Leica M5 - IMPRESSIVE FILM CAMERA

Leica M5 - IMPRESSIVE FILM CAMERA
In this weeks video we take a look at my Dad's 1971 Leica M5. It's been through a lot! I used it for two years in college and and then two years of freelance news work. It has seen its share of use. Not much time wise but it saw more use than most people's cameras see in a life time.

So I sent it off to have the battery compartment converted to 1.5V (which I did not need to do) and have a CLA done. It turned out I had to have it done twice as the first person did a horrible job.I decided to send it off to Sherry Krauter at Golden Touch do the job and it came back just fine.

Leica Repair in In the USA:

Sherry Krauter - Leica Specialist
Phone : [phone]

DAG - Leica Specialist
Phone: [phone]

Youxin Ye - Leica Specialist
phone:[phone]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*ORDER THE NEW FUJI X-T5 AT ADORAMA*

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Affiliate Links below
More information about Fujifilm zoom lenses

Fujifilm prime lenses

AMAZON Affiliate LINKS FOR GEAR I USE EVERYDAY

Backpack and tripod gear

Video Gear

#leicam5 #leica #leicam

[johnfalloon]

Sherri fixed my Leica M5 - replaced the mercury battery and a total clean up. She did a fabulous job. Sherri "loves" the M5!!!!

[studiosnch]

I own one, bought at a lower-than-market price from a friend who's saving to buy a car, and I've been using it with my LTM glass (specifically the 45mm f2.8 and 50mm f2 Super Rokkors, and the "Japanese Summilux" Canon 50mm f1.4, alongside the Industar-61 L/D 55mm f2.8) fitted with an LTM-M mount adapter. And honestly, this setup has served me well and has taught me the beauty of the M system – without giving in to the fad of the M system.

Additionally, the M5 is not a camera that you choose to use, the M5 is a camera that chooses you to use it, and to those it chooses, it blesses them with a unique M shooting experience that's never replicated anymore: easy shutter wheel access, a center-the-needle exposure indicator, well-balanced size (allows for use of heavier lenses without upsetting the camera's center of gravity), and lower-then-usual price due to low demand.

Howver should you buy or use one, know that it is the hardest M camera to be maintained: its parts are rare candies and only a few repair facilities accept to repair the body. Nonetheless, being the last camera built using the adjust-and-fit method of construction, the M5 is a sturdy body that demands to be used and loved for years to come.

[colinosullivan]

Kirk I love these m5 videos. How special that you got that from your father. That is wonderful. Glad you got it all serviced up. I loved this. Cheers

[MARKLINMAN]

Such a good story here, i own an M6 but ALWAYS loved the M5, You sent it to the right person Sherry is THE BEST! Thank you for this video.

[wheezzy]

I just picked up a M5 a few weeks ago and love it. I upgraded from a M3 because I wanted the in body light meter. I have a shoe mounted meter but I couldn't stand how it looks on the gorgeous leica bodies.

[arieldavid]

Great video!! I love my M5, I also had it CLA’d by Sherry about a year ago, she did an excellent job!

[scottgray]

Kirk, another nice video. I look forward to your vids, i have quit following most of my channels as they have turned into nothing but drone and hiking videos, with a couple minutes of photography. Please stay with it.

[amplifierheadache]

I just started at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, this is a great look into a work flow. I also acquired a M5 earlier last year. I have the same version as you have. I went back to film when I was in junior college a few years back and I really love the whole process, I also have converted several of my peers into film addict's so I guess one could blame me for a few cents of the rise in price of film recently. But I also tend to find and shoot expired film quite a bit. Some frames look great, some look like Pollock used them as a reference. Glad I found your channel.

[richmatthews]

Very nice mate, I totally freaked out thinking my M5 light meter had gone kaput but hand advice from Don at DAG suggested I use a pencil eraser to clean the battery contact, and thank goodness it worked ❤

[watersignphotography]

Interesting video as always Kirk. Look forward to seeing those new Fuji film simulations 👍

[nevillewatkins]

Looking forward to seeing how you get on Kirk.

[keithpeeples]

Great video, thanks for posting. I have been using the Nikon ES2 film digitizing adapter on my D780 for almost two years. I have digitized several thousand Kodachrome slides from the 1980s. I will be working on my film negatives next. I have purchased some film recently and will hopefully be exposing some new images to digitize. I will have my film developed, but I'll digitize the negatives myself with the D780. I feel my negatives are a permanent record. All of my photos of my grandchildren are digital and I worry about the permanence of this. I plan on shooting some film portraits of them soon. My Kodachrome slides are a permanent record of my children growing up between 1984 and 2007. I don't have this for my grandchildren. I know of several instances recently where some families lost 10 years worth of digital family photos due to improper cloud or hard drive storage or other issues. Several museum curators have recently commented that digital photography may cause us to lose 40 years or more of history because of storage issues. I may go back to film for my landscape work as well. I like having those negatives, being able to improve them in lightroom and print them on my Canon pro 300 is a great option. I think in many ways the limitations of film are actually a good thing. Love your channel.

[Hektormydog]

If you can get past the non-traditional M-series body shape/size, this is the best M-series Leica ever made - features and built quality. Like you mentioned, finding a good repair service can be a problem, and Sherry Golden Touch and Don DAG are the only people I would trust for working on them.

[chenmunn]

Thanks for your video Kirk! I agree with you that film photography gives that unspoken experience. Would you say that using the M5 gives that extra 'feeling' and satisfaction because of its unique features like large shutter dial and metering? I'm eyeing the m5 too!

[fairstamp]

Hi Kirk, Vey interesting video and so happy to see you using your dad's camera after it's been fixed correctly after all these years! I'd like to see a comparison photo(s) between the Leica M5 and a Fuji X-T5 or X-T4. As far as I'm concerned, I'm sticking with my Fuji X-T4 with a 16-80F4 zoom lens. I bet your dad is looking down at you with a great big smile!! 😀

[vinyljunkie]

Wish I got one of these when they were still mildly affordable, really like the design of the M5

[timbrandi]

Kirk, many thanks for this helpful video! Just one question on the battery: I likewise cannot fit the 1.5 V Varta battery (typ V625U/LR9) into it. The screw does not close. Which other manufacturer did you eventually find that makes 1.5 V batteries that fit? Greetings from Germany! Tim

[dpn]

I have not been able to find a new 625 1.5 volt battery that will fit in the M5 battery compartment (I've tried several versions). What version are you using? Thanks!

[pepelepew]

Only Leica I would ever buy, but prices in the last 2 years got really high…great camera doesn’t deserve the hate it gets….can you hit up your Fuji contacts and ask when the new x100v is coming? 🙏😅

[ductritran]

M5 better than M6 and M7 to me provide the meter is working . Sold all my M film cameras but not the M5 and still working 100%