Little Known Facts & Speculations:
The Leica M4-P Half Frame (HF) is real! Supposedly, only 10 were made in Midland Canada. This Leica M camera is extremely rare, thought of as a myth.
The lore behind this camera’s invention is still a mystery. One big theory is a cruise line commissioned these cameras for operational use for family photos upon entry of the vessel.
Fun fact: The Leica M4-P HF is the second Leica Half frame Camera. The first is the Leica 72 Screw Mount camera Leica IIIc Body [Prototype].
Shooting with the Leica M4-P Half Frame:
The half frame image size is 18×24 instead of the typical 36×24, resulting in a portrait (vertical) oriented image instead the normal landscape (horizontal) orientation. For many M camera users, this can be a bit disorienting at first and takes a roll or two to adjust to the crop.
Since this camera is splitting a single frame of 36×24, it effectively doubles the amount of images per roll of film from 36 exposures to 72 exposures and theoretically lowers the frames resolution. This allows photographers to focus on making many singular photos or create intentional or serendipitous diptychs using the full 36×24 frame.
The viewfinder in the Leica M4-P shows frame lines for 28mm/90mm, 35mm, and 50mm with their half frame crops. The crop is approximately 2x and translates to:
- 28mm = 56mm
- 35mm = 70mm
- 50 = 100mm
The first roll of film I put through the camera was the new Leica Monopan 50 and was interested in the diptych aspect of the half frame experience.
This low speed black and white film proved to be challenging at first since this was the my first time using this film stock and was unfamiliar with how it would handle various lighting conditions. About half way though the roll, I abandoned the goal of intentional diptychs and started to focus on singular images, leaving the diptych up to chance.
In hindsight, I should have used a film stock I was more familiar with as the first roll to minimize the learning curve of the M4-P HF’s modified frame lines. With that in mind, the next roll I loaded into the camera was the old reliable: Kodak Portra 400 (a film stock I used regularly with my Leica MP.) During this roll, I mostly focused on individual images.
To my surprise, it was much more liberating to use a familiar film stock as I wasn’t focused on getting correct exposure and could really pay attention and fully adjust to the modified frame lines. I was able to readapt certain habits, such as zone or range focusing, I formed with my Leica M to the to the M4-P HF and breeze through the roll with ease.
To get a second opinion on the Leica M4-P HF, we sat down with our friend Michael Maximilien to share his insight and experience with the camera.
Interview with Michael Maximilien (aka Max):
Michael Maximilien (aka Max) is a San Francisco / Bay Area based Software Engineering working in A.I. In his free time, he makes photographs ranging from street, portraiture & fashion, as well as still life. He has a passion for Leica cameras, both film and digital and is an active member of the Leica Society International (L.S.I.).
- What were your initial thoughts about the Half Frame M4-P?
Sean had shown me a version of this camera a while back and I’ll admit I did not understand its value until I tried it; and more importantly realized that you get double the number of shots per roll. And with some of the modern Leica lenses (35 mm APO-Summicron-M) the results are almost indistinguishable from full frame.
Maybe another reason I gravitated toward the M4-P HF is that earlier last year I acquired an M4 in black paint finish. I absolutely love this camera. The M4 is often considered the last pure analog camera from Leica — although the M-A is also fully analog and just as good if not better. But in any case, I found myself using the M4 often last year as I practiced shooting without a light meter.
The M4-P HF is all the goodness of the M4 (similar feel and features) but with double the shots.
- What did you like and not like?
My favorite aspect is that it looks and feels like an M4 and the counter window is as visible as all other Leica M analog. Which is quite something since it has to show double the numbers. But then again I should not be surprised as Leica optics are bar to none.
Least favorite aspects of the camera are two folds: First, the film / ISO reminder on the back. The Leica M4 (like M3 and M2) has a more functional rotatable wheel that is useful. With the M4-P HF you need to write the ISO and film. This is easy if you happen to have a sharpie in your bag but if not then remember until you get home.
Second, is something that modern Leica analog cameras have and it’s a clearer viewfinder. For instance the one you get in the modern MP, M-A, or reissued M6. Once you use these then all the other viewfinders will not be as good. Leica will upgrade (at a price: both time and money) the viewfinder on some of your old analog cameras (if you ask nicely) but I wished I did not see or know about the difference. And because the M4-P HF is special, it’s unlikely they could do it for that camera. I have not asked, yet.
- How do you think this camera came to be?
I am not sure. However, after various discussions with Sean Cranor and Leica Society International (LSI) members, my best (educated) guess is that some executive at the Leica Midland Canada (ELCAN) decided to do it as a pet project. One needs to remember that the Leica M4 literally saved the company after the failure that was the M5 and the switch to reflex cameras in the industry —- Leica was behind in releasing the R model.
My guess is that riding on the success that was the M4-2 and then M4-P, Midland folks decided to add a half frame camera to the mix which should have Leica to expand their customer bases. However, I have no confirmation nor sources for this theory… I will however, try to find more info in Montreal as I am sure some of the Leica executives will be present. And what better place to dig some details on a Canadian Leica model.
All of Max’s images are unedited and were developed and scanned by Nice Film Club.
Follow Max: @maximilien.color and @maximilien.bnw
Contact Sheet Landscape Photo Experiment:
After a few weeks of using the Leica M4-P HF and speaking with Max about his experience with the camera and sharing his contact sheets, I was re-inspired to revisit the idea of making a diptych… but with a twist.
The idea was simple (or so I thought), shoot 1 roll of film to make one landscape photo with the contact sheet. I knew that a typical contact sheet for 35mm film is 6×6 (6 strip of 6 frames) or 7×5 (7 strips of 5 frames). The half frame equivalent would be 6×12 (6 strips of 12 frames) or 7×10 (7 strips of 10 frames).
In order to not waste film and confirm if the math was correct, I did a test with the Fujifilm X-Half, a digital half frame camera. This camera has the ability to produce a digital contact sheet when using the film simulation mode. This allowed me to confirm that the idea is possible but not with a wide focal length.
While the digital contact sheet from this camera was helpful, it’s actually backwards. It begins at the bottom right and progresses up to the left versus a traditional 35mm film contact that starts from the top left and progresses to the bottom right. This camera also produced 7×10 contact sheets instead of the 6×12 I had in mind. I was able to quickly confirm that a wide or even a standard focal length lens would not yield the result I was looking to execute. I had to rethink my approach.
I had forgot to mention that there was one last focal length on this camera: 90mm (see frames line images referenced above). This had to be the answer since the frame would be small enough to segment a landscape into individual images to create 1 larger image, similar to how a billboard is printed. So I mounted a Leica 90mm f4 Elmar Collapsible lens and loaded a roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 and headed to one of San Francisco’s iconic landscapes: Twin Peaks.
Success! – well… almost. My spacing was off by 1 frame. But ultimately I was able to achieve close to what I had in mind and am satisfied with the results.
Final Thoughts:
The Leica M4-P HF maximizes value per roll while engaging photographers with though provoking compositions by utilizing the singular frame, creating diptychs, contact sheet photos, or even changing lenses. With most half frame cameras, there is a notable loss in resolution and depth of field due to their optics. However, the Leica lenses seemed to do a great job of maintaining the resolution of the half frame. Both Max and I could not see any noticeable difference from a full frame of 35mm film. We both agreed that this camera was joy for portraits due to the default orientation.
Aside from the adjustment period adapting to the modified frame lines, 72 frames felt like a long time. On the flip side, this could be a benefit especially if you are prioritizing volume while maximizing a single roll of 35mm film.
We also have have to address the elephant in the room. The Leica M4-P HF is a rare, expensive, and unique M camera that was never in production. Modern day alternatives such as the Pentax 17 and Fujifilm X-Half or classics like the Olympus Pen-F are decent values for a similar experience.
While the origins of the Leica M4-P HF remain a mystery, Max and I both agree it would be amazing to see Leica make an official limited production run or even an updated version using the current Leica film M bodies. How likely that would be, we don’t know. However, even paying tribute the M4-P HF as a crop ratio in future digital M cameras would suffice.
We would like to thank our friends over at Underdog Film Lab for developing and scanning the film for this article and video. We would also like to express a heartfelt thank you to our friend Michael Maximilien for taking the time to share his thoughts and experience with the Leica M4-P HF!