The shape, size and weight didn’t bother me, although I wasn’t overwhelmed by its look. However the new film handling was just not workable for me in the end, and why I sold it after a year. It could no longer accommodate IXMOO cassettes which I used a lot, and it was incompatible with Fuji film at the time. Fuji film spools didn’t have the lugs on the bottom of the spool that the M5 required to rewind film, which I found out about after shooting my first roll of Fujichrome in the camera. Fuji didn’t modify their spools to the ‘standard’ design for, I believe, 5 or so years after the M5 was introduced.

I got an M4-2 as soon as it came out; it turned out that cost-cutting didn’t satisfy me either.

Many brilliant photographs were, of course, taken with cameras without meters. The CL was nice, but, for me, a Leica M is just about the perfect size. A lot of these things are down to taste, of course. I still have my M5 and CL, all part of my collection, of course. It is obvious from your photos, JP, that you have well and truly mastered the M5.

William

Thanks, Tim, for your comment. I hope you have a lot of fun with your “new” M5. If there is a battery brand you can particularly recommend, please do share your experiences here in the comments section. That’s what the supportive and friendly Macfilos community is all about. Hope to see you back here, Jörg-Peter

Dear David, thank you so much for your both comments. I never thought you disliked the M5 or the CL. And I know how much you love the CLE! What you are writing clarifies a lot, especially because why I was not able to see the arm with the measuring cell through the mount. That was the mechanical sensor, of course. I did not elaborate on the CL in this article because I covered this one (as well as the CLE) in my M Files series earlier. But you are right, both the cameras belong together in many ways (historically, technically, in terms of design). Finally, the M5’s wonderful shutter speed dial is unique in its usability. That is, the Olympus solution with the ring on the camera side of the camera was at least as good. I always wondered why these concepts were never really adopted. Let’s leave it at that, thanks again, David, for sharing your knowledge. JP

Dear Bill, for a 1984(?) Photokina exhibition model of the M6, thus one of the earliest ever made, I would even trade in the M5 🙂. But seriously, it is fascinating what you are writing. I can imagine that the M5 meant a major improvement for all slide film shooters (and it were many back then…). And I still don’t understand why it is so neglected or even depreciated by many Leica “experts”. JP

Great to read, Gordon R. Brown, that there are some more active M5 users out there. I wish I had discovered it years earlier. I hope your beautiful kit will give you pleasure for years to come. Jörg-Peter

Dear Emanuel, thanks for adding this. I also found light metering to by very reliable. And good to know that the “missing” (if ever) frame lines can be added. Jörg-Peter

Dear Dunk, thanks for adding to the article with this comment. Repairability and spare parts procurement are certainly the critical points when it comes to buying an M5. It is definitely a good idea to make a well thought through decision. The outcome can, in my opinion, both be yes and no. Maybe some good copy at a good price pops up for you one day. If not: You will make wonderful images even without an M5 😉. JP