Is the MP "tropicalized"?

[ggirino]

Hello everyone,

I found here the following statement:


​

"The camera is meant to be used in environments where no other camera will function. It is sealed from dust and moisture and constructed to fully function without batteries (meter will not work of course) and in extremely Hot/Cold/Humid/Dry-Dusty Environments."

With regard to the "sealed..." part I think I also read something similar somewhere else but I found no official reference to the MP being "tropicalized", that is, weather proof to a certain extent.
Can anyone here say anything sure about this issue and, maybe, give some reference?

Thanks,
Lino

 

[RayPA]

Good question! Especially since I plan on taking mine on vacation with me to central America. I'll check my documentation when I get a chance.

🙂

 

[visiondr]

I believe Simon Larbalestier has done a lot of shooting in tropical climates. He would be a great resource on this question.

 

[santino]

thats indeed a good quesrtion. get a nikonos and you're on the safe side 😀 *joke*

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

I believe Simon Larbalestier has done a lot of shooting in tropical climates. He would be a great resource on this question.

My MP has behaved itself so far in hot humid conditions. As I recall the early versions of the MP suffered from poor seals on the eyepiece (later rectified by Solms). My M6 TTL (0.85) did suffer from paint bubbling (Leica UK did offer to replace the top plate under the warranty) and poor battery life. I think the best sealed M camera was the Leica M4 KE-7A i also think there were M2 and M3 version's as well. Stephen Gandy would be a much more informative source.

 

[Bill Blackwell]

The camera is meant to be used in environments where no other camera will function. It is sealed from dust and moisture and constructed to fully function without batteries (meter will not work of course) and in extremely Hot/Cold/Humid/Dry-Dusty Environments.

With regard to the "sealed..." part I think I also read something similar somewhere else but I found no official reference to the MP being "tropicalized", that is, weather proof to a certain extent. Can anyone here say anything sure about this issue and, maybe, give some reference?

This looks like Leica's marketing hype... The truth is the MP is sealed no better than any M camera that preceded it. The eyepiece, although now "sealed" at the factory is still in fact an inferior design than on any prior M camera produced.

However, if you are planning to take your MP on vacation to, say, the tropical rain forest for two weeks, then I think you'd probably be fine. I took my M6 to a very humid and rainy Washington DC several summers ago and it stood up without incident. I would expect my MP to do the same.

 

[mervynyan]

any metal constructed manual camera would be considered weather-proof because no wires running around, thus at best can be CLA easily, which is unlike modern SLRs.

i don't buy what they say, why don't you dive in the water and see if it is still operational. i am sure it will but the film will be ruined. that said, with precision tools and experiences, someone can disassemble and reassemble the MP at ease.

 

[Artorius]

I had a pair of M2's for two tours in Viet Nam(70&73) with the USN. Neither suffered any major damage during the Monsoon Seasons. We(me) knew the limits of our gear, and adjusted to the weather. Rain, mud, and tropical storms didn't stop us from getting the shots we were sent out to shoot. Can't say the same for my Nikon FTN, had to get it fixed at least 5 times during my 2nd tour in Qua Viet.

 

[Avotius]

Word on the street is that the MP has foam in it, and after a few years of shooting somewhere like where I am foam turns into icky gooey stuff as my yashica gsn's and a few other cameras can testify to. Here its always about 80% humidity with hot hot weather, dry boxes are necessary without a doubt, more then one of my fellow students lenses have fungus growing in them (they all use the newer canon/nikon's). The foam seals in my yashica died after about a year of being here, one day I opened it up and it was gum. One time I was out looking for a photo tube thing for transporting large photos, found a good sized one and opened it up, it had a foam insert in the top and bottom to protect the photos but it had been reduced to the consistency of tar which I didint notice untill I stuck my hand in it to see how thick the foam was....

that said if you are in a high humidity place for a few weeks it probably wont be a problem, prolonged stays might warrant some care. My Canon 50 1.4 ef lens that I bought last year already has a weeeee bit of the fungus starting to grow in it

 

[CC72]

Do the other M cameras have foam in them?

 

[pvdhaar]

Do the other M cameras have foam in them?

Never seen any on the M4.. The light is kept out without foam. Ingenuous bit of engineering of the fits and fittings of the back door and bottom plate I guess..

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

I can't see any foam in my MP.

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

magus i stand corrected! I can only see its surface detail with a lupe - i always thought it was a cloth or felt backing- it's a very fine thin strip and my M6 doesn't have this. Not too much of an issue as i keep the equipment in humidity controlled cabinets when not in use.

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[rxmd]

Judging from recent posts on what happens if you leave the M6 in the rain for a couple of hours and on the list of changes from the M6 to the MP (which didn't include improved seals or anything), I'd wager the guess that the MP is only tropicalised to the extent that the tropics shouldn't be too tropical and shouldn't last too long. 🙂

The lens mount, for example, certainly isn't hardened in any way, it's just metal-on-metal friction, and in a moist environment moisture will get in there sooner or later - through the lens release button, if anything. The Leica has the reputation of being a camera for extreme conditions not because it is particularly weatherproof, but because the mechanism is rudimentary enough that a little bit of moisture getting in there doesn't matter too much. On a more serious note, if I were going to the tropics for an extended amount of time of more than a eight weeks or so apiece, I would hesitate to take a Leica; my first concern would be the shutter, especially the cloth curtains, and my second would be the electronics in what is essentially an unhardened body designed for mechanics.

 

[erikhaugsby]

Do the other M cameras have foam in them?

My M2 doesn't, and I'm fairly sure that any M up to the M5 doesn't. Not sure about the CL, though.

 

[ggirino]

At work I deal with many foam/gum/plastic materials and one of their important unknown is the behaviour in time (the chemical formulations vary all the time so there is not a real knowledge of the phenomena arising with aging).
I now wonder what that foam looks like on older MPs; anyone?

Lino

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

For sure my M6 which is the classic version with the large "M6" and no "Lecia" on the front does not have the two thin foam seals down the side of the hinged rear door panel. I don't have my M4 and M4-2 with me to check. It doesn't leak light either.

 

[Tuolumne]

Why not just take a Bessa-T ($185) and throw it away when you're done? 😎

/T