How do Leicas break?

[CharlesDAMorgan]

and just as expensively!

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

Hopefully not a film chip, which can do more damage.

Did Zeiss ever do that with a rapid wind lever, though? My Contax IIIa has the shutter speeds, wind, and release all concentric, but the wind is a knob wind.

Yes, several Contaflexes, starting with the Rapid, and the Contarexes all used the feature from around the late 1950s. Your comment is perceptive though because, as you say they'd previously used a similar approach with the Contax albeit a knob wind, so it was an evolution of that.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I personally know of a Nikon F2 that was mis-packed then dropped onto the desert floor in Afghanistan at 300mph, dug out of the dirt, dusted off and worked fine.
Phil Forrest

 

[GarageBoy]

Years ago, I bought a used M 4 + a 35mm f2 Summicron. I mostly used it around the acreage we lived in then. It worked well, except because I am left eye dominant, I was frustrated because I felt I never realised the full benefits of the viewfinder. 🙁

But, to return to the question, I took a short commercial flight, and put the M4 in the bag I used every day in those days. (Sorry, I can't remember which bag it was, but I do know I'd never had any problems with it). I put the bag in the overhead compartment. There was nothing unusual about that compartment. When I arrived, I opened the bag and discovered the film advance lever had come off the body. I put it back on the spindle (?), and everything seemed Ok, except I never trusted the camera again - certainly I never felt I could absolutely rely on it; not like every Nikon I ever owned. They never let me down!

That's not the cameras fault - ever notice how much vibrations planes put out?

A shutterbug writer explained when he had his bags on the floor, he'd have to tighten all the screws on his FM2/FE2s

Leicas are tough and rebuild able because of how archaic they are (outside the RF) - it's no stupid complex contarex
Hell, the slow speed governor is the type that resets upon film advance (on slow speeds, when you cock the shutter, you hear the whirring sound)

 

[David Hughes]

That's not the cameras fault - ever notice how much vibrations planes put out?

A shutterbug writer explained when he had his bags on the floor, he'd have to tighten all the screws on his FM2/FE2s

Leicas are tough and rebuild able because of how archaic they are (outside the RF) - it's no stupid complex contarex
Hell, the slow speed governor is the type that resets upon film advance (on slow speeds, when you cock the shutter, you hear the whirring sound)

Two advantages of old fashioned designs; that's counting wooden framed aircraft as one of them...

Regards, David

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

That's not the cameras fault - ever notice how much vibrations planes put out?

A shutterbug writer explained when he had his bags on the floor, he'd have to tighten all the screws on his FM2/FE2s

Leicas are tough and rebuild able because of how archaic they are (outside the RF) - it's no stupid complex contarex
Hell, the slow speed governor is the type that resets upon film advance (on slow speeds, when you cock the shutter, you hear the whirring sound)

Aircraft vibration? Yes well that's as may be. But I suspect a Titan II launch vehicle must have vibrated considerably more than a commercial aircraft, and yet, the Contarex did alright after a ride on that.

Photo: J McDivitt NASA

 

[Ambro51]

They sit too close to a Kodak Ektra on a shelf and the Gremlins migrate.

 

[Pál_K]

Yes, several Contaflexes, starting with the Rapid, and the Contarexes all used the feature...

How could I have forgotten the wonderful Contarex "Bullseye" /"Cyclops"!?!? I'm embarrassed.

The Contarex is beautiful to hold and operate, the small details and engravings are so precise. Sadly, those I've found have had mechanical issues and I don't know anyone who could repair one.

 

[DMA1965]

...certainly I never felt I could absolutely rely on it; not like every Nikon I ever owned. They never let me down!

In over 30 years of owning and shooting them, I have never never had a Nikon F, F2, or SP fail to perform. Yes I have had to CLA my SP after over 50 years in service, but none of my F or F2 cameras that I purchased in working order ever needed anything done to them to keep working. I do not believe that anyone has ever made a mechanical professional camera that even comes close to the level of reliability from Nikon. They are the AK47s of the camera world.

 

[Pál_K]

The only issues I've had with F2's is that, with one, the wind lever standoff became loose in operation. Easily fixed.

Then there are the erratic DP-1 metering heads.

The camera itself is truly solid and designed for a long life of professional service.