[Leica] Pedro's questions on lenses for the M's.

[Thinkofcole at aol.com (Thinkofcole@aol.com)]

    Pedro asks [1]if you can change lenses on a Leica M camera as one can 
with an SLR camera [2]  if all the postings about non-Leica lenses mean that the 
lenses are being used because they cost less and [3] how you adjust what you 
see through the viewfinder. These queries suggest to me that he is new to the 
Leica universe. 
    For his benefit , a Leica camera is usually sold without a lens. The 
early ones -- going back to 1930 --have screw mounts, so they must be used with 
screw mount lenses. The newer ones -- some made as early as 1957-- have  a 
bayonet mount. Therefore they require lenses with a bayonet mount.
    You can buy an adapter for the Leica M [at a cost of about $100 or less] 
so that screwmount lenses, originally intended for the older Leica cameras, 
can now be used on a Leica M, which has been made in a number of different 
models for the last 50 years. The first was the M3; the latest are the M7 and MP.   
 
    Old Leica lenses are mostly screwmount; some also come in bayonet mount. 
Older non-Leica lenses are almost always screwmount. Newer lenses for the 
Leica -- made by Leica-- are bayonet mount. Newer lenses for the Leica -- made by 
others -- are either bayonet or screw mount. 
    Usually -- but not always --a  non-Leica lens is less expensive. Judging 
by the postings, many avid Leica M owners are experimenting with 
non-Leica-made lenses and actually prefer them. Moreover, several manufacturers -- mostly 
Japanese -- are now competing with Leica and are producing very fine equipment 
-- Leica-like cameras and Leica-like lenses --that produce excellent photos 
[at lower-than-Leica prices.]
    As a result, you can buy a Leica M camera or a Leica-like clone and 
choose among dozens of lenses to use on the camera. 
   As to how you adjust what you see through the viewfinder, the answer is a 
bit more complicated. Lenses made by Leica automatically adjust what you see. 
Lenses made by others may or may not adjust, depending on the lens. Leica and 
others, therefore, sell viewfinders that slide onto the top of the camera. 
Those made by Leica are sold separately and are expensive. Those made by others 
often come with the lens and are less expensive. -- bob cole