Good story about a Leica M2

If you have not seen this, it is a good story about a Leica M2.

Camera Historica: The Sean Flynn Leica M2 - Japan Camera Hunter

Thanks for posting the link to that article. I'm not, and never will be, a professional photographer, never mind one as good as Sean Flynn. I have, however, owned a Leica M2, in good working order, for a number of years now. It's a great camera, about as direct and straightforward as they come. With a modern Leica lens, it produces images of high technical quality.

I grew up during the Vietnam War. It took a number of highly talented people from us, and I am sure it did from the South Vietnamese and North Vietnamese as well. It affected relations between Americans, their military and their government for decades to come, and it affected America's reputation in other countries for decades to come. I am still here to reflect on those things. Sean Flynn and 58,000 other Americans are no longer here to do so.

Thanks for posting the link to that article. I'm not, and never will be, a professional photographer, never mind one as good as Sean Flynn. I have, however, owned a Leica M2, in good working order, for a number of years now. It's a great camera, about as direct and straightforward as they come. With a modern Leica lens, it produces images of high technical quality.

 

I grew up during the Vietnam War. It took a number of highly talented people from us, and I am sure it did from the South Vietnamese and North Vietnamese as well. It affected relations between Americans, their military and their government for decades to come, and it affected America's reputation in other countries for decades to come. I am still here to reflect on those things. Sean Flynn and 58,000 other Americans are no longer here to do so.

You might also be interested in another story involving the M2 in Vietnam, the camera Nick Ut used to take the Pulitzer prize-winning photograph of Kim Phuc, running from a napalm attack naked and burned. He got her to hospital, too, and using his media status to get her treated probably saved her life:

Interview with Nick Ut, the Photojournalist Who Shot the Iconic "Napalm Girl" Photo

Nick Ut: The Amazing Saga And The Image That Helped End The Vietnam War - The Leica Camera Blog

The camera itself has been exhibited at the Science Museum in London, and more recently at the Newseum in DC:

Newseum Leica M2 Vietnam

Nick Ut also mentions that fellow photojournalist David Burnett missed the shot while reloading 'an old Leica — a very old model. 1945, or something like that', implying that LTM cameras were still being used in a war zone in the 70s, and that even the professionals had troubling reloading them quickly.