Leica MP serial numbers and sealed viewfinder

johnnyfilmz

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• Mar 9, 2013

• #1

Hi to all-

I'm thinking about purchasing a Leica MP, but have read that some earlier cameras had dust in the finders. Apparently not the same design as the M6, but models with serial #'s past 3xxxxxxx have received the better finder. Can anyone verify this. Thanks.

John

 

Xmas

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• Mar 10, 2013

• #2

Hi
The MP uses a M7 chassis so no IXMOO don't know the sealed finder serial.
Noel'

 

250swb

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• Mar 10, 2013

• #3

I think you will find it is the very early MP's which had the leaky finder, those that also had the M6TTL style dial on the back, so you could just check that and not try to find a serial number list (which are not strictly sequential anyway). On the other hand by now nearly all the very early MP's are likely to have been sent back to Leica for the finder to be upgraded to the better sealed type (like mine).

Steve

 

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• Mar 10, 2013

• #4

250swb said:

On the other hand by now nearly all the very early MP's are likely to have been sent back to Leica for the finder to be upgraded to the better sealed type (like mine).

Steve

Click to expand...

Hi

In some ways Steve is correct but I'd not buy an MP unseen when it is simpler to look through the finder, you might see more then dust....

More gory details here

http://leica.nemeng.com/002bh.shtml

Noel

 

Mackinaw

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• Mar 10, 2013

• #5

Any M-series camera can get dust in the viewfinder. My MP (bought new) has a serial number of 289XXXXX and has no dust in the viewfinder. My old M3, which I bought in 1995, had so much dust in the viewfinder it needed a CLA before I could even use it.

Jim B.

 

250swb

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• Mar 10, 2013

• #6

To add what I said in the previous post mine went back after six months to sort the dust problem out, (serial #288xxxx, bought new in 2003). But there has been no dust in the finder since, so they must have done something to improve matters, although I have long suspected that most of the dust was coming from the inside of the camera itself, as a result of the mechanism settling down and bedding in.

Steve