Leica M4-P
Ernst Leitz Canada Β· Leica M mount Β· 24Γ36mm on 35mm film, loaded through the base Β· 1981
our own findingAlso known as: Leica M4-P Β· Leitz M4-P Β· γ©γ€γ«M4-P
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black chrome | Leica M | 1981β1987 | β | The majority of 24,970 cameras |
| Silver chrome | Leica M | 1980β1987 | β | The minority; the first block of 2,000 in 1980 is chrome |
| With the M6 rangefinder | Leica M | 1984β1987 | β | No separate figure published |
| 1913β1983 (70 year) | Leica M | 1983β1983 | β | 2,500 cameras (Leica Wiki) |
| Mount Everest | Leica M | 1983β1983 | β | 200 cameras stated, in a serial block of 195 numbers |
- A half-frame M4-P exists. Leitz Photographica sold one in its 45th auction, lot 126, for β¬43,200 against a β¬24,000β26,000 estimate β the lot note calling it a "Very rare, original Hal[f]-Frame Leica M4-P, one of the very few examples made by Ernst Leitz Canada for testing purposes", engraved 18x24 and Half-Frame on the top plate, with the film counter running to 80, "from the usual serial number range 155XXXX" and provenance from an ex-ELCAN employee. No figure is given for how many were built, and this entry's variant list does not carry it.
- Leitz Photographica catalogues the black M4-P under order number 10415, printing it in the lot titles themselves ("Leica M4-P black 10415"). The same 45th auction puts numbers on the two finishes: ordinary black bodies made β¬1,920 and β¬1,800, while three chrome 1913β1983 anniversary cameras made β¬2,160, β¬2,400 and β¬3,600. The anniversary edition outsells the standard camera it is built from, and the chrome finish is the scarcer of the two.
How to tell them apart
- Six frame lines β 28, 35, 50, 75, 90 and 135 β shown in three pairs: 35/135, 50/75, 28/90
- Vinyl leatherette covering, the first Leica not clothed in vulcanite
- Brass top and bottom plates on early cameras, zinc on later ones after the M6 arrived
Black chrome:
- Black chrome
Silver chrome:
- Chrome finish
With the M6 rangefinder:
- Cameras after serial 1642551 carry the finder later used in the M6
1913β1983 (70 year):
- 1913β1983 inscribed on the right shoulder of the camera back
Mount Everest:
- Everest symbol centred on the top plate
- Serials 1586371β1586565
- With the M6 rangefinder: The M6 entered production in 1984 while the M4-P was still being built, and the later M4-P bodies got its rangefinder. A late M4-P is optically an unmetered M6.
- 1913β1983 (70 year): Dated from the Ur-Leica prototype of 1913 rather than from the Leica I of 1925, which is why Leitz has anniversaries in both 1975 and 1983.
- Mount Everest: See this entry's own finding: the block cannot hold the stated edition.
Serial-range notes
- 1642551
- From this number the M4-P carries the M6's rangefinder.
- 1586371β1586565
- The Mount Everest edition β 195 consecutive numbers for a stated 200 cameras.
- 1649649
- Flagged inside M4-P numbering as a black M6 prototype.
Specifications
- Format
- 24Γ36mm on 35mm film, loaded through the base
- Finder
- Combined viewfinder and coupled rangefinder, parallax corrected Β· 0.72Γ magnification Β· 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 75mm, 90mm, 135mm framelines Β· automatic, in pairs β 35/135, 50/75, 28/90 Β· automatic parallax correction
- Shutter
- focal plane, rubberised cloth Β· 1s β 1/1000 and B; flash sync at 1/50
- Designed by
- Heinrich Janke β camera Β· Hans-Kurt Uellenberg β camera Β· Bernd Nickel β camera
- Weight
- 545 g
- Dimensions
- 138 Γ 77 Γ 36 mm
- Country
- Canada
Figures we worked out rather than found: 24,970 cameras across seven years, against 16,000 M4-2s in three Β· The Everest block spans 195 numbers, five short of the 200 cameras attributed to it
Where sources disagree
- Production years
- 1981β1987 (Leica Wiki)
- 1980β1986 (camera-wiki)
Better supported: 1980 for the first block, 1987 for the last
The Leica Wiki's own serial list opens with a 2,000-camera chrome block in 1980, before the introduction date it prints.
What reviewers say
- Aman (35mmc) (blog) β Setting it against a Leica CL, he prefers the M4-P for its much larger rangefinder patch and full M base length and concludes that "the M4-P provides a better 'Leica' experience, with it providing the same essence as the other mainline Leica rangefinders", while granting that the earlier brass-topped bodies flare in the finder where the CL does not. single source, unconfirmed
History
The M4-P is where the modern M finder arrives. The M4-2 showed 35, 50, 90 and 135; the M4-P adds 28mm and 75mm and displays all six in three pairs β 35 with 135, 50 with 75, 28 with 90 β which is exactly what an M6, an M7 or a current Leica shows today. Everything else is the M4-2: made in Canada, no self-timer, motor coupling in the base.
It is also the camera where the materials changed. The M4-P is the first Leica covered in vinyl rather than vulcanised rubber, and its top and bottom plates start as brass and become zinc partway through, after the M6 entered production. Those two changes are where the argument about βthe last real Leicaβ usually gets made, and they are worth knowing about before paying a premium for an early body.
The M6 overlapped it by three years, which produced an oddity: from serial 1642551 the M4-P carries the M6βs rangefinder, so a late M4-P is optically an M6 without the meter. For a photographer who does not want a battery in the camera, that is the most interesting thing on this page.
Two editions close it out. The 1913β1983 cameras, 2,500 of them, mark seventy years from the Ur-Leica rather than from the Leica I β which is why Leitz celebrated an anniversary in 1975 and another eight years later. And 200 Mount Everest cameras were made, with an Everest symbol on the top plate and serials given as 1586371 to 1586565. That range holds 195 numbers. Either five of the two hundred sit outside it, or the edition is 195 and the round number is the one that got printed.
This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap β but no human wrote these sentences.
Photographs
.jpg)
Live listings
The listings collector hasn't run for this family yet β check back soon, or search the marketplaces directly meanwhile.