[lxmike]

Congratulations

 

[Swift1]

I couldn't really afford Leica glass for my first one either but ended up with a 50 2.8 elmar and a 90 4 elmar, both render very nicely and aren't very expensive. I got a color skopar for the wide end. Love the tonality of these shots. Maybe it has aged a bit but it has a very vintage feel.

Thanks. The Elmar 50/2.8 is a lens I would love to have 🙂

Congratulations

Thank you, Mike.

 

[robert blu]

Congrats for your M2, I'm sure you'll love your new camera and very important you'll be able to make excellent pictures!

robert
PS: when I bought my first Leica (preowned) having no budget for Leica lenses I used my LTM CV 35/1.7 with adapter...and I found it very good!

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

Great to see you joint the M2 club Colton! I love this one in particular. As usual, your colour scanning is remarkable, even on pretty sad and sorry film...


I'd love to see some camera p*@n of the M2 🙂

 

[Out to Lunch]

http://www.coltonallen.com/getting-t...epson-flatbed/

The light is beautiful. Thanks for the link...very interesting.

 

[Rob-F]

Colton, you do a good job of keeping the verticals vertical! You have a good flair for architectural photography! I like your pictures. I'm sure you will keep and use your M2 for a long time.

 

[davidnewtonguitars]

It gives me some warm feeling that my favorite photographer now has the same camera as me! Congratulations Colton on getting something that, to me, has that "just right" feel.
I highly recommend the Canon 35mm f2 LTM, if you are like me, shy of Summicron money. Most of them have a slight "wobble" to the body, but seem to function just fine that way. I think one would suit your style of photography fine.

 

[Swift1]

Congrats for your M2, I'm sure you'll love your new camera and very important you'll be able to make excellent pictures!

robert
PS: when I bought my first Leica (preowned) having no budget for Leica lenses I used my LTM CV 35/1.7 with adapter...and I found it very good!

Thanks Robert. I'm pretty happy with my CV Skopar 35/2.5. The CV lenses are very good I think.

Great to see you joint the M2 club Colton! I love this one in particular. As usual, your colour scanning is remarkable, even on pretty sad and sorry film...


I'd love to see some camera p*@n of the M2 🙂

Thanks Nick. TBH, you and your M2 have been an inspiration for me to get an M2 of my own 🙂
I'll try to post a photo of mine soon.