robbie_caswell Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 My package containing my Beater M2 and Ex+ (pre-Asph)35mm f/1.4 'Lux arrived yesterday, and I eagerly opened the box and put things togeather. Along with my Sekonic I sought out willing victims. My cats always comply, and my niece and her friend had no choice since they were getting free room and board. I found the camera amazingly compact and the lense almost laughably tiny at first (compared to my Nikkors). My first thought were "I paid how much for this paint flaking, brassing, cracked front window, 50 year old camera?" Immeadiatly I thought about shipping it back. Handling: My first attempts at focusing were frustrating but a few hours of constant handling and I have it down pretty good. The viewfinder is truely 10 times better than my old Yashicas. Film loading was a breeze after the first roll was loaded backwards and ruined. Lens: Tiny but solid build. At first I fumbled with the controls but it is very easy to focus (though seems it took somewhat more force to move the focus than other manual/AFD glass I've used). Use: Smooth as silk, everything I expected. Possible issues and questions... 1) I metered with my Sekonic in some backlit situations my two cats.Shot them at f/1.4 and I think I was at 125. The outdoor pic was at f16, but I don't remember the speed. 2)There is a hiccup every ten frams or so... my shutter button wont work. I have to begin the wind process slightly to free it up so I can press the shutter. 3)Front "window" is cracked in half. Is that a big expense? 4)How the heck do I set the ISO in the back? There look to be three different settings. One has a sun emblam, the other a lightbulb, and the thirs is just black. 5) the numbers on the lense corresponding to feet seem to off about 2 feet. I'm assuming that is normal. Please visit my gallery and look at my exposures and see if you think I need a CLA. I loaded some B+W delta 100 and have some 400 in the bag, but I see no ISO 100 mark. Thanks for everyones advice in the past! I truely love the simple approach that this camera offers, as well as the compactness of the total package. Not sure after one day I'm ready to sell off all my Nikon gear, but give me six months and I may be close... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbie_caswell Posted August 6, 2005 Author Share Posted August 6, 2005 Oh yes.. please view my gallery. http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=517402 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesy Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 Hi Robbie, I have a M2 as well and believe me your M2 does not look that bad, except for the cracked window. IMHO the M2 has the silkiest smoothest film advance lever I've ever felt. Anyway, as for the "ISO" dial on the back, you can't set it. It just serves as a reminder the type of film you got in the camera (i.e. tungsten or daylight). Nice pics, by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolaresLarrave Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 Robbie, First off, congratulations! Your well used M2 looks gorgeous, and you did very well by getting that 35mm 'lux. Now... don't worry much about the dial in the back. It doesn't determine anything, as the camera itself isn't metered. As for the lack of ISO 100... set the camera at DIN 21 (if you want), which used to be the European equivalent. My own M3 has strange markings on this dial and, for instance, it does say that ISO 400 is equivalent to DIN 28, when elsewhere it appears as DIN 27. Now... the broken window might be a problem if it allows dust in. Hence, just to be on the safe side, I'd have it CLA'ed, precisely to deal with the shutter problem and nip it in the bud. Do you have questions about metering? I use my Leica MR meter on my M3. The handheld Sekonic I have (a humble L-208) is kinda warped and tends to overexpose. The Leica, however old, works like a charm. See to get one, have it fixed by George Milton in Quality Light Metrics, and you'll see the difference. BTW, your girls' photo does seem to be OOF, but the rest aren't. I like the black cat. Now, what's the trick when you're metering black or very dark subjects? You don't overexpose, do you? Again, congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbie_caswell Posted August 6, 2005 Author Share Posted August 6, 2005 Ahh...so the light meter is calculating all this for me... One more question... how many times do I fire off the shutter to get to the first frame? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbie_caswell Posted August 6, 2005 Author Share Posted August 6, 2005 I guess shooting a backlit black cat as one of my first subjects may not have been a wise first test with the lightmeter. Coming from a old Yashica FX3 with built in meter and a Nikon F5 more recently (only used Nikon for six months) I'm new to this handheld meter stuff ( and serious photography in general) I placed the meter against her with the dome facing me (not protruding) and took the reading (sun behind cat and meter) For the girls I focused on a cord behind the girls and didn't take into account what shooting wide open at 1/30 would do to my picture. A step back or better yet focusing on them would have made more sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braden_barclay Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 I've set my standard at 3 frames before frame 1. This gives me a guaranteed 36 frames on a standard consumer roll. A couple of your cat pictures seem to be slightly misfocussed, or possibly the rangefinder is misaligned? I would agree with the others that if you send it in for a cla then will have an excellent working M2! I had the same cracked window and I remember it being $15 CAD to fix with my cla. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesy Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 I set my film counter to around the "-2" frame position and fire off 3 shots and that should be the first frame. FYI, I downloaded the M2 user manual here: http://www.butkus.org/chinon/leica_m2/leica_m2.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerry_lehrer Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 Rob, There are M2 manuals on the Internet that you can download free. Wind off 2 exposures befor the first frame. Do not live with the cracked window. DAG can replace that. A MR-4 meter should solve your metering problems. By the 'bright markings' on the top, someone had one on the camera. jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbie_caswell Posted August 6, 2005 Author Share Posted August 6, 2005 Actually now that you mention it, when I bring the two images together there is a slight difference in the two images. One is ever so slightly higher than the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braden_barclay Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 robbie, Yeah, I'm sure if it hasn't been calibrated in a long time then it's almost guaranteed to be out. Plus, with your new f1.4 lens you'll want to be dead-on. Send it in before you get too attached to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al_kaplan1 Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 One image slightly higher than the other is annoying but the camera might still focus OK. Check it at infinity and se if they line up side to side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtk Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 Sell that camera and you'll go to hell. Do leave Georgia or Ohio, or wherever that is. You need a real sky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frederick_muller Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 Aha, meter marks! The best thing about that M2 is you's take it out and use it. I just bought a user M2 and it's great. Love the uncluttered 35-50-90 finder. And rediscovering handheld reflected and incident metering is a wonderful exercise in going back to my roots. My only harmless critique is that you might have done better to focus on the lovely ladies' eyes instaid of the blinds! I'd get someone to look at the shutter and film transport mechanism. A CLA would be worthwhile. The external cosmetics of the machine don't matter too much, but it would be a shame to miss a shot because of an unpredictable glitch in the mechanism ... Good luck and have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tod_hart Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 As others have said, the dial on the back is just a reminder. But still useful if you're like I'm getting and don't take a photo for a couple of days and then pick up the camera and try to remember if I've got 100 or 400 loaded. If it's not gummed up inside, it's spring loaded. Press in and turn while holding it in. Then set the pointer to the film speed. The three parts represent Color-daylight balanced film, Color-Tungsten balanced film and B/W film. The distance scale on the lens is more likely to be correct than the rangefinder if it hasn't been checked for awhile. Outdoors with a 35, I wouldn't worry too much about focusing with the RF unless you're closer than about 8 feet, just set the distance scale on the lens with inf. on DOF scale with the aperture you're using and you're ready to shoot quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCL Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 Welcome to the world of Leica seduction -- your shots are very good for a first roll in the camera. The advice for a cla others have given is good...the end result should be a reliable camera for many years to come. Enjoy it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e_b7 Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 hmm, the film winder also cocks the shutter. Are you advancing the film fully before attempting your next shot? If so, then a CLA should correct your problem. Nice pictures and nice camera and lens. I hope you continue to enjoy it and post your results. Also, just so you avoid a little grief in the future, always check that the rewind knob is turning as you advance the film, especially for the first few shots. After loading my M4, I advance the film twice, watching as the sprocket grabs the film and the rewind knob turns. I then close the camera and advance the film twice before attempting any exposures. This has resulted in one useless frame per roll, so I probably need to cut down this proceedure a little. I was burned once before by the film slipping out of the takeup spool. This is after nearly forty years of using many other mechanical 35mm and 120 cameras. duh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_doyle Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 <i>Do leave Georgia or Ohio, or wherever that is. You need a real sky.</i> <p> Hmmm, lived in both areas, saw plenty of beautiful sky. Could be worse, could be San Berdoo... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben z Posted August 7, 2005 Share Posted August 7, 2005 Yeah, quit ragging on Ohio! Go Buckeyes! Go Mud Hens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
35mmdelux Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 The camera looks great as do the babes. Don't worry about setting the iso on the back since it affects nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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