My "MP Classique" project. Covering ideas? Show me yours.

coelacanth

coelacanth

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I decided to carry out my EVIL plan of modifying my already-modified (fewer frame lines) MP with help of Don @ DAG.

The idea is to create the MP Classic that Leica sold for a premium price a while ago. I'm taking the entire light meter system out, possibly modifying the shutter release to replicate the feeling of meter-less M's (no 2-step-ness), filling the battery room flush and flat and recovering the MP with custom made covering with no hole from cameraleather. The whole cost of such MP will end up still a bit below of typical BP MP price in used market. 🙂 In the end, I'll have a black paint, fully mechanical, battery less, M2 + 28mm frame lined, quick loading M. I shall call her MP Classique. 😀

Unfortunately, although I really love the #4008 covering from Aki-Asahi, they are extremely overwhelmed by the current demands and not even taking regular orders so I don't think they can do anything for me right now. I've already talked with Morgan at cameraleather and confirmed he can get me MP/M6 covering without battery room cut.

Now, I know there are threads with custom covering here and there, but would you mind showing me your beautifully recovered M again and give me some inspirations? I'm not a big fan of Griptac look, but I might change my mind. I haven't seen too many samples of "Black Beauty" and "Levant Black" coverings.
 
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This was my favorite camerleather covering, Sug:

204794149_uGirn-O-2.jpg


Good for "stealth-mode", nice grip. 🙂

Roland.
 
I have the Levant Black and it's great. I am really confused as to why you are spending any money to make what is essentially a poorly made M2 (the MP that is) modified to by more like an M2. If you shoot 28mm just use the whole finder as 28mm lines. The M2 is built a lot better than the MP and doesn't require any work to feel perfect other than a CLA by a competent repairman.

Please don't take this as criticizing your choice or trying to dissuade you, but I know I don't have money falling out of trees. I recently bought an MP, really liked it until a week later it broke. You should definitely have Don install a M3/M4 style frame counter which I am told is more reliable than whatever they put in the MP. The MP's counter is know to break.

Namaste!
 
Wow that's one crazy (in good way) covering, Roland. I'm probably not hip enough to pull that off, but I envy those who can. 😀

Mister E,
No worries. I expected someone would smack my head even harder for this potentially stupid project. 😛

Well, the reason behind this is that I already have an M2 which I really love. And I do have this MP that I got for a great price with already modified framelines to my liking. I don't abuse the cameras but MP gets good amount of use and fair-to-rough handling so it's already got quite a bit of brassings and marks all over. So I'm not really looking to preserve resell value on the MP. The final cost for this project including the MP itself isn't any higher than regular used MP if not cheaper.

As Roland suggested in other thread and personally, M2-R would be more logical and straight-forward choice, but again, I already have this half-way done MP, and M2-R isn't that cheap considering possibility of future CLA and such. That said, I'll probably be looking for M2-R in the future as I really love many aspects for M2 over modern Ms.

Well, in the end, the biggest motivation behind this project is really "for fun." I'm one of those people just need to modify things and make something a bit different from others. I also have problem controlling myself with motorcycle mods, but I guess it's still cheaper hobby compared to those into automobile mods. 😉

Do you have some pictures of your M with Levant Black by any chance??
 
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If I didn't have an M2, I probably would have gone for M2-R.

You should definitely have Don install a M3/M4 style frame counter which I am told is more reliable than whatever they put in the MP. The MP's counter is know to break.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up. I didn't even think about it. I shall check with Don about the cost.
 
coelacanth said:
Wow that's one crazy (in good way) covering, Roland. I'm probably not hip enough to pull that off, but I envy those who can. 😀

Mister E,
No worries. I expected someone would smack my head even harder for this potentially stupid project. 😛

Well, the reason behind this is that I already have an M2 which I really love. And I do have this MP that I got for a great price with already modified framelines to my liking. I don't abuse the cameras but MP get good amount of use and fair-to-rough handling so it's already got quite a bit of brassings and marks all over. So I'm not really looking to preserve resell value on the MP. The final cost for this project including the MP itself isn't any higher than regular used MP if not cheaper.

As Roland suggested in other thread and personally, M2-R would be more logical and straight-forward choice, but again, I already have this half-way done MP, and M2-R isn't that cheap considering possibility of future CLA and such. That said, I'll probably be looking for M2-R in the future as I really love many aspects for M2 over modern Ms.

Well, in the end, the biggest motivation behind this project is really "for fun." I'm one of those people just need to modify things and make something a bit different from others. I had problem controlling myself with motorcycle mods, but I guess it's still cheaper hobby compared to those into automobile mods. 😉

Do you have some pictures of your M with Levant Black by any chance??
Click to expand...
I do:


M-mount 3.5cm f/1.8 W-NIKKOR 2005 Reissue by NateGEO, on Flickr

Sorry it's not in focus, I was taking a picture of the lens primary. The leather looks good and feels even better. It is a bit thicker than the and much thicker than the crap that is on the MP.

There are some more pictures here: http://www.cameraleather.com/leica_m/preview.htm

Why remove the meter? I didn't find the two-step release unappealing and you can always just pull the batteries if you don't want the distraction of a TTL meter. I'm not even talking about resale value, but sheer practicality.

As for the M2R, a friend once sold one for a song. I didn't know much about it, but almost regret passing it up, BUT I prefer the slower loading of the older Ms. Why shoot film if it isn't for the calm enjoyment of loading, advancing, rewinding, etc?
 
this thread is awesome.

i'd first ask leica if they can sell you the same covering they used on the mp classic, or if they can cut the a la carte offerings to your specifications.

another thing to look into is getting a working film reminder dial, not just the disc they put on the mp classic/m4-2/m4-p. it wouldn't have the same lettering style as the mp, though. i don't think they ever made one like that; they should have done it for the mp classic.
 
Is it possible to swap the core of the body out with one from an M2 or something? That way you're not ripping the electronics out and could always go back to them later if you changed your mind or HAD to resell?
 
Mister E,

Thanks for the photo. That looks really really nice. It looks very close to another leatherette from Aki-Asahi (forgot the #) that I have on my IIIf. I don't know how long you've have this, but do you see any shrinkage due to the covering being a real leather?

Well, removing the meter instead of just removing the battery, is purely for fun and for the sake of "project-ness" if you know what I mean. As far as the practicality goes, I personally find no gain by having built-in meter for my use. I shoot B/W only and rarely spend more than a second seeing through VF when I'm walking around. I don't want to sound like a street-candid-snob, but I'd just use external meter when I need to meter anyway. And yes, you can just leave the battery out and save you a lot of trouble, but again, this is a project. 😀

I totally agree with slow loading with older M. I love doing that "ritual" with M2 and even with my IIIf. I'd probably be very very happy with two identical M2s (non-R, no-self-timer) but oh well I already have this MP. 😉


aizan,

Thanks for your inputs. Don't know if Leica would do such accommodation for an end user like me, but I shall drop an email and see what they say. Do you or anyone have a picture of back of MP Classic? I've never seen which film reminder dial they put on the Classic. My MP is one of the first 1000 with older, M6 style dial so it's already a bit more classical compared to newer MP ones.

That brought up another question: Anyone know if there was an M without any film reminder dial by default? (just flat covering on the door)


Helen,

I still remember this one. Such a fabulous looking M2 you had! Hope you'll join the M2 crew again one day. 😉
 
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Won't you hate that your MP Classique has smaller 50mm framelines when compared to your M2, Sug ?

And another pic, "Black Lizard" (Ray called that M2 "Elvis"):

193669854_Rqe5S-L.jpg
 
Sug,

I think my taste runs somewhat contrary to yours in coverings, as I like classic boring black coverings. I am mostly concerned with grip and feel; aesthetics are a close -- and important -- secondary matter. Therefore I am a hardcore proponent of Griptac in charcoal black -- it works exceptionally well and I think it looks way, way better than the lameass shark-skin Leica put on the modern MPs. That stuff lacks density and just begs to be replaced!

You can order from Leica the "a la carte" vulkanit covering which is what was used on the Classic MP. Of course they charge a MASSIVE amount of bread for it; a couple of years ago it was 175 USD!!! 😛rice-shock: I do like the vulkanit covering but not significantly more than Griptac, and certainly not for that much more price-wise than a Griptac covering from Cameraleather.

I think what you're doing is rather bold and I applaud putting your identity on a great camera like the modern MP! You will always have shooters who have had negative experiences with a certain model, even the M3! But just because I had some terrible experiences with a couple of M6s and a brace of ZIs it doesn't mean they are llama cameras for others -- so enjoy your MP and know that many like myself have shot with quite a few of them and have had very positive and pleasing experiences. As you don't care about resale, make the MP your very own -- I love that you are doing this. I fear I am too conservative to follow your path. But I admire your spirit nonetheless🙂

Respectfully, Thomas
 
Oh my god, that white camera from "ferider" is a blast.

My favourite covering is the Levant leather. Lovely soft feel to it.

Here is my M4 with Levant Leather, and my M8 too:

4899332469_484c66a8fb_b.jpg


4899925850_fdd9d8f05c_b.jpg


4899928244_ec43efaf25_b.jpg


4899927056_53f69ee727_b.jpg


Vick
 
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Mister E,

I don't know how easy or expensive to swap the core with M2, but I'd like to keep my M2 as an M2 and again, my MP even after this whole mod will be same or cheaper than other used regular MP. And as far as the resell goes, if I HAD to sell, I think I'll be able to find *someone* who actually appreciates this one-of-a-kind MP. RFF's never disappointed me with showing all sorts of GAS and crazy ideas. 😉


Roland and Mister E, (And Ray, perfect naming with "Elvis" 😀)

I agree with you guys about FL. Not only the size (1m vs 6m optimization) but also I like the thick M2 lines a lot better than newer Ms'. Again, probably the most logical and easy choice would be two M2 set up. But life is short and I want something other than two identical cameras. 😉 This doesn't mean I won't be looking for another M2 in the future. 😀


Thomas,

Actually, I'm totally into practicality of the covering myself. And I love the original vulcanite look a lot. The Aki-Asahi's #4008 is very close to the original M2/M3 look, and unfortunately cameraleather doesn't have a direct replacement to that. Wow $175 from Leica! And I can easily imagine it's even more expensive by now. That's more expensive than the whole mods that will be done by Don! I sure love the look though.

I've heard so many good things about the Griptac, but somehow I find the texture to be a bit too modern/hi-tech in the photos I've seen. And the name "charcoal" kinda suggests a bit off black tone to it. Would you agree? Do you have picture of your MP with Griptac?

Thanks for kind words about this "stupid" project. I just tell myself not to care about resell value of the stuff that I enjoy using everyday. And as result, I custom painted my Triumph's factory paint job after a month of ownership, modify Leica and put inks on my skin. 😛

Heck, we (mechanical film camera lovers) all are doing a lot better job on preserving resell value compared to people spending big bucks on top of the line digital gear and carbon frame bikes anyhow, right?? 😀 (nothing wrong with that, though)
 
hi sug,

as an "old" H-D sporty modifier, i know what a project is.

just my idea concerning the de-metering: using a flush cap for the battery chamber, covered with your favourite camera leather, would be enough of disabling the meter ... for me.
anyway, it's your project, so don't let me stop you going!

i'd recommend aki-asahi covering, but as you said, they are not accepting orders currently (i checked when i had the idea to re-cover my M4-P). such a project needs not be finished in a day, so why not wait for a few months with ordering the cover?
the prior body modifications will take some time, too, so it's even not wasting time.

and - please keep us posted with the progress.

cheers and best regards,
sebastian
 
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