[Leica] Beat up M2s.

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

On Mar 18, 2009, at 6:09 PM, Leina wrote:

> just wait for the M2, excellent point and I've been
> waiting for many months to find a decent body and matching lens, I  
> don't
> know what is going on but it seems that there are only super mint  
> bodies
> or trashed bodies but not much in between.

The M2s are almost 50 years old. Collectors who own M2s keep them in  
plastic freezer bags on the closet shelf and never use them. But most  
of the M2s have had hard use and are almost ready to collect Social  
Security. That explains the bimodal distribution in condition. If you  
find a good working M2, don't worry about its appearance. Missing  
vulcanite, scratches and slight body dents will not affect the  
picture taking ability. If you are contemplating an M2 just be sure  
that the finder is clear and the rangefinder images in the finder are  
visible. The action should be smooth and the slow speeds work. If  
those are OK, then a minor CLA should bring the camera to full  
function. If you are an appearance freak, you can recover the camera  
for $2. (Contact me for details.)

Leica M lenses have a portion of mounting flange cut away. Depending  
on how much of the mount is cut away determines which finder frames  
will be displayed. The M3 shows 3 frames, 50 mm, always visible, a 90  
mm frame and a 135 mm frame. The M2 also shows three frame lines, a  
35 mm frame line, a 50 mm frame, and a 90 mm frame. Since the M3 did  
not have a 35 mm frame, 35 mm Summaron and Summicron lenses intended  
for the M3 featured "goggles," really negative lenses mounted atop  
the 35 mm lens which reduced the magnification of the finder so that  
the built in 50m mm frame showed the field of view of a 35 mm lens.  
The mounting flange cam is the same as that for the 50 mm lens since  
no adjustment of the finder frame is necessary. If a 35 mm lens  
intended for the M3 is mounted on the M2, the 50 mm frame line will  
be displayed. When Leica introduced the M2 with a 35 mm frame line,  
it used the same mounting cam that would activate the 135 mm frame  
line on the M3. Thus if you use a  M2 35 mm Summaron without goggles  
on the M3, you will see the 135 mm frame. Confusing, isn't it.

So what I would do is buy the M3 kit. Get an auxiliary finder for the  
35 mm lens. Switching the eye from focus to the finder is no big  
deal. It's what screw mount Leica owners did for 50 years. Shoot a  
lot of pictures. If you are lucky enough to find a good user M2, grab  
it. It never hurts to have two Leica bodies.

Larry Z