Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/02/24

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Subject: Re: [Leica] M3 and old M:s
From: TTAbrahams@aol.com
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 00:21:50 EST

I have a M4-P with that conversion. It is a late M4P (over 1650 000), single 
flashsynch and zinc top-plate. Some years ago I had Reinhold Mueller do the 
conversion and it is indeed a nice camera. M4 style load and rewind (although 
my rewind crank is somewhat bent and I cut off the offending piece with a 
Dremel tool)! For the last 6 month this camera has been my bench camera in 
the workshop and has probably had the equivalent of 20-30 rolls of film going 
through it every day.  It still works perfectly though. I think that the M4P 
is one of the strongest M's ever built. One of my other M4P's has been in my 
ownership since it was new (1981) and I cant even imagine how many rolls it 
has endured. It was serviced once in 1990 when a prototype winder unscrewed 
the drive and some pieces fell out from the base when I reloaded film. This 
is one of the old brass top-plate M4P's and it is worn through to the brass 
and even into the brass!
 The M4P to M3 finder conversion is rather pricey, around $6-700 today and 
only makes sense if you can find a M4P cheap and a M3 equally cheap and 
'mate" the two.
Tom A