Robert_Lai

<p>I had a like-new early M7 0.85x which I spent $2450 on, and then sent it to Leica USA to get it fully overhauled, get the optical DX reader, and the MP finder upgrade (to make it flare less often, not flare-free). Repair bill was over $600, so I spent over $3000 on that camera. This was in 2011. Due to financial distress, I sold it in 2013 for about $2200 i.e. $800+ loss in a couple of years.</p> <p>Now I just bought an M7 0.72X from a seller here on photo.net for $1200. Looks like new, and he threw in a virtually new Leica Motor M as a freebie! (Virtually new, because he said he used the winder for 5 rolls of film). Again, it's an early M7 (2nd batch made in 2011), and I'll probably send it to Leica NJ for the full spa treatment because I'm OC like that. (OC = obsessive compulsive).</p> <p>If anyone out there feels like giving up on film, and wants to get rid of their unwanted like-new MP, please give me a shout.</p>

<p>David, the 14397 is the latest plastic cap to come out. B&H charges $26 for this compared to the $20 for the older unlogo'd 14195.<br> The cap that you show with the metal inside is the original one for the M3 / M2. I suspect that this is the one that shouldn't be used on the M5. I've read elsewhere (I can't find the source now), that the later caps have a bevel to not catch on the M5's pin at 6:00.</p>

<p>In Craig Hoehne's masterful text here on photo.net regarding the M5, he makes a comment that the M5 has a special body cap of its own.</p> <p>Reviewing Geoffry Crawley's review of the camera in the British Journal of Photography, he comments on a pin located at 6:00 on the lens mount of the M5. When a lens is mounted, (and shutter wound), the lens bayonet tab pushes this pin in to allow the meter arm to swing up. Otherwise, with no lens mounted (and the pin thus fully extended), the meter arm is safely tucked into is recess in the darkchamber of the camera.</p> <p>I'm in the position of needing a new body cap. Are the current Leica M body caps safe for the M5?<br> I mean body cap number 14195 or 14397.<br> Since we're at it, why is 14397 so much more expensive?<br> Just because it has Leica cast on the front whereas 14195 is plain?</p> <p>Conversely, I do have some original OEM caps that came with my M3 - the metal ones. I'm going to assume that they aren't M5 friendly. But, if someone could clarify the situation for me, that would be great.</p> <p> </p>

<p>I remember those former US Army Jeeps!</p> <p>When I was growing up in Burma in the 1960s, my father owned one. I clearly remember him inserting a hand crank at the front of the vehicle, and giving some hard pulls to get the engine to start. Then he would take the crank out (of the crankshaft?), and stow it inside the car. Then we would go up and down the hills near Maymyo in the jeep. I always wondered as a small child why people didn't fall out of these things, as the doors are vestigial, and there aren't any seat belts or any such devices inside. Also, during the monsoon season, you found out that the cloth roof wasn't entirely watertight either. But, it was a hardy and dependable vehicle.</p> <p>The village owned a steam roller also. When the roads needed repair, they would fire it up, and it would steam away and make the roads nice and smooth again. These were some of the legacies of the British Empire.</p>

<p>As Peter says, use rubbing alcohol first to degrease the repainting area.<br> I use automotive "Universal Black" (not flat) for any retouching. It dries to a slight gloss, and it is very durable. I've tried the Micro-Tools paints, and they are thin. They also don't adhere very well, as they will rub off quickly with normal handling. The automotive paints are far more durable.<br> If the finish is a little too glossy to match the rest of the camera, after drying about 10-12 hours, go over the repainted surface with some alcohol again. This will reduce the gloss until it's almost a perfect match. If you use microcrystalline wax (Renaissance) over the painted surface to protect it, the repainted area will not be distinguishable.</p>

<p>I have the Bessa IIIW with the wide angle lens. Not too many choices for a wide angle 6 x 7 cm format camera, but this is one to consider. The viewfinder on these new Fuji / Voigtlander cameras are superb. They are multicoated, and the RF spot is very clear and distinct. The lens is outstanding too. It is also format changeable to a slightly less wide 6 x 6 camera via a switch inside the film chamber. It has metering AUTO exposure mode for when you want to shoot very fast. The electronic leaf shutter is the quietest of any camera that I've ever heard. It is inaudible unless you are right up against it in a quiet room. My Leica M cameras sound much louder than this. Voigtlander was kind enough to give you an LED light in the viewfinder to let you know when the shutter has fired. With a leaf shutter, you'll have full flash synch all the way to 1/500.</p> <p>In my view, this camera is the medium format equivalent of the Nikon F3 or Leica M7. Fast handling camera with aperture priority AE.</p> <p> </p>

<p>From my experience, expired Fuji films hold up pretty well. Even the 800 ISO material they had a few years ago has held up. I use expired Provia all the time - minimal to no color shift. I'm still shooting provia which expired in 2008. I don't freeze it, just keep it at room temperature.<br> Kodak slide films don't hold up as well, and neither did their color negative films.</p>

<p>To use the motor winder with an M3 - after it has been modified with the correct winding parts by DAG or some other competent repairman - you also need to modify the motor.</p> <p> The round plastic cage on the Motor M (it goes under the wind side of the camera) needs to be removed. This is held in by one central screw only, so it is not difficult to remove. Since the M3 has the film on its own spool with flanges, the film is not going to come off the take-up spool without this cage. Even with the other M cameras, Don says that the round cage is superfluous.</p>

<p>You can also try a magnifier with variable diopter, for example as made by Match optical.<br> I had a 1.15X magnifier, which combined with the M3's 0.91x magnification gives you a 1:1 overall magnification. That means that you could view through the finder with both eyes open.</p> <p>It didn't work out for me because I have astigmatism, which I need corrected. But, if you only need a diopter correction, this is an alternative that is appealing.</p>

<p>In slide films:<br> Fuji Provia 400X - really wonderful rendition, limited grain for a 400 speed film. I still have a few rolls left.<br> Fuji Astia - best skin rendition ever. Provia is almost as nice, but a little bluish for me. I use skylight filters or the Tiffen 812 warming filter to compensate.<br> <br />Kodachrome 200 - great stuff! K64 was a bit dull in comparison. K25 had very high contrast - needed fill flash outdoors if the sun was out.</p> <p>Color negative - I'm favoring Kodak Portra 160 for accurate skin tones again. I've just started trying a roll of Portra 400, so no idea about it yet.</p> <p>Fuji Reala was also excellent and inexpensive in the day.</p> <p>B&W: Ilford XP-2. I don't want to spend forever dealing with dust spots on a scan when I can use ICE on the scanner.</p>

<p>Are you sure that you're not looking at a bubble in the glass? Some of the older vintage lenses have bubbles in the glass. They don't affect anything, and there's nothing you can do about them. If the images are fine, quit worrying.</p>

<p>I use 70% isopropyl alcohol pads - the type sold in the drug stores. The pad helps to get all the adhesive and remaining sticker paper off also.</p>

<p>Clarence Gass repaired mine, and made sure that the 50mm f/1.4 Canon lens that I sent with it would be perfect wide open.</p> <p>Clarence is now retired, but he will still take on projects, and complete them in his home.</p>

<p>Another lens that's prone to rear element damage from careless setting down in the Nikon 28mm f/2.8 AIS. Every used lens that I've ever purchased of this lens had coating damage or a scratch on the center of the rear element from someone setting it down without a rear cap on. The rear element protrudes beyond the metal surround, hence the damage. </p> <p>I finally gave up and bought a brand new one from B&H.<br> I know it's not a Leica M lens, but the risks are out there for many lenses.</p>

<p>Tarted up Zorki 1 with the typical Russian camera case.</p>

<p>I agree Charles!<br> I was looking at the 1/2 price sale for all those Nikon lenses in LTM mount.<br> Yummy clearance sale.</p>

<p>The clear adhesive film that is meant to protect the touchscreen of a PDA (I have old ones meant for the Palm Pilot) work fine. They are transparent, and remove without any adhesive left behind. They also won't pull any paint off like some of those other tapes mentioned above may do, when you decide to change the tape.</p>

<p>I'd like to thank Anthony for such a great nugget of information! I didn't even consider that the M3 could be converted to take a motor drive (besides the unaffordable original MP). Since my camera is currently with DAG, I asked him about this.</p> <p>These are his views:</p> <p>The M4-2 winder is a piece of junk that belongs in a landfill. It should not be mounted on any camera that you don't want to destroy.</p> <p>The latest Motor M and Leicavit a fine, and won't ruin anything.</p> <p>There is no harm to the brass gears of the M3 from the latest motor M. In fact, because it gives consistent torque to the winding it is probably better than thumb winding which is often inconsistent.</p> <p>It requires only a few extra parts on the bottom of the winding shaft / mechanism to be able to accommodate a motor M or Leicavit.</p>

<p>M3 with Zeiss ZM 50mm Sonnar.</p> <p>M3: Big, beautiful finder that never flares, and has the highest linear rangefinder accuracy.</p> <p>ZM 50 1.5 Sonnar: Gorgeous rendering from this lens. I have had other 50mm, including the Summicron 50 collapsible, latest version Summicron 50 (with pull out hood), Canon 1.4, Nikkor HC f/2. However, the rendition from the Zeiss Sonnar is just the best for people pictures with great background bokeh. It has good contrast wide open, which is often lacking from some of the older lenses.</p>

<p>DAG actually does great lens repairs and modifications. He serviced my LTM Nikkor HC 50mm f/2. It had a bent filter ring, and he made it completely round. He also cleaned it, and milled out the mount so that my RF cam will track down to 0.7m (this lens is close focusing).</p> <p>On another occasion he rebuilt my 90mm f/4 Elmar. I didn't realize what had happened until I noticed that my lens (which had the old aperture scales, with f/6.3, 12, 18, etc) now had the standard aperture sequence. DAG said that my old lens had an element separation, so he gave me a new lens head! The "new" lens images far better than my old lens ever did!</p> <p>Don't worry about sending your Nikkor to DAG - he can take care of it.</p> <p>I've also had excellent experiences with Gus Lazzari, if Don's turnaround time is too lengthy for you.</p>

<p>Dabba Smith also wrote a more detailed story of what happened to Elsie Kuhn-Leitz, when she tried to help a Jewish woman get across the border to Switzerland. The Gestapo arrested her in front of her young children, and incarcerated her. "Harsh interrogation" methods were used on her. Finally a large bribe was paid in order to get her out of the hands of the Gestapo. The book is called "Elsie's War". Within the book are pictures of Elsie and her family, and the harrowing prison - even her prison cell in solitary confinement.</p> <p>I had a copy. A Jewish colleage saw it on my desk, and read it. His grandparents had been in the concentration camps. I gave him the book with my compliments, as it already meant far, far more to him.</p>

<p>Short answer: NO.<br> Long answer - you say that you don't like the viewfinder of the M6 (probably 0.72x)? You'll probably hate the VF of the digital Ms even more, as they have a smaller magnification of 0.6x. <br> If you plan to rely upon focus peaking and the screen for composition, then you may as well use a Sony digicam with the appropriate adapter to do the same thing at far less cost.<br> Finally, as you are aware, digital cameras are just computers. Anything that you bought in 2011 is probably now ready for retirement. I know that my Kodak digital camera that I bought around that time is already an antique. It doesn't even take the latest memory cards. Anything that looks state of the art now will look hopelessly outdated in a couple of years.<br> Finally, if you don't use the M6, why not sell it?</p>

<p>I think the control layouts are the same. A Metz flash with the 3502 adapter will give you TTL flash capability with the M6TTL, M7, and digital Ms.<br> Leica also has small compact TTL flash units under its own name (made by Metz, I believe) which are fully compatible.</p>

<p>I don't have any experience with Minoltas, but you can't go wrong with any of the top Nikon or Canon cameras from the manual focus era.</p> <p>I've had Nikon F, F2 and F3 - all very reliable. If you want battery independence, then the F and F2 are probably for you.<br> <br />I also have the Canon FTb - great, basic camera.</p> <p>There are also less expensive variants in each line, but since these top of the line cameras don't cost that much more, I think you would appreciate the stronger and more durable construction of these pro cameras.</p>