they go for less:

recent Ebay sale
link

Not at all worth the money they will charge you. These old camera's are indeed not worth a lot of money, and can be bought near mint for a 50 GBP / Euro or less. I got a near mint MX a few weeks ago for only Euro 25 (including the 1.7 prime!) and the seller even shared the shipping costs.
I got an MG for Euro 7 with nice parts (I needed it for the top part of the wind lever that was missing on another M and for the screen on a black ME - it also came with the frequently missing rewind lever and with the round slot where the motordrive attaches). So just look around on local internet markets and ebay. Especially all the variants of the M's are offered very frequently for very low (in case of parts cameras) and relatively low prices (for ex and near mint). Must admit that it is not easy to replace the screen since you have to dissable completely the pentaprism within the mirrorhouse - and before you can do that you have to take out the electronics. If you are not up to do that, best is to sell of your cam as a parts camera and buy another one.

It's a 1932 Leica original factory conversion for full synchronized flash, done in 1951. The dial around the shutter speeds dial provides synchronization for all the different flash bulbs at that time available. Leitz had a chart that time with all the factory upgrades that were provided. Note that a factory upgrade like these costed almost half the price of a new camera. This one is still a II but there are uprades with slow shutterspeeds (III) and selftimer.
My leica got also a new shutter, since the old one couln't be synchronized.

I too like the old Sovjet lenses, have a bunch of Jupiter 3 and Jupiter 8 lenses. Never tried the Jupiter 12. But I can vouch for the Summaron, tack sharp and nice looking on a Barnack Leica.

Of course 'serious' was meant to get your reponses

Dear fellow members since I am a long time rangefinder user, I prefer the rangefinder camera a bit more than a slr, but in terms practical use, I think a slr wins with respect to macro and (strong) tele (more than 90mm). But if I must compare seriously, ok then...

I must disagree with respect to ergonomics and usabilty: the rangefinder, in this case a Leica is more pocketable than a slr camera even if a lens is attached to the camera. Further, did you ever look trough the viewfinder of a Leica? Much brighter than any slr viewfinder. Ever heard the sound of a Leica shutter? the Leica is much quieter than the loud M-pentax: therefore the rangefinder makes it possible to take sharp pictures at much lower shutterspeeds - and during picturetaking your view is not interferred by a raised mirror!
In case of the ME super, I don't like the use of the pushbuttons but prefer a normal shutter speed dial, like the one in the MX and Leica.

last point, although it is hardly worth mentioning: there is of course not a Pentax lens that is comparable in terms of build quality and - most important - optical quality with a Leitz lens - but I admit that this is not an honest compare since the Leica is targetted at quite a different 'market'.

...But I do like M-pentaxes, since they are nicely made and small..and if I want to use a slr I prefer these small instruments (if I am not shooting with a friends D-700). In fact I don't rule out any type of camera... the camera is not important, it is the one that takes the picture...

What you will experience when using a rangefinder is that many times you will make different kind of pictures than with a slr, since indeed it is quite a different shooting style.

just another Leica as a teaser: all M-pentaxes are heavier and less pocketable than the below Leica

Well, if you like comparisons, here's another one with a more serious camera

Nice thread!, here's another picture for comparison, showing that the ME is a bit smaller than the MX

found on a local market

If you like the MV, which I also do, than also have a look for the - I believe last in the M-series - MG. Nice thing about the MG is that you can see in the viewfinder which shuttertime is selected by the camera. Further there is no big difference with the MV (and I believe no big difference eigter to the ME as well).
Enjoy!

Hello, my second M-Pentax, an MV1 that I just got some days ago in the mail, appears to have no top cover on its widing lever. I know this might be a long shot but just try if some of you might have a parts camera with such a part still left. In that case I would be most interested. The below image shows the parts missing: in the picture it is nr. C139 and its retaining ring C8.

Thanks for the responses Frogfish and Merryhampton. How does the aperture work after the replacement with the Leitax K mount? Is it still posible to measure light with open aperture or are you measuring stopdown?