M2, M4, M4-2, M4-P, M6 or M6 TTL

M2, M4, M4-2, M4-P, M6 or M6 TTL

  • Total voters
    387
Out of that list I'm very happy with my M6 TTL, it's a work horse, when I got it it was in mint condition, now it's already brassed and scrapped up but it will never let me down.
If I could afford another I would get one but I can't so it's alright, I'd take an M4-P though if the price was right.
My vote is for the M6 TTL though, I got my .85 in mint condition for under 1200.
 
Hello,

as a user there is no better camera than the M6 or, if you would like to have the added flash-options, the M6 TTL, which is more expensive. It has also the higher body (the same as the M7).

The older M´s (M2, M3, M4, M5) are without a doupt great models, but for me the hype is a bit overrated, because they were made decades ago and have seen a lot of usage.
But above all you can often read the opinion, that they were even better built than the later models (M7 and MP included). This is absolutely nonsens. Often the people think the older times were better than now or the future.

But if you look (or better read) objective about the production methods of the old times in comparison with the newer CNC-times than you get a good impression of what the real build-quality is about.

For example the negative opinions to the "unloved" M4-2 and M4-P are in my point of view totally overrated. They are great cameras too and almost the same build-quality. I´ve handled every single M-model and there are only very few differences in all the bodies.

Go for the M6 or M6 TTL and be happy with one of the best bodies.

Greetings
Bully
 
Of this list, I've only ever had an M4, so I cannot realisticly vote it over any of the others. But I'll have a stab at what makes it great..

It's the finder. It's bright, it's clear, you can get it to flare but only under the rarest of conditions, it's without distortion, it's not cluttered with a zillion framelines that you never use, the RF patch is very well defined, and finally it's really cool..

Oh, that cool thing can be taken literally, it's the only finder that I've looked through that doesn't give a red/yellow cast. It's a godsend when I'm shooting people, not having a red/yellow cast makes me aware of ugly blue/green reflections from clothing/windows etc..
 
back alley said:
the p is not a quiet camera but then i don't think the leicas are that quiet either.
but they are quieter than the canon p.
the older bottom feeders are quiet.

but i don't shoot in churches and even the quietest music concerts have applause breaks. as a street shooter i have NEVER had someone look up or my way due to camera noise.

framelines are camera dependent. i always thought my canons had good framelines till i got my last p and those suckers GLOW. i love them.

i am soooo biased towards the p that you should seek more objective council...😉

joe
Click to expand...

Count me in on that erudite opinion!!!!!!!!!!!
 
What!!!
The M4 is running in 4th place? It's without any doubt the best camera on that list. Shows how much you can trust polls. Bah! (Stomps off in huff, muttering...)
 
Old post dug out of the pile, awesome.

This topic was started on 7/17/05!!!!

Just read it.... again.... I am sure Joe still appreciates the Canon P, but has been won over by the ZI and R4.

I bought an M6TTL around this time. Still have it and would only replace it if I went nuts and did a full remake of my gear, but I am leaning towards the classic cameras these days, M2, M3, M4 if I was to have just one.
 
Hi,
I bought my first Leica in 1961 a pre-war 11 which I used with a late 50mm elmar that a friend bought back from Germany. It was o.k. but on getting back into photography was soon seduced by the new Pentax with the sharp Takumar which morphed into a NIKON F, great mistake but that's another story. I obtained my first M2 in 1992 and since then have had an M4-2, another M2, an M6TTL .85, an M4 and finally another M2. From this you'll gather the M2 is king. It shares space with the M4 and a rather battered M1 that is in the process of being brought back to life. Along with a 21, 25VC, 35, 50 1.8 Canon, 90 TE and 135 4 elmar I need nothing else, weelll perhaps an M8?

Cheers,

normclarke
 
Man, I had a hard time choosing between the M2 and the M4. After 10 min of deliberation I chose M4, but it could've been M2 if I had contemplated another second. I love them both.
 
As the only M class I own is a CL, I chose not to vote, as I'd likely buy the Ikon if I were to persue another M mount camera.

But here is yet another thread mentioning the Canon P...
 
What he said

What he said

wlewisiii said:
NOTA (none of the above 🙂 ) I've come the conclusion that if I ever get a Leica, I'll buy a M5. Why? Because it is that bit larger (the M3 I've held felt too small - quite awkward - in my hands) and it is new enough to have a meter.

Right now thier prices are going up as people have, alas, decided that the black sheep is collectable. Pity as I only like user cameras.

William
Click to expand...

A big AMEN! to that!
 
Ah, Marktplaats.nl again. There is an M5 for sale! With a black Summi 50 for 925 euros!

I am thinking of doing a goodwill crusade for the M4-2. Recently I got a winder for her, both are dressed in red now and the winder is as silent as it was meant to be, I like it a lot!
 
laptoprob said:
Ah, Marktplaats.nl again. There is an M5 for sale! With a black Summi 50 for 925 euros!
Click to expand...

Yes, I saw! Very tempting. Looks like a nice camera. Problem is I don't like the black chrome 🙂 Other problem with Marktplaats is bidding is virtually endless and in the end the seller isn't obliged to sell. If you bid the requested 925, there's a good chance he doesn't sell the camera for that price after all.

There's a chrome M6 as well. No price indicated though.
 
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I put my vote for the 'classic' M6, simple reason being its the only one I've ever had.....but I love it to bits. It's everything I hoped a Leica would be. The framelines don't bother me at all, when you've come from solely using AF SLR's with all the lights and info blinking at you a couple of lines make no difference at all. The only downside, and living in a usually cloud covered UK its a small downside, is the the flaring. It rarely happens but when it does you'll often miss your shot. When mine does go in for a CLA I'll see about getting the patch sorted...hopefully not too expensive!

I have looked into getting all sorts, M3, M4, M4-2, M4-P and an M7 at different times on different budgets and for different reasons but I'm still going with my M6...I have a Bessa R2a as my back-up but it spends most of its time in my bag.

So does anyone know what he got in the end?
 
Having used Leicas for a few decades with only the MP in 'foreign territory' (and if I find a chrome .85 may take the plunge!), my personal choice is the M4. I really do feel a difference between the classic Wetzlar cameras and the newer M4-2 and on. The M5 is my best 'M-series tool' to use, but favorite is the M4.

And as for rangefinder white-out... it does happen and my M6/M7 did suffer from this. But I worked around it and it didn't happen all that often, when it did, it took more time to focus. The best finder? I still like the M5, with the extra information - meter readout and area covered, 'basic' frames that I need in more true size than the M6 and later, and the runner up to the M3 for white-out protection - maybe its the combination of the glass (not plastic as in the newer cameras) condenser lens left out of the M4-2 thru M6 and earlier M7, and the different style light collecting window.

But I have to add, I think the best deal in 'classic' size M-series may be a good working M6 (qualify this as one having a good resent CLA for a 20+ year old camera). Having a built in meter does have advantages, and the M6 does everything that a camera like this is called on to do.

Any good working Leica can be creative tool that does its job, everyone has their favorites for reasons, maybe its why most Leica users have a couple or a few Leicas around the house.
 
I really wanted to vote for my nice old M2, but in reality I rarely use it these days. My M4-P gets more use so I voted M4-P. It works out Hasselblad 501cm first, Nikon F3HP second, M4-P third.

The idea of a built in meter is a temptation for me, I will admit, but my Nikon and a digital thing has that so I'll likely stay where I am.
 
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