I've talked to a Leica repair Techie, before deciding which model I was getting. I've asked him which Leica M he saw the less to repair, and therefor, what was the most reliable. He replied Leica M3. After the Leica M3, Leica started to use gears made of plastic that eventually failed.
Hi Hashem, I'm a bit late to the party-but one thing that isn't often mentioned is the frameline size difference between pre-28mm frameline models (accurate at 1m) and 28mm frameline models (late M4-P & M6 onwards-accurate at .7m). So between M4 & M-A, M-A framelines are smaller and less accurate towards infinity as the actual field of view grows. Not that the M is designed for ultimate accuracy!
Love your channel man! I managed to burn some holes through my M4's cloth shutter with my 50mm on a sunny day haha. Have an M-A coming in the mail tomorrow for the same reasons as you and might sell off the M4 after a CLA and shutter cloth replacement. Anyway hope you're still shooting and staying safe in Australia.
Thank you! Ah, that's a bummer... was it sitting in the sun for a while to burn the shutter? I sometimes worry about that, but heard you have to leave it for a little while with a certain aperture range? Good to hear that you got the M-A though! Congrats 👍 Not shooting too much lately, but when our lockdowns start to lift I certainly will be :-)
Nice piece…enjoyed it. I had a M3 that was having issues…. I too found a new /used MA and picked it up. Very happy. Will be in Melbourne on Feb and hoping to get out a few times. Will look out fr you:)
Thanks man. Got an M4 earlier this year after watching your M4 review a couple times. I really enjoy it and now i’m only thinking about getting a leica glass once the budget’s ready. Not interested to upgrade/swap to another leica body since i’m satisfied with this M4, and i got mine in near mint condition.
I’ve owned my new MA for about 2 weeks now. And enjoyed watching this video again twice as much. Black chrome looks much better than black paint or silver chrome for me. The viewfinder feels brighter to me than the one on the MP with its light meter readings.
Loving the channel. Shopping for my first film Leica and the M4 and M-A are the main options I am looking at, so your content on these has been SUPER helpful. Shooting a M10M now, so a black M-A is the closest as far as aesthetics (yes that's important as you mentioned!), so leaning that way, wallet be damned! Has the blank battery hole on the M-A (where the battery actually is on a MP) bothered you at all? I noticed it on the few I have handled (somehow seems more noticeable on the black than on the silver bodies) . Small detail I am sure, but a shame Leica just used the exact MP body and "patched" that hole for the M-A, rather than a body without the hole cut. Thanks!
Thank you! That circle has never bothered me one bit 😁 As much as love the minimal black aesthetic, I still see/treat it as a tool at the end of the day.
Hello Hashem, seeing that you travel a lot with your leica m camera, I suppose that you have time to time to align your range finder. As this could occur at any time, just after a flight or a bad road travel. It's frustrating to discover that the pictures you take are fuzzy. How do manage that problem ? On digital leica M, it is "more easy" to see the problem and align it horizontally doing photo and checking immediately the result, but how do you do that on a film camera. Do you send it each time to Leica ? Regards and thank you for your inspiring video.
In the end it's all about frame lines. I had the M6, M3, M2 and MP, and while I can shoot without 28 mm, I found 75 mm to be essential for me (and 35 mm). So, in the end, I would only buy Leica models with the full set of frame lines.
I wonder sometimes about the rumours (or myths) about the internals used. Some claim that the M4-P and M4-2 started the trend to cheaper parts that continued in the M6 and subsequent cameras. Even the M2 was supposedly a 'cheaper' version of the M3. Aside from the viewfinder, framelines, meter and hot shoe/cold shoe, another thing to consider is motor drives. M-A, MP, M7 and M6 can use the smaller, quieter more affordable motor m. I think this is why some internal parts were swapped from brass to steel; for reliability and durability. While most people probably won't want a motor m, the advantage would be not having to manually advance with the lever and being able to keep the camera to your eye, especially for left eye dominant shooters.
Thanks for watching, I appreciate it :-) Well, I would generally say Jorg from European Camera Service is the best option for Leica here in Australia, but I just heard yesterday that he's unfortunately closing up shop and moving back to Germany. I will personally end up biting the bullet and sending mine to the YYE in the US when mine eventually comes up for needing service.
@@pushingfilm thanks again! I did email Jorg yesterday and he told me about the move. Unlucky timing for me haha looking to get my leica repaired so will check out YYE or even Camera Clinic here in Aus
Video @ 20:15 "you get these little things" - Don't do it ! - Every camera body that I've gotten in for repair where the customer had been using those add-on rapid cranks, had marred the top-plate finish (circular scratches) ! - It's just not worth the ridiculous reduction in pre-owned pricing for chancing quicker rewinds...
Hello man! Thanks for your video, I am in Argentina and here it seems to be very difficult to get into analog photography. I received an M4-2 as a present early this year but haven´t been able to use extensively due to pandemics (everything became more difficult). Plus it seems that the lightmeter I was given is somehow blocked, so I would like to know what to use in replacement. Unfortunately it´s finding replacements or new electronic devices is almost impossible here.
Hey, that's awesome that you got the M4-2 as a present, and I completely understand how it can be hard to shoot because of the pandemic! You were given a detachable light meter with it? There are a lot of low cost accessory light meters you can but these days through AliExpress and ex-Kickstarter products... or even use a phone app in the meanwhile? The M4 series are also a great way to learn Sunny-16 metering and develop a sense for exposure without needing a meter. Either way, I hope you get to use it a little more.. best of luck!
@@pushingfilm thanks a lot, man! Yeah, I was very lucky, and it came with a cannonet, a Contaflex, some lenses and other point and shoot. I must have done something good in life. 🤔😊😇 Of course I told my friend the value, but they are the most generous people in the world. I will follow your advise and use the phone, in the meanwhile. 👍👍👍
it is all about frame lines thats why i bypassed the M3 in my collection. M2, M4, M4p, M6, M6ttl, MP. 28 summarit, 35 and 50 smmicron in the bag. I shoot street, events etc.
Yeah, right?! Flash is so essential to me, especially in our dark winter months. Flash photography at night with Portra 400 or Trix-400 looks so awesome!!
It's funny seeing your cat so high up above your head, just stand and stretch and do cat stuff, all while hearing what you think about the 2 cameras. Cats.
Just got an M2 after I had to shoot the M6 for a year. I usually shoot with a M5 which is still consider to be the best of these. The M2 is really really nice. Felt like holding a Leica again after a year of the M6. I don’t wanna make anybody who actually loves their M6 feel bad but the M6 is a joke to be honest. Not as a camera in general, it’s a very good camera. But as a Leica, it’s been grossly overhyped and overpriced. I’m saying that because I don’t want that for any kid in their twenties to be their dream camera and than have it instead of a nice M3, M2, or M5. I’d really like to try a M-P to see if that can stack up to the amazingness that is the M5.
Hey, I see what you mean about the M6, it has been going that way over the last few years. M5's are definitely under-appreciated.. and I wont be surprised if they skyrocket in price too.
sold my M-A for an M7. M7 is more precise in speed, you can keep your eye in the viewfinder and modified F stop / bokeh immediately. you can add EV correction and memorize speed… so much liberty . This is not true you can evaluate with your eye f stop/speed and this is even less true that you can modified them counting click. Mp / M6 are dynosaurus and complitely out of competition with their stupid dot system.
Sold my M7 for an M-A. Eventually electronics fail so the M-A was the way for me to reduce that risk in the long run.
I've talked to a Leica repair Techie, before deciding which model I was getting. I've asked him which Leica M he saw the less to repair, and therefor, what was the most reliable. He replied Leica M3. After the Leica M3, Leica started to use gears made of plastic that eventually failed.
Hi Hashem, I'm a bit late to the party-but one thing that isn't often mentioned is the frameline size difference between pre-28mm frameline models (accurate at 1m) and 28mm frameline models (late M4-P & M6 onwards-accurate at .7m). So between M4 & M-A, M-A framelines are smaller and less accurate towards infinity as the actual field of view grows. Not that the M is designed for ultimate accuracy!
M-A is the one I aspire to own, I appreciate how they won't go cheap on any components of the M-A and feel the matte-black finish attracts me so much.
Love your channel man! I managed to burn some holes through my M4's cloth shutter with my 50mm on a sunny day haha. Have an M-A coming in the mail tomorrow for the same reasons as you and might sell off the M4 after a CLA and shutter cloth replacement. Anyway hope you're still shooting and staying safe in Australia.
Thank you! Ah, that's a bummer... was it sitting in the sun for a while to burn the shutter? I sometimes worry about that, but heard you have to leave it for a little while with a certain aperture range? Good to hear that you got the M-A though! Congrats 👍 Not shooting too much lately, but when our lockdowns start to lift I certainly will be :-)
i like how you say that the light meter would be distracting, i was thinking the same thing. i like the attention spent on the scene
Nice piece…enjoyed it. I had a M3 that was having issues…. I too found a new /used MA and picked it up. Very happy. Will be in Melbourne on Feb and hoping to get out a few times. Will look out fr you:)
Thanks man. Got an M4 earlier this year after watching your M4 review a couple times. I really enjoy it and now i’m only thinking about getting a leica glass once the budget’s ready. Not interested to upgrade/swap to another leica body since i’m satisfied with this M4, and i got mine in near mint condition.
Nice, that's awesome to hear! Yeah I still think it's one of the best cameras you can own 😁
I’ve owned my new MA for about 2 weeks now. And enjoyed watching this video again twice as much. Black chrome looks much better than black paint or silver chrome for me. The viewfinder feels brighter to me than the one on the MP with its light meter readings.
Awesome! Glad that you're enjoying it, I do like the black chrome too 😁
Loving the channel. Shopping for my first film Leica and the M4 and M-A are the main options I am looking at, so your content on these has been SUPER helpful. Shooting a M10M now, so a black M-A is the closest as far as aesthetics (yes that's important as you mentioned!), so leaning that way, wallet be damned! Has the blank battery hole on the M-A (where the battery actually is on a MP) bothered you at all? I noticed it on the few I have handled (somehow seems more noticeable on the black than on the silver bodies) . Small detail I am sure, but a shame Leica just used the exact MP body and "patched" that hole for the M-A, rather than a body without the hole cut. Thanks!
Thank you! That circle has never bothered me one bit 😁 As much as love the minimal black aesthetic, I still see/treat it as a tool at the end of the day.
Hello Hashem, seeing that you travel a lot with your leica m camera, I suppose that you have time to time to align your range finder.
As this could occur at any time, just after a flight or a bad road travel. It's frustrating to discover that the pictures you take are fuzzy.
How do manage that problem ? On digital leica M, it is "more easy" to see the problem and align it horizontally doing photo and checking immediately the result,
but how do you do that on a film camera. Do you send it each time to Leica ?
Regards and thank you for your inspiring video.
I went for the Leica m4-p
In the end it's all about frame lines. I had the M6, M3, M2 and MP, and while I can shoot without 28 mm, I found 75 mm to be essential for me (and 35 mm). So, in the end, I would only buy Leica models with the full set of frame lines.
How can you turn off the light meter on MP? Is it taking the battery out or there’s another way?
As far as I know, it would be taking out the battery
I‘m owning only a poor man’s Leica (Canonet), but I like it. A M-A with a 35mm lens) would be a huge upgrade for me.
Canonet it a great!
I wonder sometimes about the rumours (or myths) about the internals used. Some claim that the M4-P and M4-2 started the trend to cheaper parts that continued in the M6 and subsequent cameras. Even the M2 was supposedly a 'cheaper' version of the M3. Aside from the viewfinder, framelines, meter and hot shoe/cold shoe, another thing to consider is motor drives. M-A, MP, M7 and M6 can use the smaller, quieter more affordable motor m. I think this is why some internal parts were swapped from brass to steel; for reliability and durability. While most people probably won't want a motor m, the advantage would be not having to manually advance with the lever and being able to keep the camera to your eye, especially for left eye dominant shooters.
Thanks for the video! Love hearing your thoughts. Any recommendations on places in Australia for Leica repairs or service?
Thanks for watching, I appreciate it :-) Well, I would generally say Jorg from European Camera Service is the best option for Leica here in Australia, but I just heard yesterday that he's unfortunately closing up shop and moving back to Germany. I will personally end up biting the bullet and sending mine to the YYE in the US when mine eventually comes up for needing service.
@@pushingfilm thanks again! I did email Jorg yesterday and he told me about the move. Unlucky timing for me haha looking to get my leica repaired so will check out YYE or even Camera Clinic here in Aus
@@pushingfilm why YYe? Is it cheaper than sending to Leica Germany through the Leica stores?
@@yakattac78 As far as I've heard from others, he would be cheaper (and a lot quicker). But I guess that can depend on the situation.
@@fadondk No probs, and good luck with it!
what/s the most favorite thing you like about the M4? I've been shooting M6 and MP for the longest time, but I wanna jump to M4. hehe
If I had the money I'd buy the M-A for your same reasons so I have to enjoy my beloved Zorki I...
Haha same only a FED5 instead of a Zorki 1 I wish Nikon would make a new film camera
Kodachrome was a good movie.
Yeah I really enjoyed it! 🙂
Video @ 20:15 "you get these little things" - Don't do it ! - Every camera body that I've gotten in for repair where the customer had been using those
add-on rapid cranks, had marred the top-plate finish (circular scratches) ! - It's just not worth the ridiculous reduction in pre-owned pricing for chancing quicker rewinds...
My M4-2 blows away a new MA. I know because I have both. Find a minty M4-2 and you’ve got a hellva camera.
Agree. Dumped a Black paint and Silver chrome MPs and went back to an M4-2. My bank account got fatter for color film prices.
Hello man! Thanks for your video, I am in Argentina and here it seems to be very difficult to get into analog photography. I received an M4-2 as a present early this year but haven´t been able to use extensively due to pandemics (everything became more difficult). Plus it seems that the lightmeter I was given is somehow blocked, so I would like to know what to use in replacement. Unfortunately it´s finding replacements or new electronic devices is almost impossible here.
Hey, that's awesome that you got the M4-2 as a present, and I completely understand how it can be hard to shoot because of the pandemic! You were given a detachable light meter with it? There are a lot of low cost accessory light meters you can but these days through AliExpress and ex-Kickstarter products... or even use a phone app in the meanwhile? The M4 series are also a great way to learn Sunny-16 metering and develop a sense for exposure without needing a meter. Either way, I hope you get to use it a little more.. best of luck!
@@pushingfilm thanks a lot, man! Yeah, I was very lucky, and it came with a cannonet, a Contaflex, some lenses and other point and shoot. I must have done something good in life. 🤔😊😇 Of course I told my friend the value, but they are the most generous people in the world. I will follow your advise and use the phone, in the meanwhile. 👍👍👍
it is all about frame lines thats why i bypassed the M3 in my collection. M2, M4, M4p, M6, M6ttl, MP. 28 summarit, 35 and 50 smmicron in the bag. I shoot street, events etc.
No one ever mentions the M4’s lack of a hot shoe
Yeah, right?! Flash is so essential to me, especially in our dark winter months. Flash photography at night with Portra 400 or Trix-400 looks so awesome!!
It's funny seeing your cat so high up above your head, just stand and stretch and do cat stuff, all while hearing what you think about the 2 cameras. Cats.
Just got an M2 after I had to shoot the M6 for a year. I usually shoot with a M5 which is still consider to be the best of these. The M2 is really really nice. Felt like holding a Leica again after a year of the M6.
I don’t wanna make anybody who actually loves their M6 feel bad but the M6 is a joke to be honest. Not as a camera in general, it’s a very good camera. But as a Leica, it’s been grossly overhyped and overpriced. I’m saying that because I don’t want that for any kid in their twenties to be their dream camera and than have it instead of a nice M3, M2, or M5. I’d really like to try a M-P to see if that can stack up to the amazingness that is the M5.
Hey, I see what you mean about the M6, it has been going that way over the last few years. M5's are definitely under-appreciated.. and I wont be surprised if they skyrocket in price too.
@@pushingfilm It’s already gone up considerably. Up to 90% since I bought my first one in 2017.
sold my M-A for an M7. M7 is more precise in speed, you can keep your eye in the viewfinder and modified F stop / bokeh immediately. you can add EV correction and memorize speed… so much liberty . This is not true you can evaluate with your eye f stop/speed and this is even less true that you can modified them counting click.
Mp / M6 are dynosaurus and complitely out of competition with their stupid dot system.
music not required. like listening to a boring conversation in an elevator ! So I got off at the first floor ...