If you want to stick to something that will take M-mount glass, another vote for the Zeiss Ikon here. If you aren't wedded to the M-mount lenses, also consider a Contax G2. While the manual focus on it is not as direct a system as on the Leicas, it can be focused manually, or auto if you want. It also gives you aperture, shutter, and program AE as well as manual, and it also has auto parallax correction in the viewfinder. Plus, the lenses for it are some of the best ever made, and cost a fraction of what Leica M glass costs.
Aperture Priority... a luxury! I've got a couple of Bessa T's, the little exposure indicator works pretty well, doesn't add too much to the shot time (like all things, you get used to it). I do have a Bessa R3A, but it's off on holiday to Japan to get the frame counter fixed. It's a lovely camera, nothing fancy, and a joy to use. Stick one of their 40mm f/1.4s on it and you have a great wander-around set-up.
I think my motto is fast becoming "it's just a shutter". I get perplexed by the folks who spend $$$ on a Leica body and then put Voigtlaender lenses on them. Buy two Bessas, some Leica glass, and you've got one colour body and one black and white body at the ready with the best glass... but then again, I've banned myself from looking at Leica bodies in case the pixies get me too ;-)
Graham
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Cosina Voigtlander Bessa series -- Good cameras that seem to be holding up well but often seem to need rangefinder readjustments.
Konica Hexar RF -- Very good camera with a high degree of automation: Auto wind, auto rewind, auto exposure. Also has a full range of manual speeds. Battery dependent.
Zeiss Ikon -- An excellent camera. Battery dependent. Auto exposure with a full range of manual speeds. Excellent viewfinder. Rewind crank is on the bottom of the camera. Light in weight but very solidly built.
The Hexar is a great camera and worth your condiseration. I would caution you that they are out of production and repair parts can be difficult to impossible to find. Additionally, there are only a few repair people who work on them.
Cosina Voigtlander Bessa series -- Good cameras that seem to be holding up well but often seem to need rangefinder readjustments.
Konica Hexar RF -- Very good camera with a high degree of automation: Auto wind, auto rewind, auto exposure. Also has a full range of manual speeds. Battery dependent.
Zeiss Ikon -- An excellent camera. Battery dependent. Auto exposure with a full range of manual speeds. Excellent viewfinder. Rewind crank is on the bottom of the camera. Light in weight but very solidly built.
I assume you have personal experience with each of these? I'm at the point of decision between the Bessa and the Ikon. This would be my first rangefinder, so the issue is the risk of the price. Both seem relatively easy to re-sell if I found RFs untenable for some reason.
But the Ikon's rep seems more solid.
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Chris Klug
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Patterns of LightnDark
I assume you have personal experience with each of these? I'm at the point of decision between the Bessa and the Ikon. This would be my first rangefinder, so the issue is the risk of the price. Both seem relatively easy to re-sell if I found RFs untenable for some reason.
But the Ikon's rep seems more solid.
I have 2 M3 Leicas
(a two stroke and a single stroke). I also have a Zeiss Ikon ZM, I love all 3 of these cameras.
I like the build quality of the Zeiss, the performance and high quality of the Zeiss lenses, the Ikon's long base rangefinder and its meter coupled Copal shutter.
I recently read a scathing report by a photojournalist about his experience with multiple field failures, poor build quality and poor reliability of his M-7 Leica and his similar very negative experiences with a M8 Leica.
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Tom Hoskinson
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leica M7 Alternatives 
Linear Mode
