Let's see your Leica M

Erik van Straten said:
Is this about a part of a new MP (2002) or an original MP from 1956?


Erik.
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I acquired the new old stock MP top and bottom plates and body casing in 2001 from a US Leica dealer and repair technician who was retiring, who told me that the MP spare parts had come from a large sale of surplus inventory when Leica moved from Wetzlar to Solms in 1986.

After nearly twenty years of them sitting in a drawer I decided that the MP parts deserved to have some sort of life, so I had Alan and James Starkie of Cameraworks-UK install the mechanicals from a donor M2 into the MP body parts. They did a beautiful job of matching the original Leica paint on the advance lever, shutter speed dial, and rewind knob.
 
jszokoli said:
Interesting that the MP Cover does not have the 'piano' finish of the M4. Was that duller finish typical of later black paint finishes?


Joe
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Apparently the later black paint finish on M3s and M2s in the 60’s had a flatter, more satin sheen. Earlier M3 black paint was more shiny and ‘piano’ like, but less durable.

But I think the full story of different Leica black paint finishes is more complex than this. Leicaflex Standard and SL black paint from the late 60’s / early 70’s is quite glossy and ‘plump’ - quite unlike the later satin M3 finish.

It would be very interesting to know the full history of different Leica black paint finishes. Has this been covered anywhere?
 
It’s interesting screw mount Leica’s have that glossy thin paint, like the M4 and Leicaflex’s. So your saying that in the late 60’s they went to the duller finish, then back to shiny? I’m interested because I have a M2M that has that duller paint finish and I’ve always wondered if it’s a Leica paint job, and when it was done. There are some things that make me think it is a factory paint job.
Joe
 
The bubbles in the paint are a strange thing. On the old Leicas (I, II and III) from the twenties and thirties there is shiny paint, enormously strong with no bubbles at all.

The painted cameras in the fifties - MP, M2 and M3 - have a dull paint that is still bubbling nowadays. But also in the fifties there are the conversions and the redone screw mounts: II, III and standard. These are painted with a very shiny lacquer that bubbles too.

Erik.
 
fbf said:
would've been a better shooter if can adapt the m4 quick loading but still a beautiful beast.
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M4 quick loading would be nice - but I wanted to keep it M2 spec in case I ever have the good fortune to come across an affordable original Leicavit MP to go with it. 🙂
 
SimonPJ said:
M4 quick loading would be nice - but I wanted to keep it M2 spec in case I ever have the good fortune to come across an affordable original Leicavit MP to go with it. 🙂
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But actually, having said that, I must admit I am not a fan of the Leicavit user experience, having used them on a IIIf and IIIg, and a Tom A Rapidwinder on an M2, and a recent Leicavit-M on an M6. For all the original Leica MP photojournalism mystique, I find the Leicavits and Rapidwinders ruin the hand-friendly form factor of both Barnacks and M’s, and that the rapid trigger advance is not as fast in practice as the very balanced ‘normal’ pairing of left hand on the lens and right hand on film advance, shutter speed and shutter release.
 
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