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Rangefinder
Magazine First
Exposure: Leica MP by Stan Sholik
From 1925, with the public introduction of the world’s first “miniature” camera, to the present day, Leica rangefinder cameras have enjoyed a singular reputation, even a mystique, among serious photographers. Until 1925, photographers had few options. They could use boxy amateur rollfilm cameras, but the quality of the photos and the creative options that those cameras provided were rather limited. The other choice for photographers at that time was using cameras with interchangeable film holders and a wide range of creative options.These could take very high quality images but were heavy and cumbersome to use. The introduction of Leica’s “miniature” cameras, which were actually 35mm rangefinders, changed photography. They made it possible for photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson to make high quality photos from a small camera that still provided extensive creative controls. In fact, many of the greatest names in the history of photography used Leica rangefinder cameras and lenses. And many of the most memorable photographs, particularly during the era of the picture magazines, were taken with these rugged, reliable, compact cameras.
Photography and photographic equipment have changed tremendously since the introduction of Leicas. To reflect those changes, E. Leitz, the company that manufactures the Leica (LEItz CAmeras), now renamed after its best-known product, is introducing cameras to appeal to the modern professional market. The great picture magazines are gone now, and press photography is dominated by composite-bodied, electronic cameras. Whether film or digital, the heart of a contemporary camera is the electronics. Virtually all of the tasks these cameras perform are controlled by miniature computers. There are a number of Leica models that fall into that category. Leica’s flagship SLRs, the R8 and R9, have become popular with professional photographers working in a wide variety of fields. Its newer rangefinder cameras, however, have come under criticism by some Leica loyalists for abandoning the original rangefinder attributes of simplicity and reliability. They too were becoming electronic and battery dependent, rather than building on their mechanical heritage.
The Leica M6 introduced through-the-lens (TTL) metering; the M6 TTL added TTL flash control; and the M7 went electronic, requiring a battery to power its automated exposure mode and electronically controlled shutter. The M6 and M6 TTL are now discontinued. Enter Leica’s latest rangefinder, the Leica MP (“Mechanik in Perfektion”), a modern camera of retro ideals. This is actually Leica’s second “MP” model. The first Leica MP (“Professional”) was a special model produced in very limited quantity in 1956 and 1957 for press photographers. It was a special M3 model with a “Leicavit” rapid lever-wind baseplate. Significantly, this baseplate has also been reintroduced.
Like the Leica M6, the MP offers TTL ambient light metering, but in many ways, it’s more of a descendent of the M3 than the M6. Like on the M3, both the top plate and the baseplate of the MP are now solid brass, adding some additional heft for photographers familiar with the already substantial feel of the M6. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but most photographers will appreciate the design changes. The faux leather-grain covering of the M6 has been replaced with an easy-to-grip, sharkskin-like covering, similar to the coverings used on the original Leicas. Other cosmetic changes differentiate the MP from the M6. While both cameras are available in silver chrome finish, gone is the matte black, chrome-plated metal finish on the body parts of the M6. The black MP is painted with shiny black lacquer, designed to wear off. As the Leica promotional material says: “And when, after prolonged intensive use, the black lacquer wears down to the bare brass on some edges and corners, the photographer will know that he or she has shared many memorable experiences with the camera.” Gone too is the distinctive circular red “Leica” logo from the front of the camera. It’s replaced with the Leica name engraved on the top baseplate, as on the original Leicas.
Cosmetic changes to achieve a certain retro styling are certain to be less controversial than the retro rewind knob. Gone is the rapid action 45-degree angled rewind knob with collapsible crank of the M6 and M7. In a questionable bow to tradition, it has been replaced with a knurled knob that must be pulled up to its rewind position, and then laboriously turned to rewind the film. A $179 accessory crank that attaches to the knob and speeds the process is available for the MP, as it was for the M3. In another bow to tradition, film loading has remained unchanged. The baseplate must be removed (revealing a loading diagram), then the film is partially loaded into the camera, the film leader extended and inserted into the take-up spool, then the film cartridge and leader carefully pushed the rest of the way into the body. The hinged rear panel is then closed, the baseplate replaced and the film advanced to the first frame. This works well enough, most of the time.
Taking up the slack with the rewind knob and ensuring the rewind knob turns in the opposite direction when the advance lever is turned becomes a habit. The hinged back panel contains an ISO speed dial with values from 6 to 6400. Film speed must be set for the internal meter to function properly. Settings are transferred to the camera through gold contacts. Despite (or because of, depending on your orientation) these characteristics, Leica rangefinders remain the cameras of choice for close-in, personal, available-light documentary photography. The mechanically controlled, horizontally running shutter is whisper quiet. It supports speeds from 1 to 1/1000 second, in whole-stop steps, plus “B.” Without a mirror to raise and lower or an aperture to stop down, lag time between pressing the release and shutter operation is the absolute minimum, and the process is totally vibrationless. That makes it possible to come up with a high percentage of usable shots for hand-held exposures of 1/4 second or longer. An “off” position on the shutter speed dial eliminates the chance of draining the battery, should there be any pressure on the release button while the camera is stored or carried. In normal operation the meter switches off automatically after 15 seconds. The flash syncs at up to 1/50 second, which is very slow. With no flash automation available by the camera, exposure must be left to the flash unit or set manually. While the MP certainly works with flash, photographers that frequently rely on flash should take a closer look at the M7 that offers TTL flash operation and flash sync up to 1/1000 second. Focusing accuracy is another advantage of rangefinders, and MP has a new focusing system designed into it. While the base distance of the rangefinder remains unchanged, a new type of mirror and an additional lens element increases the viewfinder contrast and clearly delineates the bright-line frames for various focal lengths, even with flair-inducing cross lighting. Three viewfinder magnifications are available on the silver chrome finish MP. The 0.58X magnification yields a slightly larger field for photographers who intend to shoot primarily with wide-angle lenses and for photographers with eyeglasses. The 0.72X magnification body is the Leica standard and the only one available on the black lacquer version. The 0.85X magnification viewfinder is designed for accurate focusing with medium focal length lenses and with Leica M tele lenses. Depending on which Leica lens is mounted and on the viewfinder magnification of the body, the appropriate frame line automatically appears in the viewfinder. The MP automatically corrects for parallax, the horizontal and vertical difference between the viewfinder and the lens at different distances. The viewfinder frame also shows the metering field, LEDs for exposure setting and an LED that lights to indicate a low battery. Metering is accomplished through the lens at the working aperture by adjusting the aperture ring and shutter speed dial until only the central circular LED is lit. The triangular LEDs on either side of the central LED light up to indicate different levels of over- or under-exposure. The internal metering cell reads light reflected off an unevenly-coated spot of white paint on the shutter curtain that corresponds to about 1/2 of the short side of the corresponding frame in the viewfinder. Despite
the utter simplicity of this design, exposure is unerringly accurate,
superior in many situations to far more elaborate, highly touted multi-segment
spot/averaging systems on electronic SLRs. Only a few accessories other than lenses are available for the MP. Supplied with the review camera was the newest and most notable of these, the Leicavit-M manual rapid-advance lever. The Leicavit-M is attached to the camera in place of the standard baseplate, adding about 1/4 pound to the 1.3-pound body and a half-inch in height. A lever folds down from the bottom allowing film advance with the left hand at the rate of at least two frames per second (with practice) without removing the eye from the viewfinder. Left-eyed photographers, who must remove the camera from their eye to use the standard film advance lever, will find the Leicavit-M a particularly useful accessory. It can also be attached to the M7, M6 TTL, M6, M4-P and M4-2. MSRP of the Leicavit-M is $995. A compact motor drive capable of 1.5- or 3-frame-per-second exposure frequency is also available for the MP. With a MSRP of $2595 for any configuration, the Leica MP body is roughly the same price as the M7, or the now discontinued M6 TTL. I confess to being an M6 owner and found little to recommend the MP over the M6. Even the black chrome finish of my M6 is wearing off in a manner apparently acceptable to Leica. While I generally don’t use it for commercial work, the M6 is the camera that travels with me for all of my personal work other than macro photography. The reasons are simple. The Leica is reliable, quiet, not dependent on batteries, but has an amazingly accurate TTL meter. And the three lenses I carry (21mm, 35mm, 90mm) are the finest pieces of glass I have encountered in any format in over 30 years of photography. Yes, there is also a mystique, a sense of somehow being connected to a historical continuum, when you pick up a Leica rangefinder. It is the same mystique as shooting Tri-X in D-76 1:1 and making your own prints. And also the pleasure of using a finely crafted, hand-built tool in a mass-production world. Leica has created limited-edition extraordinarily high-priced collector-edition cameras in the past. These were more for show than for heavy-duty use. The Leica MP is not one of these. It is a solid, professional camera in the finest Leica rangefinder tradition, with just a little marketing hype thanks to its “retro” design elements. Stan Sholik is a contributing writer for NewsWatch Feature Service. He is also a commercial photographer with over 30 years of large format studio and location experience.
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