Leica MP make quality variation

I have a chrome (294411xx) and a black paint (29835xx). It seems to me the black paint

with later serial number is better made. The film advance level feels better and smoother,

and the there is no play in the film rewind knob, as is the case in the ealier one. I know

variance is inevitable, given that every M is handmade. Any similar experience?

My Chrome 289 is very smooth and tight rewind.

I noticed a variation in how the leatherette is adhere to the body. Since the body have screw holes, the earlier version's leatherette have dimples (indentation) on where the leatherette covers the holes. Also some of the earlier versions have "orange peel" surface on the paint job, but the later ones are smoother.

<<I know variance is inevitable, given that every M is handmade>>

 

Although I will be the first to agree that the MP is a $2700 hand job, your statement is only partially true. They are assembled by hand but the components are machine-made. Your chrome MP should not have a worse feel to the advance or more play in the rewind. It is still under warranty, I would send it back and demand that those things be adjusted.

 

<<I noticed a variation in how the leatherette is adhere to the body. Since the body have screw holes, the earlier version's leatherette have dimples (indentation) on where the leatherette covers the holes.>>

 

Starting with the M6 which have the one-piece peel-and-stick covering, the bodies are supposed to have little thin discs (not sure if they're paper or plastic)over each screw to keep the covering from sinking in. Perhaps those were forgotten by the assembler on the one or ones you looked at.

i have (and have had) a number of M cameras over the years,

and all of them have a slightly different feel. i think this is true of

most low production (or even high rpoduction) mechanical

devices. under the current "perfect or replace" (instead of "adjust

to fit" like in the old days) assembly regime, there is still a range

for what qualifies as perfect. if the camera is working well, i am

not sure leica or anyone else will be able to do much to change

things. go to a shop and compare it to several MPs and see if it

really is outside the norm. indeed, when you buy a leica, it is

often best if you can try out several to get the feel you like.

 

as an aside, it really seems strange that people who choose to

frequent the leica forum carp so much about price. photography

is a very expensive hobby -- whether you buy nikon, hasselblad,

canon or leica. is an MP body overpriced?? if so, in comparison

to what?? a 503CW body is $2500; a mamiya 7ii body is $1800.

both have much cheaper quailty construction. leica lenses cost

no more than highest quality lenses from other mfrs.

 

is the implication that leica could be charging a lot less and still

be profitable. i doubt that.

 

do people choose to participate in a ferrarri owner's forum and

then joke endlessly about how the cars are overpriced??

 

in the eyes of many, the leica MP is the finest 35mm camera in

the world. it is rare these days to get the best of anything

(musical instrument, watch, car, suit, pen, wine, etc.) for such a

low price. by that measure, the MP is a bargain. and i applaud

leica for trying to make a good film camera even better at this

point in the digital revolution.

 

besides $2700 is only about 150 rolls with lab processing.

Sounds like a sample variation. Leicas are hand assembled, so that's no surprise. I have

more M's than I care to admit and they all feel a little different. If it really bothers you and

the camera is still under passport protection, give them a ring and see if they will do

somethng about it.

 

Feli

IMO, the variation you describe is well within the variability I have observed in Leica lenses over the years. And it has little to do with the price of the item. I have some relatively recent Leica lenses that vary in the tightness of the paerture control ring (some are a lttle loose - others very tight), the tightness of the focussing control, the strength of the aperture detents, etc. None of this really affects the function. For example, I was disappointed to find that the 35/1.4 Aspherical Summilux M (original 11873 version), which I bought new, had some play in the aperture ring. But the images it produced were absolutely stunning. The first role of pictures I took at night were unbelievable.

 

I bigger problem that I noticed ovr the years is vatiability in the lens performance. I had two 21/3.4 SA M lenses, one chrome that was and is a wonderful performer (even with a little fog in the rear element). The other was a black lens with perfectly clear optics that was very sharp but tended to flare. (The chrome lens had flare very well controlled). The black one is a later lens but with supposedly identical optics. Go figure.

 

The variations you describe are real, but I would not worry about them. Not cause to send the camera back as Jay suggests.

pardon me if i've said this before, but i am glad to see you back

eliot. your expertise has been much missed!!

<<is an MP body overpriced?? if so, in comparison to what??>>

 

Compared to a brand-new-unsold M6TTL *plus* the finder upgrade *and* the 2yr post-Passport warranty extension. You get strap rub protectors, an ergonomic plastic-tipped articulating advance lever and a canted rewind crank (both advertised as improvements by Leica themselves when the M4 came out--so were they lying then or are they lying now?), a larger shutter dial that turns the same direction as the LED's and TTL flash (again, by Leica's own words--not mine--these were major improvements), and a much better-made positive-locking ISO dial. All this for hundreds less than an MP.

 

<<The variations you describe are real, but I would not worry about them. Not cause to send the camera back as Jay suggests.>>

 

With all due respect Eliot (and I do respect you, your knowledge of Leica is almost as extensive as mine and you also don't seem to feel the need to slather your images all over PN to prove to anyone that you know what you know)I think it *is* cause for him to send it back if he notices it. He paid more than *five thousand dollars* for those two camera bodies, which Leica advertises are Mechanical Perfection and I don't see whe he should settle for less than just that.

Jay, Leicas were never perfect, not now, not ever. I think Karl was just asking if there is anything seriously wrong with his camera (the chrome one) and the answer is I doubt it. As far as sending it back, you have no real cause [at least I don't think you do]. What kind of defect would you claim, I'm sure it works fine. I suppose if it is under USA passport, you might be able to ask for the film rewind knob mechanism to be tightened I suppose. But why bother?

>Jay . , jul 18, 2004; 06:12 p.m.

 

>With all due respect Eliot (and I do respect you, your knowledge of Leica is almost as extensive as mine and you also don't seem to feel the need to slather your images all over PN to prove to anyone that you know what you know)

 

Whooooooooooooosh! Do I hear someone inflating a hot-air balloon?

 

No one doubts your knowledge of Leica minutiae, Jay. And since your posts are volunteered, no one has to buy a bookshelf full of expensive books on Leica arcana. You actually ARE more useful than tits on a boar. I consider you the Erwin Putz of the USA!

I have had two M3. Both had a CLA, one by Sherry Kraueter, the other by a nameless local

repairman, who I believe changed/upgraded the advance level spring. After that, the

serviced M3 feels much better, tighter, making film advance a real sexy pleasure!

Compared it to any SLR on the market, no one can touch Leica here. I also had one time or

another own M6 (Wetzler model), M6 TTL and M7. The M7 feels on par with M6 Wetzler.

The M6 TTL had in comparison a very scratchy advance level. They all feel different, all

having their own characters. I think I will have to constantly buying M, just to feel how

different each body taste.