The images look nice, don't get me wrong, but at least on the web I still don't see the advantage of the MM over, say, an M8/9, 5d2 or D800 carefully converted using SilverFX. I'm not trolling or anything, but I don't see it.
You don't even need to go up to D800.
This one is from my D700 with a second-hand manual 2/35mm AIS Nikkor. Hand-held.
In the end, I think it all comes down to how you care to process and what you like in pictures. I've watched this thread since it started, and the more I see, the less 'different' and superior the Leica product appears to me, and the thought of losing the great digital advantage of both colour and b/w on the same metaphorical roll, the more demented the Leica manifesto behind the MM appears to be.
Yep, you may have the free pennies and you may like the rangefinder style - odd how the two likes seem to run together - but for me, even with shitty eyesight now, I'll stay with Nikon.
For what a used D700 and some ordinary manual Nikkors might be worth today in
cash terms, I don't expect you could buy even a single Leica objective. Hard to see where you'd be better off in photographic terms.
This shot was worked on an ancient Photoshop 6 setup on XP, no other effects filter programmes or similar used - I don't have or want them.
Rob C