Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/11/15

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Subject: [Leica] RE: Original Leica MP
From: lowiemanuel at yahoo.ca (Emanuel Lowi)
Date: Mon Nov 15 06:06:48 2004

All original Leica MP cameras of 1956-57 were supplied
by the factory with a double-stroke lever advance,
like all M Leicas made until very late in 1957 when
the M2 was made.

Indeed, the reason why Leitz Wetzlar decided to match
an M camera with a Leicavit was that double-stroke
film advance -- deemed too slow and not smooth enough
for action photography. Once the M2 was made and its
single-stroke advance applied also to subsequent M3s,
the MP production was stopped.

Old MP cameras that have single-stroke advance have
been modified.

Another lesser known fact about the old MP is that it
has steel winding gears (not brass), to better
withstand the added pressure of the bottom winding
Leicavit. For this reason, winding an old MP has a
slightly crisper feel to it than an ordinary M3 or M2.

Other than the name and the fact that Leica is again
making a product called Leicavit, the new MP camera
and winder share few features of the older camera. In
my opinion, the new camera is the better photographic
tool.

Emanuel Lowi
Montreal

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