Love my M2 !!!

yup, this is as good as it gets and all one really needs. everything beyond this point is mere luxury 😉

brainwood said:
Just a few days into owning an M2 but it is certainly a sweet handling camera, a real pleasure to use. Teamed up with 35mm lens it makes a very useable outfit..I might have a new favourite camera.
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Tom A said:
That is what most M2 owners look like, smiling happily. Particularly with a 35mm lens on it!
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Hi Tom,

This combo is exactly why I was interested in getting a M2. Then I read that for people who wear glasses it is difficult to see 35mm frame-lines. Actually the M2 is better attached to a 50mm lens if you are wearing spectacles, or so I read. It sort of took the heart out of me.
 
Simon
I'm sure you're right. At the moment having a 35mm viewfinder with built in rangefinder feels like the ultimate luxury ! At present it has the edge on my IIIg - its just a little bit more 'invisible' . Using it costs me slightly less effort with the integrated rangefinder/viewfinder and single speed dial. I can see why they are so popular , the simplicity is a huge feature leaving me to focus on the actual image.
 
The biggest improvement over the screwmounts (except the IIIg) is the accurate framing. Because it doesn't compensate for magnification, it can sometimes catch you out at minimum focus, when you get a little less than the brightlines suggest, but it's generally good.

Something to be careful of is the shutter speed dial; you can use intermediate speeds in some cases, but not all. I found that setting a speed between 1/4 and 1/8 gave gross overexposure. Only use intermediate settings above 1/50 (the flash symbol), or avoid them altogether.

You don't need to trim the film leader but film loading is, if anything, worse than on a screwmount. It is essential to get the film on the sprockets, keep it tensioned when winding on the first blank shot and it helps to give the takeup spool half an inch of "wrap" so the film can't ping off.
 
Well I thought I had given up on 35mm when I sold my R2a over a year ago (I've been concentrating on shooting with the Mamiya 6 and 4x5 field camera). This was until I picked up a friends M2 and had a brief try and feel in love with it straight away.

It's a 1966 body (which has been loved well from the brassing around the knobs and advance) matched with a 1968 35mm Summaron f2.8 (mint condition!). It was a hard choice as I could have got a faster Zeiss or Voigtlander lens for the same money but I wanted to experience the full Leica magic 😀

First cliched shot on it (Neopan 400 and ID11)


Leica 35mm f/2.8 Summaron Test by El Jonbré Grandé, on Flickr

Cheers from Jon in Perth, Western Australia!
 
Jon, you cant go wrong with the 35f2.8 Summaron! Good looking M2 too - funny, mine never look that clean! For the medium speed 35's I think the only two that I really use are the 35f2.8 Summaron and the C Biogon 35f2.8.
Nice to see your tests from Perth - in the early 70's we lived for a while on Upper Mill Pond Road - overlooking the Swan Brewery.
 
Finally my M2 1966 has arrived
Have been looking forward to this
orv50p.jpg
 
Been using my M2 for three weeks and love it. It is a simple, uncomplicated machine that does what I ask of it, no more, no less. I won't give up my Bessa, but the M2 is quite a different beast. Unfortunately I had to send it in as I detected inconsistent focus in my last two rolls, and I hope it wouldn't cost me an arm to fix it.

I miss it already. It's only been about 10 hours, but I miss it dearly.
 
ctham said:
Been using my M2 for three weeks and love it. It is a simple, uncomplicated machine that does what I ask of it, no more, no less. I won't give up my Bessa, but the M2 is quite a different beast. Unfortunately I had to send it in as I detected inconsistent focus in my last two rolls, and I hope it wouldn't cost me an arm to fix it.

I miss it already. It's only been about 10 hours, but I miss it dearly.
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Which is why you always try to have more than one M2!
 
Tom A said:
Which is why you always try to have more than one M2!
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Precisely.

I just spent an enjoyable 20 minutes reading/scimming this entire thread and realized that a pic of my 2 M2's were missing! So here they are with the lenses that pair perfectly with them. I do have the CV50f2.5 for a contrastier modern look. Other natural combos are a Canon 28 on my HRF, and the CL is home for the CV40f1.4 and CV21f4.
 

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Finally plug in my CV 35mm f1.4 with Ilford C41 and shot a couple of shots
Will pass pictures soon
Nothing like a M2 even though i have the M8.2
Looking to plug in the CV 35/2.5 color skopar and also the CV 50/2.5 both LTM
The joy of owning one just is undescribable
mbhi7l.jpg
 
buzzardkid said:
img_1130.jpg

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Used to belong to a German photo journalist. His name is still stuck to the bottom plate. Lots of rub marks, small dents and paint loss. The brass is showing on edges and around the rewind button and the RF window it is worn down to the nickel. I'm doing my best not to give that brass any time to go dull!

I found pictures of the original sale in Germany online and it had a Leicavit at the time which the then-buyer already sold on. It will be sporting an Abrahamsson RapidWinder for M2 shortly that I bought from Dan.
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Beautiful combo!

What lens is that?

Jim
 
Jim, it is a Konica 35mm f2 lens, I think Johan has got one of the rarer versions. He is quite the connoisseur, you know... 🙂

Greetings, Ljós
 
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