Creagerj
Incidental Artist
Some of you probably remember the fabled thread where I recently asked for advice on buying my first M camera. At the time I had my heart set on an m4-p, because I had a superfluous desire to get a black camera. By the end of the thread, I decided I might look into getting an M2. I thought about buying a couple on that were posted here on RFF, but ended up deciding to wait, and put more thought into it.
Then, the other night I was just lurking on eBay, checking out the going rates of different bodies and lenses, when I stumbled on an auction for an M2 body, with an Elmar 50mm f.2.8 lens. The auction was below $500, and was ending in less than an hour, so I figured the camera was ugly, but I checked it out anyways, and I'm glad that I did. The camera looked really nice in the photos, but it was being sold as is because the seller was unaware if it was functioning properly or not. The seller claimed that the camera had belonged to his grandfather, and had been sitting in a safety deposit box for several years.
I pondered about it for a while, and decided to put a bid in, figuring that even if it wasn't working, I could probably at least break even if I turned it around. I waited the last minute to enter my bid, and I won the auction for $550 including shipping. Then I waited anxiously for two days for it to arrive. I just got it today, and it is beautiful. It has no dings, dents, scratches, or brassing at all. The rangefinder is clean except for a small amount of dust, but it is aligned properly. The advance lever is smooth, and shutter speeds all sound great. There is a small amount of vulcanite missing, and the lens has some minor cleaning marks. It even came with a case and a filter.
I'm going to run some test rolls tonight. The nice thing is that now I can get myself some darkroom equipment. I'm pretty excited. Its the first time I've actually held a Leica, and I think its love at first site.
Edit:
I'm starting to think I may forgo getting the VC II and opt for a Sekonic L-308 instead. It looks pretty pocket-able, its only as thick as a AA battery.
I need to pick up some odds and ends though, any recommendations on the following would be helpful:
-A neck strap that won't scratch up the sides of my camera.
-A lens cap for my lens. I saw some 39mm #14031 lens caps on KEH but I'm not sure if those are the right ones or not.
-A wide angle lens: I'm thinking about getting either a CV 15mm Heliar, a 21mm Skopar, or a 25mm Skopar. I like that you can scale focus to 18" on the 21mm Skopar, and I'm kind of favoring it because KEH has them for just over 300 with a finder. Should I go this route or is there a better recommendation in the 300-400 dollar range?
Then, the other night I was just lurking on eBay, checking out the going rates of different bodies and lenses, when I stumbled on an auction for an M2 body, with an Elmar 50mm f.2.8 lens. The auction was below $500, and was ending in less than an hour, so I figured the camera was ugly, but I checked it out anyways, and I'm glad that I did. The camera looked really nice in the photos, but it was being sold as is because the seller was unaware if it was functioning properly or not. The seller claimed that the camera had belonged to his grandfather, and had been sitting in a safety deposit box for several years.
I pondered about it for a while, and decided to put a bid in, figuring that even if it wasn't working, I could probably at least break even if I turned it around. I waited the last minute to enter my bid, and I won the auction for $550 including shipping. Then I waited anxiously for two days for it to arrive. I just got it today, and it is beautiful. It has no dings, dents, scratches, or brassing at all. The rangefinder is clean except for a small amount of dust, but it is aligned properly. The advance lever is smooth, and shutter speeds all sound great. There is a small amount of vulcanite missing, and the lens has some minor cleaning marks. It even came with a case and a filter.
I'm going to run some test rolls tonight. The nice thing is that now I can get myself some darkroom equipment. I'm pretty excited. Its the first time I've actually held a Leica, and I think its love at first site.
Edit:
I'm starting to think I may forgo getting the VC II and opt for a Sekonic L-308 instead. It looks pretty pocket-able, its only as thick as a AA battery.
I need to pick up some odds and ends though, any recommendations on the following would be helpful:
-A neck strap that won't scratch up the sides of my camera.
-A lens cap for my lens. I saw some 39mm #14031 lens caps on KEH but I'm not sure if those are the right ones or not.
-A wide angle lens: I'm thinking about getting either a CV 15mm Heliar, a 21mm Skopar, or a 25mm Skopar. I like that you can scale focus to 18" on the 21mm Skopar, and I'm kind of favoring it because KEH has them for just over 300 with a finder. Should I go this route or is there a better recommendation in the 300-400 dollar range?
Last edited:
