Which M2 is best as a 'user'?

Tom A said:
Best way of learning to use a M2 is probably a 20 pack of what ever film you intend to use, a handheld meter and shoot the whole thing in a couple of days. Initially you will meter for every shot, soon you will only use the meter when you are not 100% sure and after 10-15 rolls, you will realize that you haven't used the meter at all!!!
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Dear Tom,

Thank you for your advice. I think that should work a 'treat'. What meter would you advice to stick a'top of the M2? An MR-4? Or should I just get a handy? I like the center weighted pattern of the FM2, if that helps.

Also do you make rewind levers, or do I need to use Vice Grips?

Benjamin
 
As for meters, you will soon stop using it and rely on your brain, so dont go overboard. Both Sekonic and Gossen make small, handy ones. The Gossen even tells you what th time is and what the temperature is in your pocket.
Both are good and pretty exact. Old style selenium meters are not as reliable, as the cells tend to age and the response is slow.
As for rewind lever - DO NOT use vise grips as you can excert to much torque. For film rewind "knob" extension, there are usually some of these on E-bay. I have M2's with them and without them. They are convinient, but not necessary.
 
Tom, the Vise Grip thing was just a joke, though they are arguably the most useful thing that I own. I don't especially want to spend hundred of pounds on a handheld meter, but there are still some situations that baffle me in terms of exposure, and I'd like to have confirmation every once in a while. Are there any good cds meters that still go?

Thanks for your help,

Benjamin
 
I don't use a meter with my Canon P. B&W negative film is cheap and forgiving and I just accept any gross errors as a lesson learned (hopefully). I don't trust that method with color film, though. Like Tom says, it's easy to be right with a little practice. I think you just need to be consistent and use the same film and development procedures for long enough to know exactly what to expect.

I use the meter in my M6 because it's a crutch I can't resist. It's so quick and so accurate.
 
Erik van Straten said:
Paul,

Thanks a lot for showing your beauty. It's a fine piece. Did you know that black M2's with serial numbers in the 103XXXX group are very rare? Just let me know when you want to sell it...

Erik.
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There's TWO black M2's on eBay right now, different sellers, both claim to be original. The one is actually quite nice.
 
Best way of learning to use a M2 is probably a 20 pack of what ever film you intend to use, a handheld meter and shoot the whole thing in a couple of days. Initially you will meter for every shot, soon you will only use the meter when you are not 100% sure and after 10-15 rolls, you will realize that you haven't used the meter at all!!! Thats when it gets to be fun. Yes, there will be foul ups - but probably only by 1/2 stop to 1 stop and the film can probably handle that. No better learning tool than telling yourself that "OK, it is a long week end and I have 20 rolls to shoot" Tell the family that you dont want to deal with them, turn of the cell-phone and think about an area around were you live and "cover" it photographically. Preferably stick to one lens too and enjoy yourself.
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I think that's an excellent idea.

I spent decades using SLRs with TTL metering, and though I knew quite a bit about how exposure works in theory, I never really gained any skills in evaluating exposures.

I first tried a hand-held meter when I got a couple of FSU cameras and a Leningrad 8 meter, and the first time I went out with that meter I thought it was a nightmare - metering every shot like that was much more time-consuming than with a TTL meter. And to make matters worse, the clouds wouldn't stay put while I was trying to meter and shoot, and the brightness would change between me metering and lifting the camera to my eye! (With a TTL meter I'd fiddle with the aperture until the very moment of the shot, or with AE metering I'd watch the camera's fiddling with the shutter speed).

But it wasn't very long before it struck me that I what I really needed to do was take a few meter readings (one with the sun out, one with it behind a cloud, etc), to find out what the range of exposures was, then once I knew there was three stops difference (or whatever it was), I could take a number of shots within that range without metering each individual one.

And now when I go out, like this morning, with my M2 and Gossen Digisix (it's 32 deg C here today ;) ), I find I don't really meter individual shots at all, I meter scenes, and instead of getting to know what the exposure is for each successive field of view through my VF, I'll get to know what the exposure values are for my surroundings. I'll check an incident reading, then a couple of reflective readings from highlights and shadows, and I'm set - unless the light changes dramatically, I can estimate the exposure from shot to shot within the range that I now know. So, quite often, I'll start with a new roll of film, do a bit of metering, and then shoot the whole film while walking around without getting the meter out again. And although I'm sure very few of my exposures are perfect (not that there is any such thing as an objectively perfect exposure, of course), I almost never get a duff shot - I get whole rolls of easily-scanned negatives.

Because of that experience, I'd personally recommend getting a hand-held meter rather than a camera-mounted one, for two reasons. Firstly, I think a camera-mounted one can be a bit of an intrusion the way TTL meters are - it's always there and you see it every shot, and so the temptation to meter every shot is greater. And secondly, you can do incident metering with a hand-held - and incident metering really made a big difference to the way my intuitive understanding of the exposure values around me has improved.
 
When I come across a scene that I really want to record, I make an exposure. Then I drop the speed one click, and take another. If it's really a great scene I'll drop the speed another click and take one more. Not bracketing per se, I'm simply giving myself a choice of negatives to print. Works for me.

When the light is fleeting and evasive (or low), I take out my M5. Love the spot meter in that thing. The perfect compliment to my M2, although I want another M2.

Tom A is right, of course. M2's are addictive!
 
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less is more.

I was very happy that my M2 has no self timer. It's not in the way, and it's not there to break. Here's the THREE DOLLAR self timer I got on ebay. I bought it for use with my Bessa RxA cameras:

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most important part of buying any old camera: Does it work right? If yes, purchase. :)
 
Beemermark said:
There's TWO black M2's on eBay right now, different sellers, both claim to be original. The one is actually quite nice.
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I only saw this one, the 948XXX. The minimum price asked is $ 6.000. Earlier this year I bought shown 990XXX for EUR 2.300. Both are restored camera's, by Leitz, but restored. $ 6.000 is too expensive. It's easy to understand why there are quite a lot of restored black M2's. The original paint came loose all by itself, so Leitz, in the late sixties and early seventies, restored them for unsatisfied customers with their much improved M4 type black paint finish. I also do own an M3 of this type.

Erik.
 

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I had a '58 M2 w/ button rewind, rapid load, lens collar and no self timer. It was hammered cosmetically but was easily the most reliable camera I'd ever had.
I'll second the vote that any well-working M2 is worthwhile.
In use, those lacking a self timer cramp my hand after long periods. It's a convenient handhold, but I've never used one beyond exercising the slow speeds.
Be very, very weary of anything in 'mint' condition. Especially on Ebay.
All my M's have been beat and ugly, with intact L seals, but have worked great.
Except one: a NIB 5 year old MP which was absolute trash and I am currently rebuilding.
M2's are where it's at. Definitely a tactile/reliability thing.
 
Benjamin said:
Tom, the Vise Grip thing was just a joke, though they are arguably the most useful thing that I own. I don't especially want to spend hundred of pounds on a handheld meter, but there are still some situations that baffle me in terms of exposure, and I'd like to have confirmation every once in a while. Are there any good cds meters that still go?

Thanks for your help,

Benjamin
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Benjamin, with ViseGrips, you are preaching to someone already converted! I have no idea how many I have (probably more than M2's - and thats saying something). They are ground, filed or even drilled to perform certain duties in the manufacturing Rapidwinders and other stuff. When I sold my Old Norton Combat Commando I kept my "chain" Grip for removing water filters in the darkroom etc. If there ever was a universal tool - thats it.
 
Hi,

Digressing a little but I was searching on "quickload": I've no idea what one looks like and have never seen the instructions for one either but my M2 isn't as I expected inside.

Are there any pictures anywhere I could see? I've done several searches and got a lot of articles in favour of it and against it but still don't know what one looks like, nor what the M4 etc ones look like, which I assume could be fitted.

Thanks in advance.

Regards, David
 
Doing an M4 loading conversion would be MAJOR. The quick load kits were like $39 new, but a few years later a few of the big mail order houses were selling them out at $12.50. They were a bit fiddly to use. You had to push the leader down through a slot on the end of the spool. I can engage the leader in the clip of a standard spool by feel but I could never manage to get it in the quick load slot without looking, not easy in the dark. On the M3 you have to still pull the spool half way out to reset the frame counter. I soon went back to original spools and the quick loads and their original boxes got tucked away. As with most things Leica, eventualy the collectors discovered that Leitz had made quick load kits. Mine were cherry, and came with the original boxes! $$$$$$
 
Here's a pic of the quick load installed on the M2 I recently sold. It's not as easy as the M4/M6 style tulip, but it's not difficult to use with a little practice. I found the trick was to pull out a bit more leader on your film than the loading diagram indicates. It's a big improvement over pulling out the take up spool, IMO.

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