What makes the M5 great?

[tonys]

Hello All,

I am an infrequent poster to the forum. I certainly havent started any threads.

As an avid M5 user, I've noted very few threads in recent weeks about the M5, so I thought its time to start one.

Having, at one time or another, owned and used all the Wetzlar M's my view is that it is still the one of the best user/shooter cameras. Great, accurate meter, overhanging shutter speed dial, uncluttered framelines, film rewind tucked away in the baseplate and basically a beautifully engineered camera overall.

I suppose all the Wetzlar M cameras are great in their own right.

But for me it is the meter and its accuracy that makes the M5 the camera that it is.

Any thoughts from other users ?

Best,

Tony

 

[sepiareverb]

Meter indeed. I also like the little meter cell indicator when the 50mm framelines come up. I was pleasantly surprised to find it still there after Sherry K put the new VF in for me- she is the best. I have the full frameline set (28/90, 50/75, 35/135) and the MP type VF. I prefer the 'cluttered' VF to the sparer sets, and quite prefer the handling of the M5 for the 75 Summicron. They make a very balanced pair.

 

[visiondr]

I also hear the extra size and heft makes the M5 a very sturdy door stop. ;-)

 

[Benjamin Marks]

Pros: good "hand feel", great VF, great meter & I happen to like the ugly duckling styling.
Cons: no rapidwinder, delicate metering arm.

Good when stacked next to a Leicaflex SL2 as a 1970's time travel prop.

Ben Marks

 

[sepiareverb]

I also hear the extra size and heft makes the M5 a very sturdy door stop. ;-)

Great for preventing the garage door from closing fully- so the cats can get in & out. The vertical hanging makes it particularly versatile for this.

 

[Rui Morais de Sousa]

Hi Tonys,

Overall I think that the M5 is an exccelent camera, but some of the points you mention as good (and usually people do), are exactly the points that I deslike in the M5...

1) Mine has only two straps holders. For me they are in the wrong position! I would prefer the camera hanging horizontaly...
A half case could be a solution, but anyway the design flaw keeps on existing (I never understood that decision from Leitz. Inovation at any price?).
I understand that some people use the M5 over their shoulders, what makes a little more sense for the vertical position. Anyway I don't like it very much, as the camera tends to slip away, and on winter when you have many clothes on, your movements are somewhat difficult.

2) Film rewind tucked away: I can't say that I enjoy it very much. I find it cumbersome, mainly also because of the vertical position of the camera. The film rewind of the other M's never bothered me or stood in the way, but on the plus side I would say that it allows a rather clean and uncluttered design on the M5. So my veredict: yes and no (the germans say it very well: "jaein"! - a mixture of ja and nein...).

3) Overhanging shutter speed dial. That is the BIG BAD point for me on the M5! I would prefer a smaller dial that doesn't protrud from the body. At least in my camera the dial turns too easily, and seems to constantly rub on something, clothes or whatever, and change shutter speeds by itself. That is really annoying, and makes me need to constantly check the settings. Or I risk to be totally wrong: say that I set 1/250, and when I notice I have already 1/30 or whatever... BAD, BAD...
I know that I can see the shutter speed on the finder, but one of the main reasons I like to use M cameras is that they allow me to photograph intuitively, with a quick response. Having to check up everything before I can press the shutter release is far from that...
At least I would be glad if Leitz had put some other ball bearings on the mechanism, or whatever needed, to avoid such nuisance.
So I say clearly NO to that!

"So why are you writing here?", I can almost hear you asking...

Well, I think that people on this forum, and elsewhere, should be positively critical and avoid lots of hype or "religious" followings.
I notice that the question of M5 usually divides people in two fractions: the lovers and the haters (maybe the word doesn't even exist, but I guess you can understand what I mean).
For me a true lover is the one who can accept (and deal with) the faults of the loved one...

Having said that, I will add that despite the minus points I find in the M5, I dearly enjoy using it. I think that it is a great camera in general, with great build quality.
Good old german engineering... for sure!
Cheers,

Rui

​

 

[sepiareverb]

Overhanging shutter speed dial. That is the BIG BAD point for me on the M5! I would prefer a smaller dial that doesn't protrud from the body. At least in my camera the dial turns too easily...

Give Sherry Krauter a call or email, I suspect she could tune this as you like. My dial isn't 'too easy' to turn by any means- and doesn't seem to move accidentally.

 

[Rui Morais de Sousa]

Thanks for the suggestion Sepiareverb,

I have seen the name of Sherry Krauter often mentioned here in the forum, and I understand she is a nice mechanic, but I don't even know where is she located...

Maybe I also could try Mr Nunes, the technician of the Leica and Hasselblad representative in Portugal. Also a very nice and competent person.

Anyway I think that I will have to wait for a while, as in the moment I am completely broke...

But it surely is good to know what I already suspected: the friction can be changed on the shutter speed dial on the M5, it is a problem of my camera, not of the model.

When I can I surely will change it, as it would be a GREAT improvement on the joy of using a M5!

Greetings to all,

Rui

AL-MOST-LY PHOTOGRAPHY

 

[sepiareverb]

http://www.sherrykrauter.com/

She is usually in the shop evenings and nights.

 

[MCTuomey]

Just purchased a black two-lugger from *Cindy Flood* (couldn't have done it without her accommodation). Too early to judge - I warm to cameras slowly anyway. But I am surprised by the feel - it is very nice with either of my 90's. Also the quick loading is better than the M4 I once had - unexpectedly surer. Nice VF.

Gordy Coale made up a really nice pair of connectors so I could use his leather sling to carry the camera across my chest and against my left hip.

Anyway, we'll see how we get along over the next few months 🙂

 

[Ken Ford]

What makes the M5 great?

Is this a trick question?



(I keed! I keed!)

 

[b.espahbod]

I think its not a leica 😀 its chunky and it really looks like a Russian cousin of Ernst Leitz came for a visit and left his camera.

 

[crawdiddy]

Hello All,
I am an infrequent poster to the forum. I certainly havent started any threads.

Hi tonys. I can see that you have posted infrequently for the past 6 months. Only 4.2 billion posts. Roughly 2 million posts per day. What are your other hobbies? Are you, by chance, a professional hacker?

 

[kdemas]

I really like the M5. The size really doesn't bother me at all, in fact it's a great platform for a Noct. One thing I don't think anyone touched on is the silence of the shutter, it's VERY quiet. I think the body design might help with muffling things a bit. 3 lugs over SN 135xxx are my personal favs.

50mm frame is fantastic with a super meter (more or less a spot).

I even like the way they look, I think they're kind of cool (I will duck form the eggs and tomatoes now being thrown). They also were built beautifully, the last of the "fit and adjust" cameras I believe.

Kent

 

[kdemas]

Forgot to mention, the loading is by far the bast of any M in my opinion 🙂

 

[Erik L]

does the m5 handle like a hexar?

 

[Krosya]

Hmmm, not sure I agree with you....

Hmmm, not sure I agree with you....

Hi Tonys,

Overall I think that the M5 is an exccelent camera, but some of the points you mention as good (and usually people do), are exactly the points that I deslike in the M5...

1) Mine has only two straps holders. For me they are in the wrong position! I would prefer the camera hanging horizontaly...
A half case could be a solution, but anyway the design flaw keeps on existing (I never understood that decision from Leitz. Inovation at any price?).
I understand that some people use the M5 over their shoulders, what makes a little more sense for the vertical position. Anyway I don't like it very much, as the camera tends to slip away, and on winter when you have many clothes on, your movements are somewhat difficult.

2) Film rewind tucked away: I can't say that I enjoy it very much. I find it cumbersome, mainly also because of the vertical position of the camera. The film rewind of the other M's never bothered me or stood in the way, but on the plus side I would say that it allows a rather clean and uncluttered design on the M5. So my veredict: yes and no (the germans say it very well: "jaein"! - a mixture of ja and nein...).

3) Overhanging shutter speed dial. That is the BIG BAD point for me on the M5! I would prefer a smaller dial that doesn't protrud from the body. At least in my camera the dial turns too easily, and seems to constantly rub on something, clothes or whatever, and change shutter speeds by itself. That is really annoying, and makes me need to constantly check the settings. Or I risk to be totally wrong: say that I set 1/250, and when I notice I have already 1/30 or whatever... BAD, BAD...
I know that I can see the shutter speed on the finder, but one of the main reasons I like to use M cameras is that they allow me to photograph intuitively, with a quick response. Having to check up everything before I can press the shutter release is far from that...
At least I would be glad if Leitz had put some other ball bearings on the mechanism, or whatever needed, to avoid such nuisance.
So I say clearly NO to that!

"So why are you writing here?", I can almost hear you asking...

Well, I think that people on this forum, and elsewhere, should be positively critical and avoid lots of hype or "religious" followings.
I notice that the question of M5 usually divides people in two fractions: the lovers and the haters (maybe the word doesn't even exist, but I guess you can understand what I mean).
For me a true lover is the one who can accept (and deal with) the faults of the loved one...

Having said that, I will add that despite the minus points I find in the M5, I dearly enjoy using it. I think that it is a great camera in general, with great build quality.
Good old german engineering... for sure!
Cheers,

Rui

​

Ok,
The only thing I can agree here is about the lugs. Mine has 2 lugs also. I dont mind this, but it doesnt bother me. Personal thing, really.
However - other comments are rediculous I think.

Film rewind - brillant idea! So many times I got film rewind on my M6 caught on things. Also, many people complain about durability of M6 type rewind Hidden rewind on M5 is the best idea and works great! It's also racheted, so if you let it go in a middle of rewind it STAYS where you left it, not goes spinning like other models.

Now, Overhanging shutter wheel - again - one of the BEST features of this camera. Easy to navigate, value can be seen in VF. I think you based your comment on one camera - yours. It sounds like your camera doesnt function right when it comes to shutter wheel. Mine is just right - its easy to turm, but stiff enough not to be turned accidentaly. It actually has "clicks" (those ball bearings maybe you say you wish it had?) to keep it on a setting you left it on. I'd have your camera serviced and than see if you have same complaints. Maybe its not BIG BAD point of M5, but rather of YOUR M5?
And btw, my commnents are sunjective, not of a "religious follower". I have tried several lEICAS AND m5 IS THE only one I like.
But I think it's the best camera Leica made. Great built, better design than others when it comes to film loading, rewind, shutter, metter, handling, etc. IMO.
Great article here about M5:
http://photo.net/equipment/leica/m5/

 

[zleica]

I have been using M3, M5 and M6 for years. The M5 is by far a better 'user.' To fully appreciate an M5, I would recommend using it alone. IMHO, M5 doesn't mix with other Ms, especially the M6. As far as many negative comments about the M5, I would suspect that some users compared M5 with M6 side by side and shoot only few rolls of film with the M5. The size and the weight of M5 feel much better than M6 for extended shooting IMHO. As a user, the M5 fits naturally for both shooting styles of shutter priority or aperture priority, whereas M6 is mostly suited for shutter priority shooting style. The shutter on M5 sounded differently than that of M3 and M6, but not noisier. In fact, in lower speeds, M5 is much quieter than other Ms.

I also think the shutter wheel is one of the BEST features of this camera.

Kind regards,

 

[Rui Morais de Sousa]

As far as many negative comments about the M5, I would suspect that some users compared M5 with M6 side by side and shoot only few rolls of film with the M5.

Just for your information: I've been using this camera for about 28 or 30 years now... I bought it from a very reputable Leica dealer in Wiesbaden, Germany, practically as new. It just had been in Leitz for a complete check up. The shutter dial was already like it is now, it didn't get so with time. Maybe people at Leitz started getting complaints about it and made some adjustments in the mechanism? I don't know, but sounds plausible to me.

By the way: I do not only criticize my M5. I do love my M3, but I also could say that I dislike the round corners of the 50mm lines. Or I could maybe make some similar comments about my M2 or M4 or M4-2... About the newer models I can't speak as I never felt need to buy them, I am satisfied with the cameras I have for 30 or more years now.

That doesn't mean that I HAVE to praise everything on them, or?

I think that a lot depends on personal taste. My hands are my hands, my brain is my brain, your hands are your hands, your brain is your brain. Your opinion is one thing, mine is another.
It is right so, or?

You take your photographs, I take mine!

Somebody asked for opinions, I just gave mine and only mine.

That seems to be the reason why we are here "talking" with each other: to exchange ideas and opinions. We should accept that some other people think and feel differently, or am I wrong?
The world would certainly be a rather poor and boring place if we all liked and thought the same....

Let's make this forum a richer place where people can accept that others may think differently, or we risk that the whole thing gets rather disgusting.

Cheers, Rui

AL-MOST-LY PHOTOGRAPHY

 

[J J Kapsberger]

I think we can all agree that the fact that I own and use one makes the M5 great.