Leica M2 Depth of Field

Ok here is another item that may indicate the rangefinder has been changed. The small round wheel inside the m mount that the lens rides is black, where as every other m2 and a lot of M4's that I could find pics of had a shiny chrome wheel. ???? More questions, with few answers......life.
 
Well, Roland hit the nail on the head, the rangefinder is an M4 or M4-2. Now to figure out the differences of these two. I've read that the M4-2 finders is a cheaper version of the M4 finder. Also read that it flares easily. Can someone enlighten me on the flaring problem. I can still see the rangefinder image pretty good with strong sunlight coming in the viewfinder. Is there a way to make it disappear as some have eluded too. Thanks
 
Well, Roland hit the nail on the head, the rangefinder is an M4 or M4-2. Now to figure out the differences of these two. I've read that the M4-2 finders is a cheaper version of the M4 finder. Also read that it flares easily. Can someone enlighten me on the flaring problem. I can still see the rangefinder image pretty good with strong sunlight coming in the viewfinder. Is there a way to make it disappear as some have eluded too. Thanks

The flare-out problem occurs only when a bright light strikes the camera at precisely the wrong angle, and refers to the rangefinder patch, which flares to pure white. The viewfinder image remains fine. The worst I ever had was photographing folk musicans at night under crude floodlighting: my M2 worked but my M4-P didn't.

Cheers,

R.
 
::scratching head:: I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I don't see it.

Gabriel: look at the middle of the north and south edges of the M2 RF patch.

Dgriff2: If I remember right, the finder was changed in the middle of the M4-2 run. Early M4-2 cameras have the same finder as the M4.

I recommend not to overanalyze and just use the camera. There are very few used M2s that have a finder without starting separation, so whoever changed the finder did you very likely a favor. And if you don't notice flare, it sounds like you have a great user.

Cheers,

Roland.
 
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Thanks Roland. You're right, I'm not trying to be anal about it, just wanted to know what I had. I've tried every angle in all kinds of light, and I can't repeat the flare problem, if I did, I didn't recognize it as such. Rangefinder seems OK. Shot my first roll this past weekend at LSU and they came out great. Simplicity in this chaotic techno world is a godsend. Nice to use the computer between the ears for a change. Thanks for all your tips.

Don
 
I see the notches just fine. I do not see a DOF indicator.

One and the same. From the M3 instruction manual:

656951843_BTqso-O.jpg


This works for a 50mm lens only.
 
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