[rollei_list] Re: OT: 35mm RF (Voigtlander Bessa)
- From: Marc James Small <msmall@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 18:14:59 -0400
At 04:39 PM 4/19/06 -0500, Jeffery Smith wrote:
>The Leica M4 came at a time when Leica had decided
>to stop making rangefinders. A year later, they started making them
>again due to demand, and the M4-2 (made in Canada) was the result.
It's a bit more complex than this. The M4 was introduced in 1966 at a time
when Leitz was suffering a significant loss of its skilled workforce and it
was a complex camera to build. Thus, they designed the M5, a somewhat
simplified design with an inbuilt meter, which flopped dramatically in the
marketplace due in large part to its larger size -- a lot of Leica
accessories could not be used on the new body and it is important to bear
in mind that the Leica is very much a system camera with all sorts of
doodads and geegaws.
The M4 was reintroduced in 1974, supposedly being constructed from leftover
parts. Leitz scrambled and brought out the M4-2 in 1978, though that only
lasted for two years before being replaced by the M4-P, which remained in
production until 1987, three yeras after the M6 was introduced.
A mid- or late M3 is probably the most rugged of Leica M's and it has some
neat features, such as the DOF notches in the RF/VF, not found on other
models. But Leitz/Leica has never made a "bad" camera.
For the all of it, though, the best mix of price and durability and
performance is the Prewar Contax II, the camera of choice along with a
Rolleiflex TLR of most of the WWII war correspondents including Capa and
Mydans.
Marc
msmall@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Cha robh bàs fir gun ghràs fir!
NEW FAX NUMBER: +540-343-8505
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