M5... A Few Questions.

[P. Lynn Miller]

Good day,

I am a committed member of the M5 Brotherhood, using and abusing my M5 for the past 6 months or so. But a few questions to other M5 users...

With an arrival of the Nokton 50/1.1, I am considering adding a magnifier to the M5, but it appears that there is no thread on the eye-piece, so any suggestions? I am looking to get the 1.25x from Dirk at Japan Exposures.

Also with constant abuse that I have been dishing out on the M5(it literally goes everywhere with me), it is starting to show that it spent too many years sitting on a shelf with it Vulcanite drying out. The Vulcanite was perfect when I got, but it appears to be dried out and crumbling, so with heavy use the Vulcanite is starting to chip and fall off. So where can I get a new OEM type cover? No snazzy leather or snake-skin for me, just good old-fashioned black Vulcanite will do. And is there anyone in Australia who can replace the covers, if I do not feel like doing it myself?

Thanks,

 

[Santafecino]

Lynn--
There is a thread. I have 1.25x magnifiers on both of my M5s. If you get the magnifiers that have threads themselves, you can stack them to use with the 90mm or 135mm.
--Lindsay

 

[Rob-F]

Lynn, look at cameraleather.com as they have replacement coverings. They don't have real vulcanite--I don't think anyone doeas-- but they have covers that come as close as possible.

Best, Rob

 

[gm13]

If i remember correctly, vulcanite is baked on, Vulcan was God of the forge. on the less "mythological" side, I recovered my M5 with Cameraleather's
black leather and I find it a much improved grip and quite similar in appearance.

Gene

 

[thomasw_]

I haD a M5 that I recovered with black levant leather -- very sexy; and another with Griptac Black ----> Incredible look and tactile qualities. You can order these and many more from cameraleather/Morgan.

I disliked the megaperls' 1,35x magnifier. It made my viewfinder way less bright. Rather hazy. It wouldn't focus when it was screwed in tight, instead to get some semblance of a clear rf patch i had to leave it slightly unscrewed. It was a joke, so I returned it for a full refund. Dirk was great about it. I had even thought my sample was just lame/broken; but Dirk told me that It was the working properly when he examined it after I returned it. So I caution you with the auxiliary magnifiers; they decrease the VF brightness and clarity. YMMV.

 

[sepiareverb]

Have you contacted Leica about replacing the covering? I don't know what their answer will be, but worth asking.

I did a cameraleather snakeskin when mine starting going bald.

 

[Nokton48]

I replaced my M-5 vulcanite (and also my M4-2) with black GRIPTAC from Cameraleather.com . Highly recommended.

 

[Melvin]

How bad is the vulcanite chipping? I recommend getting an original M5 case if you don't have one. The top is detachable, so you have a really nice half case to protect the camera, which is also quite comfy.

 

[P. Lynn Miller]

Thanks to everyone for the advice...

Lynn--
There is a thread. I have 1.25x magnifiers on both of my M5s. If you get the magnifiers that have threads themselves, you can stack them to use with the 90mm or 135mm.

I did a search but did not find anything specifically related to the M5. Do you have the link to that thread, I would like to read it.

Have you contacted Leica about replacing the covering?

I did not contact Leica, figuring that either they would not have a new covering or they would want the price of another M5 for it.

Like you, everyone seems to be pointing to CameraLeather as a source for a good cover, so I will contact them when the M5 goes too 'bald'.

I recommend getting an original M5 case if you don't have one. The top is detachable, so you have a really nice half case to protect the camera, which is also quite comfy.

Thanks for the suggestion, but at the rate I go through film when shooting on the street, a case would drive me to distraction. Thanks, anyway.

 

[Richard G]

Lynn, if you are serious about Vulcanite, here is a link to a British firm that actually does it. It requires completely stripping the camera to the brass shell, heating it and subsequently re-shimming for the proper alignment and lens flange to film plane distance etc etc. Expensive, but surprisingly cheap for all that work.

http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/

 

[johannielscom]

I replaced my M-5 vulcanite (and also my M4-2) with black GRIPTAC from Cameraleather.com . Highly recommended.

+1

I have GripTac stuck on my M3 and it's close to the original in appearance, and HUGELY improves on gripping, terrific stuff!

 

[P. Lynn Miller]

Lynn, if you are serious about Vulcanite, here is a link to a British firm that actually does it. It requires completely stripping the camera to the brass shell, heating it and subsequently re-shimming for the proper alignment and lens flange to film plane distance etc etc. Expensive, but surprisingly cheap for all that work.

http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/

£95 is very reasonable, was expecting it to cost a lot more. Thanks for the referral.