tony_salce Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Hello all, I am just about to purchase a beautiful early M2(button rewind) with the smaller window. Does anyone know why the smaller window was used and what effect, if any, it has in operation compared to other M2's with the normal window. Regards, Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_r._fulton_jr. Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 No idea. Never even heard of such an M2. Can you post a photograph of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love4leica Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 What John said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_boyle3 Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Tony, I have a button rewind M2, #938xxx. It's a great camera and feels a bit better than my M4. Never noticed any difference in the windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_a Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Are you talking about the black mask that sits right behind the screw-in eyepiece? In most M2's those have a smaller rectangular opening compared to the later M's, which have a larger opening and have the appearance of a barrel on its side. If so, those small masks can be changed out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lp lim Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Is this the small window M2 you are looking at?<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Blackwell Images Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 The windows on the older M2 cameras are not smaller. When it came out the M3's center window had ground glass. Due to the wider .72 mag finder (a completely different RF design compared to the M3), the M2 window was redesigned so it would collect more light. The plastic windows we are used to seeing today (with the light capturing ridges faced out) were placed in the M2 from about 960,xxx and have been seen in every M camera since (but not the M3). “When you come to a fork in the road, take it ...” – Yogi Berra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emanuel_lowi1 Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 In fact, the earliest M2 bodies have middle windows which are made of glass and show a finer lined pattern. The later M2 bodies and most subsequent M cameras have middle windows made of plastic. This may have been an early cost-cutting measure. Although the lined windows (vs. M3 type) are supposed to channel the light differently than the plain M3 glass -- and this is supposed to work better with the .72 finder that has dominated since the M2 came out -- it remains unclear if this is really necessary. Witness the latest MP3 camera, with a .72 finder and a plain M3-type middle window. Leica Solms has said they did tests and found absolutely no difference in illumination, so they went with the M3 type middle window to remain faithful to the original MP styling, despite the .72x finder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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