M4-P Question

[sepiareverb]

...I guess I'll have to pound it for another 25 years, then...

Cheers,

R.

25 more years or not, I find a worn black chrome to be a very nice look. My first M7 is just starting to look used, and I'm liking it more every day.

The baseplate was always brass. There was a Midland trial with cast zinc baseplates, but the thin flange and the "catch" for the lock could crack. I had a handful of these for testing in the mid 80's. but they never made production.

http://rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50734

Ya think they'd remember...

 

[Tom A]

This wearing down M4P's comes from personal experience. my first M4P I bought in 1981 and I still have it. I used it for a year in Paris and after that it became my test bench for Rapidwinders for many years. It was overhauled a couple of times. Once the drive that connects to the motor/Rapidwinder fell out when I was changing film! I poked it back in and continued shooting for the day!
Last year I decided that it started to luck decidedly "ragged" and dismantled it. Some bodywork to get the worst dents out, a dechrome (what was left of the black chrome) and then I resprayed it "crinkle finish black". Still works fine and now i am considering what to do to the 2nd M4P (I bought both in 1981 and it now starts looking a bit worse for wear too).
It is a great camera and they are built to take a beating. In the 26 years I have had these two, I have only had to have the rangefinder adjusted three times between them, usua;;y after having banged them into doorframes of modern,low cars or simply dropping it on the ground.
For a while I had a lot of M4P's, but the two "originals" have stayed with me. The M2's give them strong competition, but for lenses like the 28 or even the 25 (use the inside edges of the finder as a rough guide) it works great.

 

[maddoc]

The M4-P simply does the job ... 🙂 My one doesn't show any signs of wear yet ... Have to use it more 😀

 

[dpetrzelka]

It would be interesting to see photos of a very well worn brass M4-P.
Has anyone seen one?

 

[Haigh]

I just bought an M4-P and my buddy(another leicaholic) and I were discussing the finer points of this camera. He says they have a zinc top plate like the M6 quoting the Leica Advanced school and I said I don't think so. I think I remember reading, maybe here, that the early production runs had brass top plates like the other M4's and was switched to zinc midway through production or so. Who is right? Any insight you can provide on this question is greatly appreciated. There is a bottle of JW Blue riding on the outcome.
Thanks,
Jon

Congratulations on you getting an M4-P. I have had one for some time and it is superb. I dropped this camera in Paris onto a tiled floor 3 days into an 8 week trip. The blow was so hard I had to file a bit off the rewind knob so I could wind the film on. The camera focussed perfectly well for the rest of the trip so the rangefinder hadn't moved and I exhibited the resulting photos at the local Allliance Francaise.

Best wishes and have fun,

Gary Haigh
South Australia

 

[Roger Hicks]

They're reliable OK. I had to have the viewfinder glass replaced after it was cracked during an airport 'security' inspection that was unusually incompetent and arrogant even by the standards of LAX: no tray, and the camera was left to bounce down those steel rollers at the far end of the X-ray machine and bang into the barrier at the end. Somehow, the local repair-man (in California) managed to dent the top-plate outwards during the repair (so I should have known it was brass -- duh) and there's a dimple there to this day.

In Slovenia 15-20 years later I had to straighten out the rewind crank with a Leatherman after a knock. And it needs a clean because if I don't use it for a few weeks (after 25 years I got an MP and that gets more use -- and there's always the M8), then the viewfinder frames get sticky and don't like changing. A bit of exercise and they're fine, though.

But the finish looked so bad after the first 18 months' hard use that a Leica dealer friend suggested sending it back under guarantee...

Cheers,

Roger

 

[Valerius]

Why bother whether it's a brass plate or not. After all, if the camera shutter and the rangefinder are OK, it's wonderful to use.

Regards,
Per