Intro to the Leica M camera - Leica M2

Transcription:

Dan Tamarkin here from Tamarkin Camera in downtown Chicago to talk a little bit about the Leica M camera. We have here a Leica M2 with a 50mm Summilux f/1.4 lens. Both were made in the 1960s. The M2 is a great camera for demonstrations like this because of its simplicity and how many features it shares with the other later Leica models and also the earlier M3.

There's a lot of things that all film Leicas have common. For example, you have your shutter, film advance. Shutter speed dial goes from Bold to one second all the way up to 1/1,000th of the second.

You have a shoe for an accessory or flash synchronization. You have a rewind lever knob. The viewfinder through which you frame your images. You're looking through this little piece of glass here.

You have three windows that you need to keep you hands clear from when you're focusing. A viewfinder window, a window that brings in the light for the rangefinder and a third window that creates a little focusing patch inside the viewfinder, so that when you're looking through here you have a little rectangle that's a double image and you bring the double image together by focusing.

When you've got the double image into a single image, you're ready to make a picture. Also inside the viewfinder, our little bright line frame lines that show you what you'll get because you're not looking through the lens-you're looking into this little piece of glass, and so you're looking here but the lens is here.

So, these little frame lines, which can be changed with the lever that's on the front of almost all Leica cameras, the little frameline selector level, It will change what you see in the viewfinder. The Leica M2, for example, has 35mm, 50mm, and 90mm frame lines inside.

Back door to the camera, base plate, which on all Leica film cameras opens up a little film spool comes out. You have your film pressure plate on the back door, which we're going to remove for purposes of demonstration. You have the shutter of the Leica M camera in action. but in order to have a better look at the camera, let's take the lens off. You press this little button down. All Leicas lens have this bayonet mounting system.The little red dot help you line it up, clicks into place, press the button, turn, and the lens comes right off.

It's the simplicity and accuracy of the Leica M system, as well as the quietness of the shutter, that makes it so very popular. One curtain opens, and the second curtain follows behind. Those are the times. You have speeds on the M2 from bowl, which allows you to keep the shutter open as long or short as you like, one second, half a second, quarter, eighth, fifteenth, thirtieth, sixtieth, 125th, 250th, 500th, and finally, 1,000th of a second. Amazingly accurate.

Let's get the back door back on this thing, get it ready to roll. We have other videos on our YouTube channel that show you how to load these cameras and how to use them. We're happy to make videos for anybody who has been questions, so do let us know

Call us at (800) BUY-LEICA, (800) 289-5342

Voila! Ready to roll, Leica M2.