Leica M4 Film Camera

The Leica M4 was the 1960s incarnation of a dynasty that started in 1954 with the legendary M3 and still continues in 2006 with the M7 and MP variations. Once you wrap your hands around this 35mm film camera, wind the advance and click the shutter, you're at least intrigued if not thoroughly hooked. Bring the camera to your eye and peer through the viewfinder. It's like seeing through a bright window pane not the restrictive "tube" through which all SLRs force you to look. An unblimished Leica "M" should present a bright image with clearly discernable frame lines showing the actual picture area. You'll notice a small central patch which is the rangefinder patch where correct focusing is ascertained. Here are the ingredients that make the Leica M so alluring: an uncluttered design, a very seductive feel and a uniquely quiet shutter. Nikon and Canon both build fine instruments but neither equals the mystique of a clean, well-maintained Leica M-body. The M4, M4-2 and M4-P series of bodies were the last Leica M-bodies built that require NO batteries of any kind: the M4 was and is a mechanical masterpiece! VERY clean, unmarked and fully functioning bodies should sell (in 2006) for anywhere from US$750 to US$900. I sold my M4-P as part of a cash build-up to be able to acquire an M8 with which I am still wrestling (learning?).