Ahh! The Unique Leica Satisfaction.

ErikFive said:
You have to get up on the roof with a showel then Ned😉

Been there done that...
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Roofs shovelled three times this winter here. 2 feet (60cm) minimum each time. Most snow in many years here. I'm just over two hours from you Ned, but we missed that snow. Rain instead here, so now my driveway is one huge sheet of ice.
 
Samsam said:
i've never shot with my Leica in light rain or big storm. are the leica lenses weatherproof/sealed ? i'm asking because i do not have any hood or filter. How do you shoot when it's raining cats and dogs outside ? Do you use a hood , or you have a special technique ?
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No, they are not weather sealed, but tight enough to sustain drizzle and occasional downpour.

I live in Bergen, perhaps the rainiest place in Europe: a year ago we had 85 days of rain straight. I just carry camera in hand, with lens pointing down, my palm covering the VF eyepiece, raising it up only to take a shot. If out into a storm or a blizzard for a long time, I pop in 7-Eleven to reload film, take a napkin and wipe the camera inside and out. Water tends to sneak under baseplate into film compartment, but not much.
 
This thread is ridiculous... all these people talking about keeping their Leicas indoors so they won't get damaged... shows what's really important to some people: the gear, not the photograph. These cameras are professional cameras! They are made to take the worst beatings both man and nature can dish out! Haven't you guys heard the stories of war photographers during WWII throwing their M3s in the toilet and flushing repeatedly in order to get dirt and sand out? I mean really, what's the point of spending $1000+ just to leave the damn thing inside? It's not a ming vase - use the damn thing!
 
Sofa King said:
This thread is ridiculous... all these people talking about keeping their Leicas indoors so they won't get damaged... shows what's really important to some people: the gear, not the photograph. These cameras are professional cameras! They are made to take the worst beatings both man and nature can dish out! Haven't you guys heard the stories of war photographers during WWII throwing their M3s in the toilet and flushing repeatedly in order to get dirt and sand out? I mean really, what's the point of spending $1000+ just to leave the damn thing inside? It's not a ming vase - use the damn thing!
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Two points:

1. If Leicas were made to take the worst beatings we could subject them to, they'd be weather proofed, and they are not. Yes, they can be quite tough but as with any mechanical device there are limits, salt water for example would be one.

2. The M3 had yet to be manufactured when the allies declared victory in WWII.

Actually, it would be quite funny if forum members took to flushing their M8s to prove how hardcore and professional they and their gear are. That's a step well beyond artificial brassing.😉

Matthew
 
I understand the people babying their gear. Some of us worked real hard for that. I also understand the people not wanting to go out in the rain. Rain or snow is not exactly comfortable. When I travel, I always go with at least 2 cameras and I don't totally risk my gear except if I'm in a fantastic place.

If I was in a Desert sand storm, or in Iceland under a geyser or taking part in any of nature's Marvelous scenes I will never hesitate to destroy a camera for *THAT* precious shot. But I see no logic for weekend warriors to abuse a camera during a walk around the block either... But yeah, a Leica can take a solid beating.
 
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OK, so I didn't remember the details of the story to a T, but I do know that I read a story about war photographers flushing Leicas to rid them of sand and salt water.

I can also understand wanting to take good care of an expensive piece of gear (obviously the M8 and other newer Leicas can't take as much due to the presence of electronics) but when the stakes are high often better photographs are made, and that should be what's important - not whether or not there are dents or rust or a bit of fog inside of your camera or lens. Those things can be fixed - missed moments can never be relived.
 
A few winters back, I went out to catch Gotham in its quiet, heavily-blanketed glory. My Hexars ended up literally buried in the white stuff, but kept clicking. Train kept a-rolling.

The trick–with "dry" snow, at any rate–is to brush he stuff off the camera before going indoors. This way, all the camera has to deal with is condensation, which (usually) goes away in the first half-hour of being indoors. If a camera can't survive a few rounds of this...well, I don't know what to say...🙂


- Barrett
 
The M's might not be weather proofed as such, but they can take inclement weather very well. I find that in cold weather . the biggest problem is the film getting brittle and, if you are not careful rewinding, you get static electricity discharges.
One reaon why I live in Vancouver is that we get maybe 5-8 days of snow and not much of it. However, we have much experience with rain! I have had M's soaked through and serviced to get moisture out of rangefinders and on a couple of instances from inside lenses. I try to avoid having rain hitting the camera directly and stop and wipe it down now and then.
The M is a tool and my feeling is that if I can stand it, so should the camera! There is a bit of Darwinian theory here - survival of the fittest!

I am impressed that the M7 held up in the cold. I had an early example of it and it did not like that at all and the batteries would cease to function quite quickly. Once the camera warmed up they came back to life.
The biggest problem I have had with cameras is dust - hence my philosophy of rarely changing lenses and carrying two or three bodies instead.

Cant wait to see your shots from the snowstorm. I love looking at those kind of shots when I dont have to be in it myself. Oh. well in a couple of weeks the cherry trees will be in full bloom on our street and the petals stick to the camera and the sidewalk gets slippery too. We all have our weather related problems, even us "softies" on the west coast!
 
You're right, Tom, the M7 might not like the cold as much as a, let's say, M3 or M4-P. The wind lever got frozen in the out position and the shutter button froze, preventing me from clicking at a precise moment. But maybe it was simply filled with snow. I'm still not sure. I forced it and it took the picture.

A few people asked me about the winder: I like it not because of the added bulk or balanced weight (altough it's surprisingly sexy and well balanced) but more because I am a left-eyed shooter and it tremendously helps me shooting continous frames without missing the action through the finder.

Great engineering, Tom!
 
Here's a shot from that day, taken with the 28 Hexanon-M on the M7. The effect is due to me running and panning on the guy's camera at the same time. Of course, melted snow flakes on the lens' filter created the dreamy effect.

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Hexanon-M 28mm, M7, TMAX3200
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Hexanon-M 28mm, M7, TMAX 3200
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Are those people in your pictures crazy as well Ned? It's cold outside! I still love that 'moving pan' effect!

ps, we've got it pretty good, eh Ray?
 
Great shots, Ned. My M4-2 looked similar after taking these (no of the same calibre as yours, but I like them).

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It's my second winter in eastern Canada. I miss Vancouver...
 
I don't care too much about bad weather when shooting. I just use my regular cameras and wipe snow or moisture off, and let them dry good afterwards.
When the weather gets really bad, I still have a Stylus Epic and a Konica Wide 28. But I wouldn't hesitate to bring out my '65 Nikon F, either.

A nice quote by Magnum photographer Jonas Bendiksen: "The worse the weather, the better the picture".

http://blog.magnumphotos.com/2008/01/sharing_bad_weather_and_good_photography.html
 
Ned,
Well done! The camera looks super cold and freeeezing, and the three images look cool. I wonder how the Hexanon differs from the 28 Rokkor.
 
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