I have to know what all the fuzz is about, so I have decided to buy a Leica, and a quick scroll through eBay shows me there are quite a few models, but I knew from start that I wanted an M model, which narrows it down a bit, but there are still quite a few “M” models to choose from.
My prize range is around 6.000 – 8.000Dkr ($900 – $1.200), again that narrows it down a lot. So much that it seems like it's gonna be a run down between the M3, M4 and M5.
So now the real search began. I quickly found out that the M3 uses a take up spool, for the film. It states a lot of place on the web, that it's easy to use – once you get the hang of it – and that might be true, but in my world that's a no go, I don't wanna fiddle around what that kind of stuff. So the M3 was out.
Another thing I found out, just as quickly was that the M5 is one ugly camera, I know it's a bit stupid, but it is ugly! And it's also a bit heavier and bigger than the M3 & M4, and that is not cool. On the plus side is, that it has a build in lightmeter. But it was out of the equation as well.
So it all added up to the fact, that it was going to be the M4 that I had to buy. And luckily my local camera pusher – One of many Cameras – had one on the shelf. So I'm now the proud owner of a Leica M4.
Then there are the lenses, but that's a whole other story, I started out simple (and cheap) with a Summaron 35mm f3.5 lens.
I will of course write a “stroll” post about the camera in a near future, once I have once it for a bit.
Here are some of the places I went for info on the matter.
- http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Leica_M4
- https://lavidaleica.com/content/overview-m-system
- https://www.35mmc.com/16/07/2016/leica-m4/
- https://www.cameraquest.com/m5.htm
- https://www.kenrockwell.com/leica/m3.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leica_M3
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