M4 or M4-P

M4 or M4-P

  • M4

    Votes: 29 54.7%
  • M4-P

    Votes: 24 45.3%

  • Total voters
    53
  • Poll closed .
I wish it was, it hit 31°C a couple of weeks ago and now is only 26°C outside. Friends in France have been trying to cope with 46°C...


Regards, David

Wow things have certainly changed since I lived there.
On the upside, the food is much better than from when I was a wee laddie.
 
... I inquired with Sherry to have a M4 or M3 modified with the driveshaft so I could use a Rapidwinder, but Sherry refused. Evidently the brass gears for the film transport is what gives the perceived smoothness in the earlier cameras.

The M4-P and my M6 have steel gears. ...
I had Don Goldberg ("DAG") modify an M3 this way or me several years ago. He replaced some of the brass gears to make it work. Wish I still had it!

18550917-orig.jpg
 
Never owned an M4 till now. I've had a CL, M2, M6, M6 TTL and a M6 TTL Millennium and so far the M4 beats all of them. It handles like a M6 but the finder is ever so close to the M2 making it just about the perfect Leica for me. I bought it from a reputable dealer and it arrived in almost pristine condition but someone with just enough knowledge decided to remove the top plate and affect a "repair". They managed to almost remove the original wax seal leaving debris behind, misalign the rangefinder, bend the X sync switch and never did do anything with the sticky shutter speeds but did manage to bugger up a few screw heads here and there. After having it CLA'ed, I couldn't be happier. It's the old warning of condition is not everything.
 
Never owned an M4 till now. I've had a CL, M2, M6, M6 TTL and a M6 TTL Millennium and so far the M4 beats all of them. It handles like a M6 but the finder is ever so close to the M2 making it just about the perfect Leica for me. I bought it from a reputable dealer and it arrived in almost pristine condition but someone with just enough knowledge decided to remove the top plate and affect a "repair". They managed to almost remove the original wax seal leaving debris behind, misalign the rangefinder, bend the X sync switch and never did do anything with the sticky shutter speeds but did manage to bugger up a few screw heads here and there. After having it CLA'ed, I couldn't be happier. It's the old warning of condition is not everything.

Yeah, I have heard amazing things about it!
 
One more question for you all, I will purchase a light meter for the camera. My options is the Leica MR Meter or the Voigtlander VC II. Have any of you had experience with either of these or recommend another one?
 
I have both and recommend the VC II over the MR meter every time. Even more I would recommend a light-meter app for a smartphone (if you have one). That`s what I use exclusively for the last couple of years.



One more question for you all, I will purchase a light meter for the camera. My options is the Leica MR Meter or the Voigtlander VC II. Have any of you had experience with either of these or recommend another one?
 
I have both and recommend the VC II over the MR meter every time. Even more I would recommend a light-meter app for a smartphone (if you have one). That`s what I use exclusively for the last couple of years.
What is your reasoning for using an app? Personally, I feel that it would add extra hassle.
 
I have a VCII and an MR (which underexposes). The VCII is accurate, small and stylish. But - you have to take your eye of the subject, fiddle with the dials and make sure those settings are adjusted on the camera. The MR - if you can get a working one - does at least adjust shutter speed, so is one up already.

However, I now use neither, nor do I use a phone app anymore. I use a Sekonic L308 hung around my neck, which I check when when approaching a subject or if the light looks to have changed. It has the advantage of having both incident and reflective readings, and it doesn't add size to the camera.
 
For me it is the other way around. Why would I carry an additional item (light-meter), which I use maybe three times a day, if at all? It is not necessary to measure the light for every single photo because (a) (day) light does not change that much and (b) you will start concentrating to much on exposure, which is a technical aspect only.





What is your reasoning for using an app? Personally, I feel that it would add extra hassle.
 
For me it is the other way around. Why would I carry an additional item (light-meter), which I use maybe three times a day, if at all? It is not necessary to measure the light for every single photo because (a) (day) light does not change that much and (b) you will start concentrating to much on exposure, which is a technical aspect only.
That is so true, I do own a really good app for metering so I might just follow your lead on this.

I have a VCII and an MR (which underexposes). The VCII is accurate, small and stylish. But - you have to take your eye of the subject, fiddle with the dials and make sure those settings are adjusted on the camera. The MR - if you can get a working one - does at least adjust shutter speed, so is one up already.

However, I now use neither, nor do I use a phone app anymore. I use a Sekonic L308 hung around my neck, which I check when when approaching a subject or if the light looks to have changed. It has the advantage of having both incident and reflective readings, and it doesn't add size to the camera.
I'll look into it thanks!
 
Simon,


If you use negatives, trying to "learn the lighting" to be free,
with Exposure-mat ( link http://expomat.tripod.com/ ) to begin and while using it for a while,
you will even not use it anymore = freedom for free !




I use mainly for slide (Kodachrome), in the past, all kind of lightmeters (Leicameter MR, Sekonic, Minolta Spotmeter F, Gossen, etc. ).
But now, my go to is VCMeter II when I need one for "serious metering".
 
You can always try the Sekonic 208: a lot smaller, easier to use than the 308, and a combining the size of the old style selenium cell light meters with the practicality of the new design (that requires a battery).

I have a series of selenium meters and probably two Sekonic L-208, plus one 308. As said above, check the light just once, or when you sense there's a change (like shadows). And if you shoot negatives... don't worry much: they're very tolerant to over- or under-exposure.
 
I have the PocketLightMeter app and do NOT recommend it as
sometimes it gives completely bogus readings. I have both the VCII and the Leicameter. The Leica one is nice as it couples w the shutter speed dial. The VCII is nice because it is newer and so may be more accurate if the MR meter has not been serviced in a while. But I nearly always go w/o.
 
myLightmeter Pro works well for a phone app. It has an adjustable EV scale to help match it with a real light meter. The Sekonic 308 is about the best deal. Incident, reflective, two flash modes and brand new is a couple hundred bucks U.S.. Plus it runs forever on one AA battery.
 
What is your reasoning for using an app? Personally, I feel that it would add extra hassle.

You don't have to meter for every shot. Do a metering and adjust the camera settings accordingly and unless the light drastically changes you're pretty much good to go for the rest of the shooting.

I've learnt to shoot without a lightmeter. That's the real beauty of shooting a meterless Leica.

Out of all Leica M options I went with the M4-P. It's been smoother in operation than the M2, (three) M3, M4 and M6 I've shot. Never thought I'd ever shoot flash with a Leica M but I'm glad I went with the M4-P because now I shoot with flash often. I wouldn't want any other M.
 
You don't have to meter for every shot. Do a metering and adjust the camera settings accordingly and unless the light drastically changes you're pretty much good to go for the rest of the shooting.

I've learnt to shoot without a lightmeter. That's the real beauty of shooting a meterless Leica.

Out of all Leica M options I went with the M4-P. It's been smoother in operation than the M2, (three) M3, M4 and M6 I've shot. Never thought I'd ever shoot flash with a Leica M but I'm glad I went with the M4-P because now I shoot with flash often. I wouldn't want any other M.

Good to know!
 
Thanks to everyone who helped me decide! Attached is an image of what I picked up! My website is simonbakhshnia.com if you would like to check out my work, feedback is always appreciated as well.
 

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