Leica M2

benjiboy · Jan 2, 2015

JimCee said:
No, the Leica M2 is not the best camera ever made. This camera on eBay is the best camera ever made, it's still available and you should buy it before the auction ends.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEICA-MP-BL...524370304?pt=Film_Cameras&hash=item418c28fb80

Then, you will certainly have the best camera ever made. (At least the seller's description would make you believe it's the best - "This is a golden opportunity for THE FINEST Leica camera ever made. ".)

Jim

The lunatics have taken over the asylum .

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Xmas · Jan 2, 2015

John Earley said:
The M2 may be the best camera made until frame 36 is exposed.

You can get fast rewind and fast load kits.
With commercial cassettes you normally get 38 shots.

JimCee · Jan 2, 2015

benjiboy said:
The lunatics have taken over the asylum .

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I think my post was warranted. Asking what camera is the best "ever made" is, in my opinion, a dog whistle for every possible candidate. Every camera is the best ever made if you can take a photograph that's worth viewing and keeping!

Jim

Richard S. (rich815) · Jan 2, 2015

JimCee said:
(snip) Asking what camera is the best "ever made" is, in my opinion, a dog whistle for every possible candidate. (snip)

Jim

Yup, and it becomes like a karaoke bar: hardly anyone is listening to anyone else's singing and just waiting for their turn to sing...

frank · Jan 2, 2015

Richard Sintchak (rich815) said:
Yup, and it becomes like a karaoke bar: hardly anyone is listening to anyone else's singing and just waiting for their turn to sing...

Great analogy.

Ko.Fe. · Jan 2, 2015

I don't think so about M2. SLRs are better for average, which preveals. RF is for small group only and for something nearby. I like my M, but it isn't 2, for practical reasons.
36 exposures are too long, I cut my bulkload around 24.

Ian Grant · Jan 2, 2015

Never used an M2, I was very happy with my M3 which I keep meaning to start using again, I very rarely shoot 35mm these days but I have bought some 35mm Agfa colour film

Ian

benjiboy · Jan 2, 2015

JimCee said:
I think my post was warranted. Asking what camera is the best "ever made" is, in my opinion, a dog whistle for every possible candidate. Every camera is the best ever made if you can take a photograph that's worth viewing and keeping!

Jim

What I meant by my remark is that the dilettante, anal retentive collectors who may buy the camera to fawn over occasionally and keep in a safe and it will probably never see daylight or take a picture again.

frank · Jan 2, 2015

benjiboy said:
What I meant by my remark is that the dilettante, anal retentive collectors who may buy the camera to fawn over occasionally and keep in a safe and it will probably never see daylight or take a picture again.

I find this kind of negative remark disappointing.
Who the hell cares what others choose to do?
Are you a nosey neighbour type as well?

NB23 · Jan 2, 2015

Out of all my Leicas, present and past, the M2's distrorted viewfinder jumped at me the very first second I brought it to my eye. It's not even the best in the Leica line. Such distortion is a bit of a disgrace to Leica's myth, actually. What would make it the best among all the Leicas is not very clear to me.

What amazes me is that people call this or that lens/camera the best just because they own it, regardless of what is really the best.

Richard S. (rich815) · Jan 2, 2015

NB23 said:
Out of all my Leicas, present and past, the M2's distrorted viewfinder jumped at me the very first second I brought it to my eye. It's not even the best in the Leica line. Such distortion is a bit of a disgrace to Leica's myth, actually. What would make it the best among all the Leicas is not very clear to me.

Hmmm, your post made me go grab my M2 and see what distortion you're talking about. Looks pretty good to me. Care to elaborate? Maybe I'm missing something here...

benjiboy · Jan 2, 2015

frank said:
I find this kind of negative remark disappointing.
Who the hell cares what others choose to do?
Are you a nosey as well?

Those are the kind of people who would buy this Leica, and no I'm not "the nosey neighbour type" as you so insultingly suggest you know nothing about me and I find your presumption offensive.

NB23 · Jan 2, 2015

Richard Sintchak (rich815) said:
Hmmm, your post made me go grab my M2 and see what distortion you're talking about. Looks pretty good to me. Care to elaborate? Maybe I'm missing something here...

I'm maybe extra sensitive to this but I clearly see barrel distortion that my other Leicas don't have. It's maybe explained by the fact that the M2 is the first 35mm viewfinder camera and they later corrected it (M4 and on)...

Richard S. (rich815) · Jan 2, 2015

NB23 said:
I'm maybe extra sensitive to this but I clearly see barrel distortion that my other Leicas don't have. It's maybe explained by the fact that the M2 is the first 35mm viewfinder camera and they later corrected it (M4 and on)...

Thanks for clarifying. You could well be right, but I don't see it enough to make a difference or effect me. Then again I'm an eyeglass wearer and frankly other than for focus I'm not all that concerned with absolute precise and exact framing when I shoot my RF so a little barrel distortion does not bother me much either.

NB23 · Jan 2, 2015

Richard Sintchak (rich815) said:
Thanks for clarifying. You could well be right, but I don't see it enough to make a difference or effect me. Then again I'm an eyeglass wearer and frankly other than for focus I'm not all that concerned with absolute precise and exact framing when I shoot my RF so a little barrel distortion does not bother me much either.

It's just that other Leicas don't have a distortion this bad, and this would hardly make the M2 the best M, let alone the best camera period.

Bill Burk · Jan 2, 2015

When I use vintage/funky cameras and come back to the M2, I am tempted to agree with cliveh that M2 with 35/50/90 is the best.

-Parallax corrected finder with framelines automatically-selected per lens (Contax doesn't)
-Winding is smooth and cocks the shutter (Many vintage cameras do not cock shutter / winding can be rough and inconsistent)
-Shutter fires at the exact instant you release it (Literally an SLR requires some milliseconds to lift the mirror)
-Combined viewfinder/rangefinder with clear and easily visible focus patch (Many vintage cameras have scale focus or separate finder/rangefinder)

So it's really nice to have it all in one place with the M2.

eddie · Jan 2, 2015

I don't know what the best camera is, but I'm certain there would be times I could make it seem mediocre. This is why I don't understand the purpose of questions like this.

Bill Burk · Jan 2, 2015

Well, yes Eddie for any specific purpose you might find a different camera meets the needs better.

Soon as I venture to re-create Bill Brandt's wide-angle studies the M2 becomes utterly useless.

Among the potential substitutes for the "police camera" I am considering a fisheye for Pentax Spotmatic F. Now THAT also deserves consideration as the perfect 35mm camera. (Though I could dispense with the meter and nominate the Pentax Spotmatic SL).

Soon as I venture to experiment with contrast masking in printing, the 4x5 format is more attractive.

eddie · Jan 2, 2015

That's my point, Bill. As we all have different visual goals, we all have different tools (cameras) which are the best for our aims. For Clive's work, it's apparent that the M2 is the best. It shows in the work he posts. For someone who wants to do grand landscapes, it won't be.

frank · Jan 2, 2015

benjiboy said:
Those are the kind of people who would buy this Leica, and no I'm not "the nosey neighbour type" as you so insultingly suggest you know nothing about me and I find your presumption offensive.

True, I do not know you, and I'm sure you're not as judgemental and negative as your post suggests. You labelled a group of people, who you do not know, dilettantes and anally retentive. Isn't that presumptive and rude on your part? That's what I'm calling you out on.

Again I say, why should anyone care what others choose to do, unless it involves breaking laws, befouling the environment, or destroying an historically significant artifact. What someone else decides to do with a camera they bought is frankly none of your business, and doesn't deserve your derision. Live and let live.

Bill Burk · Jan 3, 2015

Hi APUGuser19,

I only have the Retina I which doesn't have framelines. I kept missing shots with the Kodak 35, cutting off heads and focusing wrong. But the Retina I - even with its tiny viewfinder - seemed to frame fairly well.

Bill Burk · Jan 3, 2015

eddie said:
That's my point, Bill. As we all have different visual goals, we all have different tools (cameras) which are the best for our aims. For Clive's work, it's apparent that the M2 is the best. It shows in the work he posts. For someone who wants to do grand landscapes, it won't be.

Different visual goals - exactly. cliveh lives the Decisive Moment teachings of Henri Cartier-Bresson. I live in the darkroom and look for beauty in the print. For me, the Decisive Moment is "sometime during my lifetime". Though cliveh and I both revel in the photograph where everything comes together, for the moment of exposure I usually put the camera on a tripod and stand back to allow the shutter to fire.

cliveh, a few times you talked about SLR experience as "looking through a tunnel" - I wonder if you feel that way even with the OM-series from Olympus and the Spotmatic family from Pentax? I know that the "big bright viewfinder" was a casualty of modern technology. But the Pentax is 1:1 with a 50mm lens, and the OM-1 is larger than life-size.

Just as everything in the M2 system comes together... Once SLR systems added f/1.4 lenses (to make the finder bright enough to see) and instant-return mirrors (sorry Contaflex you missed both those features). And the "automatic" apertures (which stop down after you release the shutter). All those features made SLR "as useful" as the M2. I think it was Fred Picker who said the best camera was the Leica for 35mm and 50mm, and the Nikon for telephoto.

Bill Burk · Jan 3, 2015

APUGuser19 said:
The Retina IIa doesn't have framelines either.

Without parallax-corrected/accurate framelines there is always a risk of composition mistakes "cutting off people's heads". Here are some thumbnails illustrating the problem: Taken with Retina I and some awareness to "lift up" when moving in close to people.

Bill Burk · Jan 3, 2015

I took the M2 out today, but really don't think I took any good pictures. Must get out more often.

Richard S. (rich815) · Jan 3, 2015

Bill Burk said:
I took the M2 out today, but really don't think I took any good pictures. Must get out more often.

Did you use a lens?

Leica M2

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