Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/02/14

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Subject: Re: [Leica] M4-P with M4 screens!
From: Stephen <cameras@jetlink.net>
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 1998 09:03:24 -0800

thibault collin wrote:

> Hello luggers,
> I just saw an M4-P with a straigh M4 viewfinder!
> It only has screens for 35, 50, 90 and 135 mm lenses!
> Is that a strange fruit or a modified stuff?
> Thanks for your help!
> Thib.

   Dear Thib,

I hope it will be a long time until we see a Leica Rangefinder with
focusing screens in their viewfinder; but then with Solms, you never
know.

SLR have focusing screens.   Leica Rangefinders have projected
brightlines.

A good repairman can do pretty much anything you want with your
brightlines within a compatible family.   The M2/M4/M4-2/M4-P/M5/M6 can
be interchanged so far as the brightlines are concerned.

IE you can add the six framelines of the M6 to the M2, or cut back the
six framelines of the M6 to the three of the M2, or anywhere
in-between.    The M3, M6J, M6 HP all have finders which are apparently
distinct designs.

You can also have a top repairman put the later RF/VF into a M3, or you
can also put the M3 finder into the M6 (while of course losing the
metering).    Not many people are willing to go to the expense or
trouble, but it has been done.       Several people on the LUG have
talked about the M6J finder retrofitted into a M6, one of those is for
sale now.   In the future, a popular modification is likely to be
retrofitting a M6 HM finder into a regular M6 body.    I have a page at
my site on RF/VF which might be interesting to you
http://cameraquest.com/leica.htm

Your M4-P was most likely modified privately.  IF you have a very early
number M4-P, production officially started at 1543351, perhaps it was a
prototype or test camera.

Regards,

Stephen Gandy