Re: lightmeter for an old M

["Jeff Segawa" <segawa@netone.com>]

>I may go the route of purchasing a pre lightmeter M body. Can anyone
suggest a
>few good lightmeters on the market? I could then go to some local places
and
>request to look at some. Also, what are the common prices for these
things?
>
Around $50-$600+ . On the bottom end, you might consider something by
Gossen or Sekonic. The Gossen Scout is very small and light and needs no
batteries. For around $250, you can start looking at Sekonic digital
models, usually with incident light-metering domes. Spot meters occupy the
higher price realms. Unless speed is of the essence, I prefer spot meters
for most situations. I use these in combination with the Zone System.

>...And a highly subjective question....what is the BEST  pre lightmeter M
to own? I
>had thought of the M4-P. 

Had I found a nice one at an attractive price, I'd have gone this route
myself. As it was, for my 3rd and current M, I got myself an M4, as it was
a bit cheaper at the time. I think the M4 has more of the classic Leica
look, along with most of the modern conveniences. It also has a self-timer,
which can be handy if you've ever gotten to the top of a mountain, only to
realize that your cable release was sitting at home. I've also had good
luck with the maligned M4-2 (my first M), but I admit that from the start,
it had a rangefinder problem, though 200 or so dollars later, it was fixed
and did not trouble me again. The Leica that I most regret selling was a
late-production M3 which I had purchased for $550. Having snapped it up
sight unseen without any preparatory research, I loved the classic looks
(those levers and knobs are gorgeous) but was dismayed by the clunky film
loading and lack of rapid rewind or 35mm framelines. Today, I'd have hunted
down a rapid film loading conversion and probably could've worked around
the other two issues just fine: For $550, I could've laughed all the way to
the bank :-) But I was kind of impulsive, and was just eager to get my
money back at the time: Chalk that one up to experience.
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