By all traditional logic, the Leica M-A (Typ 127) ($4,750, body only) shouldn't exist. It's a purely mechanical camera, a throwback to the days when digital photography was as much science fiction as intergalactic travel is today—and, of course, its "memory card" is a roll of 35mm film. Shockingly, it's not the only 35mm camera that Leica produces—the company still makes the M7 ($4,995) and MP ($4,995), both of which feature in-camera light meters. But if your preference is an old-school, purely mechanical camera, the M-A is right up to your alley. It's the closest to buying a brand new Leica M2, M3, or M4 as you can get today.

Design and Features

The physical design of the M-A ($5,195.00 at Adorama)  is nearly identical to M bodies dating back to the 1950s. If you look closely you can spot differences between it and the original M body, the M3, but you'll have to have more than a passing knowledge of classic M cameras. The basic size and shape of 35mm M cameras hasn't changed significantly in the past 60 years; the M-A measures 3 by 5.4 by 1.5 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.3 pounds without a lens or film.

The camera is weighty, especially when you consider its size. But its construction is beyond solid. The top and bottom plates are solid brass, finished in silver or black chrome, depending on your preference. Our review unit came in black chrome, and is nearly devoid of markings or logos, giving it a similar look and feel to the digital M Monochrom ( at Amazon) . The silver chrome version of the camera features the classic Leica script logo engraved on the top plate, but lacks any sort of markings on the front. When coupled with the fixed film advance lever and button rewind system, its appearance mimics that of Leica's first M-mount camera, the M3. More modern Leica film bodies, including the M6 and the current M7 model, use a film advance lever that's hinged in the center, and an angled film rewind crank.

Black chrome doesn't wear away over the years in the same way that black paint does, which Leica uses for some models like the digital M (Typ 240) ($2,969.00 at Amazon) and 35mm MP. Whether or not you find this a good thing is a personal preference. Having owned both black paint and black chrome Leica cameras, my preference is for paint. As it wears away it exposes the brass underneath, giving the camera a lovely patina. Chrome is much sturdier and won't wear in the same manner, although it can pick up light scratches and scuffs over time.

Controls are minimal; the top plate houses a shutter speed dial, the shutter release, and a film advance lever. Aperture is controlled via the lens. The front houses a button to release the lens, a lever that engages the film rewind mechanism, and another lever that allows you to manually select the frame lines that are displayed in the optical finder. The M-A will automatically show different pairs depending on which lens is attached—28mm and 90mm, 50mm and 75mm, and 35mm and 135mm lines are paired together—but you can preview the field of view of a different lens using the lever, a helpful tool for visualizing a scene without making a lens change.

The optical finder is a 0.72x magnification, which shows just a little bit of area outside of the 28mm frame, with a bright, high-contrast rangefinder patch at its center. If you wear eyeglasses when shooting you may struggle a bit to see the entirety of the 28mm frame at once—I do—but there are screw-in diopters available that will let you shoot without glasses, if your prescription allows it. Leica doesn't offer a new M-A with a different finder magnification, but you can still order an á la carte MP or M7 with a wider 0.58x finder or a higher magnification 0.85x finder. The former is a boon if you're primarily a wide-angle shooter, the latter helpful if you usually shoot with a longer lens or use lenses with very wide apertures. The higher magnification of the 0.85x finder improves focus accuracy when shooting with a lens like the Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95, or even a more modest lens of a longer focal length like the APO-Summicron-M 90mm f/2 ASPH. . As it stands, I had no issues focusing with my Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH. ($4,395.00 at Amazon) at its widest aperture when paired with the 0.72x finder used by the M-A.

The film advance is one of the best you'll find in any camera. It's buttery smooth, not unlike an M3. The gears inside of an M3 are brass, and many attribute the feel of its film advance to its internal construction. Leica switched to stainless steel gearing for later models, including the M-A, as its strength was required to pair with a motor drive. And while Leica doesn't make a motor drive that's specifically intended for the M-A, it can be used with the Leicavit M quick winder, as well as the Motor-M, Winder-M, Winder M4-P, and Winder M4-2.

The cloth shutter is practically silent; it makes the faintest clicking sound as it fires. And the lack of a reflex mirror minimizes vibrations when compared with a 35mm SLR. The discrete operation comes at a price; the shutter can only fire as quick as 1/1,000-second, which is less than you'll find in late model 35mm film cameras and digital SLRs—many of those can fire at 1/4,000-second or 1/8,000-second. If you're shooting in dimmer conditions, or with very low speed film, this isn't a huge hindrance. But if you're out on a bright day with an ISO 400 film like the roll of Kodak Tri-X that Leica includes in the box, you won't be able to fire off a shot at f/1.4 without the aid of a good neutral density filter. I find that one that cuts out 3 stops of light is an ideal match for these conditions.

Neutral density is also key when working with flash, as the M-A can only sync at speeds of 1/50-second or slower. There's a center-firing pin in the hot shoe, so you can mount an on-camera flash or a wireless remote trigger like the PocketWizard PlusX ($89.00 at Amazon) . That's also a PC sync socket on the back, right underneath the shoe, for a wired connection to an off-camera flash or studio lighting.

There's no in-camera light meter—you'll need to buy an M7 or MP if you want that feature in a new Leica film body. Depending on how forgiving your film is in terms of exposure latitude you can simply use your instincts, or the Sunny 16 rule, to set exposure. I opted for the compact, modern Voigtlander VC Meter II ($225), which slides into the hot shoe and meters exposure via a reflective method, so you can simply point it at your subject and press a button to take a light reading. You can also use an incident meter, which is more precise but requires you to get up close to your subject to take a reading. The Sekonic L-398A Studio Deluxe III ($218) is a modern model that, like the M-A, doesn't require any sort of batteries to operate. If you're a smartphone user you can use the Lumu incident meter, which plugs into your phone, or a free app like Pocket Light Meter for iOS.

Why Buy New?

The M-A is a throwback—it looks and feels like a classic M. It takes its design cues from the M3, but with the 0.72x finder from the M2 and M4, and the hot shoe and standard PC sync socket from the M4. You can find a good, working example of any of these bodies for under $1,000 without too much trouble, and if you want to get something more modern with an in-camera meter, good copies of the M6 are readily available for under $1,500. It should be noted that the viewfinder in the M-A is clearer, brighter, and more resistant to flare than you'll find in a vintage M. (If you're wondering why I'm skipping over the M5, it's because it's the one camera in the M series that departed from the standard design of its predecessors and successors. It's a divisive camera, but one that has its share of devotees.)

But why spend close to $5,000 on a camera that's, for all intents and purposes, just a modern-day copy of a classic that's readily available on the used market? Assuming that you don't consider a few thousand dollars to be a trivial amount of money, it can be a hard decision.

I bought an M3 in 2009 for $600. I knew it was a little rough around the edges—when I got it, the seller advised me that it was likely in need of a CLA (Clean, Lube, Adjust) due to the shutter speed dial hitting a bit of a rough snag when trying to move in or out of the bulb exposure setting. It was also clear that there had been a spot repair on the shutter curtains at some point in the camera's life. But it was a fair price, even considering the condition, and the finder was relatively clear and bright.

I sent the camera off for repair work. The total cost for the CLA, which included brand new shutter curtains, a new eyepiece, a new leatherette covering, and a few other odds and ends, was about $700. But when it was done, the repair shop (Golden Touch, one of the two best places to go for Leica repair in the U.S., the other being DAG Camera), informed me that it was good-to-go for the next 15 years. 

Of course, there's the off chance you'll get a used camera that's developed a problem that even the best repair techs can't figure out. A friend's M6 developed a light leak that, for whatever reason, didn't show up on every single frame. He sent it in for repair, and the tech couldn't nail down where the problem was. Weird problems like that are more scary in anecdotal form than they are prevalent in the grand scheme of things, but it's something to be aware of.

Because there aren't a lot of folks who really know their way around an M doing repair work, and many of them are getting up in years, buying a new camera gives you some confidence that you'll be able to unbox your Leica and shoot with it, worry free, for years to come.

Conclusions

It's safe to say that only Leica would be bold enough to release a purely mechanical, meterless 35mm body in today's market, yet alone give it a price tag as high as the M-A (Typ 127). It's a niche product, but one that's so well engineered that it's hard not to marvel at it. Rangefinder devotees may be viewed as dinosaurs or oddballs by those who lust after the latest full-frame Canon D-SLR, but Leica still caters to its core audience. Personally, if I was going to spend this much on a new 35mm camera, I'd go with an MP, but photographers who cut their teeth on older Leicas will likely prefer the M-A's clean viewfinder, which is free of any sort of projected shutter speed or exposure information. If you opt to buy a new M-A, rest assured that it's a camera that will, with occasional maintenance, last you a lifetime. That's not something you can say about any digital camera sold today.

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