Who of you owns a M2 and can share some wisdom? I am looking to buy from Leica, or from a reputable dealer, as I cannot CLA it myself and am ok with paying a bit more in exchange for some sort of warranty/ability to return the camera just in case.
Extra questions: which lens - collapsible, or 3rd party? And - M4/M6...are they alternatives, I am looking for a no-frills understated travel camera.
Thank you!
(Note that prices below are for US service work. No idea what the European situation is.)
I have an M2 that was serviced by DAG late last year. It's not cosmetically perfect but it's very clean and runs flawlessly. IMHO, the M2 and M5 have the best finders Leica ever made. I chose the M2 over the M3 because I shoot with a 35mm f/2 ASPH Summicron a lot and the M2 shows the proper frame lines for that focal length, which the M3 cannot do without aux goggles. In many respects, the M2 and M3 are kind of the "purest" M series Leicas.
The M4 is a good alternative but you're going to pay nosebleed prices for them these days. I see them selling for over $2000. You can get a decent M2 and pay the $600 for the CLA and still be under that.
I think the quick load feature of the M4 is nice, but it's kind of overrated (my M5 has the same thing). I've never been in such a hurry that pulling the spool from the M2 to load was much of a burden. Ditto the rewind knob which I've never found to be an issue on the M2 contrary to much of the internet chatter.
I similarly think the M6 is a very expensive alternative that doesn't do much more than add a meter - and you can get a handheld meter to one that fits into the flash shoe for a lot less than the difference between an M2 and M6 price.
I have a collapsible 50mm 'cron in LTM that I also use on my M2 with an adapter ring. I also have a V3 50mm Summicron M. Both have been CLAed and both are terrific lenses but they have a slightly different look. The V3 is slightly sharper and contrastier but I don't see the difference as night and day. If I didn't have a IIIF body, I wouldn't own the collapsible.
My recommendation is to buy a camera that is cosmetically clean with good vulcanite and mentally add $600 for a CLA to see if it's worth the money. My M2 was made in 1961, so a CLA 62 years later seems reasonable. Either that, or find one just CLAed with proof of the work, which is how I got mine.