Leica M4 to MP?

I’ve had my Leica M4 for a couple of years now, its my most used camera, and I love it, so why was it I started to get the itch to get a different M body? Ironically I think the reason I want to replace it, is because I enjoy it so much…

Perhaps I should try to explain myself?

The M4 came to replace my Hasselblad as my go-everywhere camera. Prior to this, the 500cm was my most used camera, I didn’t have any other film camera’s while I was using that, I didn’t feel like I needed them, but as my hikes got longer, and my pack weight got lighter I found myself wanting something more compact, that was just as enjoyable to use.

A few camera systems were explored, from the Fuji GW670, to various Nikon’s, but none of them quite had that solid mechanical feel I enjoyed from the 500cm, until I got the M4…

I have always preferred using SLR’s to rangefinders, even now I still do, the world just looks so cinematic and beautiful through ground glass, and that’s why have still be fleeting between the M4 and my F3, but the time has come to thin out my collection of cameras. After all, I can only use one camera at a time, and i’m tired of arguing with myself over what camera i’m going to use!

I have decided I would like to focus on using one camera system for most of my work.

One of the obvious advantages to the all the Nikon’s i’ve owned (aside from the original F) over the M4 has been the internal light meter, and coming from the 500cm, i’m very used to using a handheld one, but it can be nice to have one less thing to juggle around in your hands. Now I can hear a bunch of people saying ‘just sunny 16 it’, and yes sunny 16 is an an option, as-is being able to estimate exposure settings, which I can do when i’ve been shooting a while, but it is nice to be able to fall back on a meter when its required, and this was when I started looking at the Leica MP.

Another point of consideration was age - my M4 being constructed in 1966, has seen a fair few rotations around the sun, if I were to have a ‘forever camera’, something with a few less miles on the clock wouldn’t be a bad thing.

At this point I had decided that from the currently produced Leica’s, the MP was the one for me:
internal light meter - check
similar design and construction to the M4 - check
fancy knurled rewind knob - check

I found my MP secondhand from a camera shop in the south of England, and based on the condition of the paintwork (the black paint is renowned for showing scuffs easily) it looked like it had either spent its time in a cabinet, or in its box, it certainly didn’t look like it had spent any time swinging around someones neck and actually taking photographs.

Its also a 2019 construction model, so a fair bit younger than my 1966 M4.

So there we have it, my new camera, and one I intend to have for the rest of my life. My first big trip with it was New York City, and I ended up breaking it in by shooting 16 rolls of film over there, so expect a post about that trip in the future.

Now I have to go sell a bunch of stuff, including my M4 to attempt to financially recover from this purchase!