New Leica MPs and M-As difficult to find??

[helen.HH]

Quite a Journey Andrea...

Funny how a squarish box of metal pulls and twists at our old Heart and Eye. All in good fun !

 

[zenza]

KEH just briefly had a black M-A slip listed for $3400. Didn't last long though!

 

[F456]

Hi Andrea,

Just to say I ordered two black chrome MPs from Richard Caplan in London about two years ago — a very reputable firm that sadly has now closed down but I think more for health and pandemic reasons than anything else. Richard warned me that it would take a while and in the end the best part of a year passed but I was happy to wait. The cameras are great and for various reasons I then ordered a chrome one as well and had a while to wait for that as well. Why I am saying all this is simply to show it seems normal with this model.

Another long serving member of staff there, Emil, did tell me in passing when I asked about any reliability problems with MPs that they had not come across many; however if anything he felt that if anything this had been slightly more prevalent with custom orders ie. a la carte. (You mentioned you would be making an a la carte choice, if I understood you aright.)

I am very happy with the MPs as with other Leicas such as M4-P, M6 TTL and M7. The most finely engineered of all in my experience though are the earliest models such as the M3. So make sure you never try one; it might spoil you!

Good luck and let us know how things go.

 

[F456]

Hi again Andrea,

I hadn't read your earlier posts but see you have used earlier Leicas before (M2 in one of your photos). Don't let it put you off the MP if you are still after one, as mentioned I have more than one and they are lovely. The pictures from them are reliable as well! I shoot a classic combination of 28, 35, 50 and 90 and find the 0.72 finder fine with all of them though sometimes I use a separate Leica finder with the 28.

Tom

 

[Andrea Taurisano]

Thanks for your encouraging words, Tom. In fact, I did buy a mint M-A, which indeed was the closest to my dreamcamera I ever got. Yet I just sold it again, after only a few months (and rolls). Two reasons:

1) I got the chance to try - and ended up buying - the nicest M2 I've ever put my hands on (and I had a few, earlier on). What makes this M2 so good is some sort of upgrade they must have given to the viewfinder during last CLA. This finder, compared side by side, was practically identical to the M-A's finder in brightness and contrast. The camera is just as silk smooth in operation and feels identical to the M-A. The slightly slower film loading doesn't bother me. But this M2 costed 25% of the M-A's price..

2) I was on a trip by the sea for Easter. In those windy days there was quite a bit of sea water aerosol where I was shooting. Guess what.. The valuable, mint M-A stayed "safe" in the car, while the cheaper work horse M2 did the job (this series here). That made me think that I could very easily live with the M2 alone.

Here it is, all I have now (in addition to my faithfull LC-a, a Diana F and a pinhole camera).

 

[Erik van Straten]

Button rewind M2's have the reputation to be very smooth cameras. So now you have the smoothest M-Leica that also has the nicest viewfinder of all the M's. Congrats.


Erik.

 

[robert blu]

You camera is a beauty Andrea 🙂

 

[jonmanjiro]

In fact, I did buy a mint M-A, which indeed was the closest to my dreamcamera I ever got. Yet I just sold it again, after only a few months (and rolls).

Itch scratched, and now you know 😉

I got the chance to try - and ended up buying - the nicest M2 I've ever put my hands on (and I had a few, earlier on). What makes this M2 so good is some sort of upgrade they must have given to the viewfinder during last CLA.

Your M2 quite possibly has an M-A finder installed it. simonsawsunlight has two M2s that got new finders installed by Leica, and I saw no difference in contrast when comparing them with my MPs and M-A. So, best of both worlds. Congrats!

 

[F456]

Hi Andrea, a very good outcome. I love the manufacturing quality of those older M-series bodies. I had a nice M2 once too; I used it with my favourite lens — a Summilux-M 35/1.4 with the same 12504 hood you have on your 35mm. Saving money and getting something just as good, maybe even better is always satisfying!

Enjoy your photography 🙂 Tom

 

[kshapero]

A used CLA M-A black chrome in stock at Leica Miami.
https://leicastoremiami.com/collections/used-m-cameras