Fondled an M2 Last Night

Had an M2 for a couple of years before I got an M6 TTL cos I thought I needed the onboard meter. I use the M6 primarily with a 35/2 4th and the M2 with a 50 collapsible cron - "picture quality" when lenses are interchanged - no difference - as you'd expect. "User satisfaction"??? M2 wins hands down - go get yours NOW.
 
I guess it's time to take a shower, kiss my elderly M3 goodnight, and hop in bed with both the M2 and the M2-R for a good three way fondle! Why doesn't Luigi make up some sexy looking satin and lace half-cases?
 
bhop73 said:
I've had my M6 for a couple months now. I've gotten used to the way it feels and I like it, but last night, I was visiting a friend and messed around with her M2 for a bit and was surprised at how different it felt. i mean, it felt "the same" but still different. The viewfinder and focus patch seemed brighter and easier to use to me, and now I understand what people mean when they describe the wind lever as "buttery".

It almost made me wish i'd gotten one instead of the M6.. almost.. , but I do love the m6's meter. I don't think i've had any shots yet that weren't exposed properly, that weren't user error anyway.
Click to expand...


Give in to the Force, young Skywalker....
 
I got this over with fairly quickly.

I've been crazy-happy in Hexarland for the longest time, but I have had a hankering for a non-motorized M-body of some kind. There were thoughts of a Bessa of some sort, or maybe a ZI, but local Leicaphiles snorted at me, "Who do you think you're kidding? Get the Leica." Note that it wasn't "Get a Leica." Although the implication was that any Leica would beat Anything Else. Nice pipe dream, I'd say, but you you guys must be smoking something stronger than I!

Then, this came around:

m206.jpg


I have it on long-term loan from a client of mine, who ultimately may (or may not) sell it to me. I'll just say that this M2 has been an experience for someone whose only meterless camera was a Diana in 1967:

camp67col.jpg

Sleep-away camp, August 1967. Earliest surviving photo by my hand.

The M2 isn't exactly the anti-Hexar, but definitely in a parallel universe, which is a great form of mental exercise for me, photographically speaking. Mechanically, yes, it's All That: smooth, quiet, precise, even given the fact that my example has a warped leading shutter curtain, and a rewind knob in need of a refurb. I've had a blast shooting with it.

whitewaterriff.jpg

Whitewater Riff, June 2009

(Technical: Leica M2, v1 35mm f/2 Summicron, Kodak BW400CN)

So, yes, I might negotiate a late-night soul-arbitrage for a black-paint MP3, but the M2 is so good it makes the thought almost superfluous. The missing self-timer is a plus, not a minus, in terms of camera handling. You want to do self-portraits? Use something else. This is for all the other photographic stuff. Then there's the uncluttered beauty of one-at-a-time framelines in the viewfinder...


- Barrett
 
Hah.. nice replies, I can already feel the dark side pulling me in, but my wallet won't let me get another body for now, at least until I get another lens or two.
 
Stay away from the early M3 DS - it's insanely good.

bhop73 said:
I've had my M6 for a couple months now. I've gotten used to the way it feels and I like it, but last night, I was visiting a friend and messed around with her M2 for a bit and was surprised at how different it felt. i mean, it felt "the same" but still different. The viewfinder and focus patch seemed brighter and easier to use to me, and now I understand what people mean when they describe the wind lever as "buttery".

It almost made me wish i'd gotten one instead of the M6.. almost.. , but I do love the m6's meter. I don't think i've had any shots yet that weren't exposed properly, that weren't user error anyway.
Click to expand...
 
David Murphy said:
Stay away from the early M3 DS - it's insanely good.
Click to expand...
Dear David,

IF you can stand DS. I can't.

For that matter, given that 35mm is my standard lens on 35mm, I got rid of my last M3 well over a decade ago (I've had three, over the last 35 years or so). Lovely, smooth cameras, but no 35mm frame means no M3 as far as I am concerned. I currently have an MP, an M4-P and one-and-a-half M2s (one's on loan to Cam).

Of course, the M8.2 is quite like a real Leica too...

Cheers,

R.
 
Started with an M3 didnt like the goggles, got an M6ttl and later got my now black M2 found I didn't use the M6 anymore so sold everything except for the M2 and a 35mm lens, I shoot b+w all the time so never miss the built in meter and like the fact its completely different from my work cameras (Canon MkIIIs).
 
Get a well used, recently CLA'd M2 I'd say. I also use an M6, the M2 is a nice addition - eventually the M6 becomes the addition.

btw, the finder of my M6 is brighter.

martin
 
I can't wait to fondle an M2.....I just bought my first Leica (recently CLA'ed M2 for about $450 on the 'bay), having never handled a Leica or even a decent rangefinder in my life, two days ago. Risky? Maybe. Worth it? I think it will be. Carrying a gripped D700 w/ a 70-200 f/2.8 is great and all, but eventually the size takes its toll. I'm ready for small and quiete now.
 
Amen brother 😉

marke said:
I remember my first Leica, an M6 TTL. I thought I was in heaven. But little did I know that I was still riding the escalator. I eventually got an MP. Yep, I was now at the threshold of the pearly gates. When I sold my M6 TTL and picked up an M3 just seconds after, I knew I had been finally saved from the dark world of pixels.

Please pass the butter. 😉
Click to expand...
 
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