Which camera Should I keep? M4-P or M2

[Never Satisfied]

It is as I believe that towards the end of production of the M4-P that the switch from the M4 finder was made and the M6 finder was then used. If you have a look at an M4 you can clearly see the the finder windows are recessed as opposed to an M6 where the windows are flush with the surrounds. I had a late M4-P which had the m6 finder windows complete with the typical flare issue that the M6 has. Sorry, this is the link I was looking for. Cheers Andrew. http://www.cameraquest.com/m4pm6.htm

 

[burninfilm]

Ahhhh... I see what your are referring to: the the later M4-Ps with the m6 top-plate. As I understand it, the change only affects the top-plate itself as well as the flash sync. The optics and mechanics of the rangefinder were not altered. I don't believe a different rangefinder design was used in the m4-P throughout production.

 

[JNewell]

This is incorrect. All M4-P bodies have the same RF/VF assembly, and all suffer the potential flare issue. Some M4-Ps have brass M4-type top plates and others have the zinc M6- type top plates, but the RF/VF is the same. Only the top plate changed after M6 production began. Most M4-2 production has the same flare-prone finder, by the way.

Hi, I have an M2 and have just sold my M4-P. Be aware that the M4-P is available with 2 different finders, mine had the M6 finder, which suffered the M6 flare and the other version that is fitted with the M4 finder and very nice. The M4-P is newer but I'd keep the M2 if you cannot have both. My M2 is quite a few Db quiter than my M4-P of any of my other M's for that matter. The finder is beautifully spartan and practical and as Tom said, mask of the illumination window if you need 28mm.
Try and keep both for a while and see which you instinctively reach for, or which one gets left at home, cheers Andrew.

 

[Ben Z]

From what I have been told by the main Leica repair gurus in the US, the costcutting measure that produced the white-out phenomenon in the finder took place beginning with the M4-2. The only thing retained from the M4 for the M4-2 and into the first part of the M4-P run was the size of the framelines, which were somewhat more generous than the last of the M4-P's that used the same frameline mask set made for the M6.