How tough can a Leica M be?

[35mmdelux]

Its interesting to see the 1950/1960s news clips where all the reporters are holding Leicas and Rollieflexes.

 

[gavinlg]

I had a 30d that was absolutely thrashed - banged around , dropped, dented, scratched that I took out into a thunderstorm on top of a cliff near the ocean in absolutely bucketing rain. Attached was a sigma 10-20mm and I was out there for about 45 minutes in rain that would have saturated my doubled up clothes in probably around 1.5 minutes.

was doing 30ish second exposures to catch lightning and the camera just kept on working, worked up until I sold it almost a year later. Was a brilliant camera.

 

[gavinlg]

This is pretty cool: I wonder if a leica M would be able to do this without the lube in the shutter and curtains freezing?:

Olympus E-3 left in outside overnight in snowstorm and tested next morning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A15MgHHS_M8

 

[Pickett Wilson]

We would have killed in the 70's for the durable cameras we have today.

 

[Axel]

...I took out into a thunderstorm on top of a cliff near the ocean in absolutely bucketing rain...Was a brilliant camera...

Oh that reminds me of a wedding event one year ago with my 350D:

EOS and Tamron 17-35 are still working flawless 😉

regards, Axel (material has to serve 😀 )

 

[Pablito]

Relatively reliable, but they break just like every other machine.

 

[shadowfox]

For an all weather all conditions/chuck it in the mud/drop it in a river and keep shooting camera get either the olympus E1 (cheaper) or the E3. They're really really really well sealed.

+1

http://forum.fourthirdsphoto.com/showpost.php?p=395967&postcount=2

 

[Rob-F]

I understand Leica has one in thier museum that fell out of a fighter plane fom some high altitude, landing in the desert sands. It's been a long time since I heard that story, but I think the idea was that it still worked. I think I'll google that to see what comes up.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Dropped from a jet when the pilot and photographer had to eject, the story goes. Found in the desert some time later - an SL with motor drive, if I remember correctly. The back was still light tight, the film processed, and photographer located by the photos. It was not functional but, according to Leica, repairable. However, rather than repair it, they gave the photographer a new one and put the bashed on in their museum.

I think they were at 30,000 feet or so.

 

[Graybeard]

With the exceptions of the Nikon F and F2, it is difficult to imagine that an SLR, a camera design that has many components that must stay in register and continue to operate properly for the device to function (and some, like the mirror, are glass) can be more resistant to impact, water intrusion, dust infiltration, or general abuse than a simpler device, a well built RF camera, which doesn't have such components.

The survival of a modern plastic electronic marvel after an accident indicates only the owner was having a good day. Don't rely on this to recur.

 

[Nikon Bob]

Relatively reliable, but they break just like every other machine.

Exactly.

Bob

 

[Pickett Wilson]

The weak link in an RF is the rangefinder. They are complex (especially the M3) and easily knocked out of alignment. I've had that happen several times. I've never had the focusing components of an SLR lose alignment. Perhaps I've just been lucky.

 

[marke]

Also I am a little surprised how fast I have worn through the black finish on my M6TTL, lots of bare silvery bits showing all over the place, especially on the back around the made in Germany text where a lot of the finish is wearing through from my advance action.

I recently sold my M6TTL, and was surprised about the same thing. I had always heard how wear-resistant the black chrome is supposed to be, but that wasn't the case with mine. I recently bought my first chrome (silver), and M3, and I can see why people love the chrome. It's definately the most durable of the finishes. My M3 is over 50 years old, but is barely showing bright marks. My black paint MP will be showing more and more brass over the years, but you kind of buy black paint specifically for that 'look".

 

[johnastovall]

Not tough enough to survive being shot down over Laos.
Four Photojournalists Killed During Vietnam War Come Home For Burial

Larry Burrows camera.

 

[P. Lynn Miller]

The weak link in an RF is the rangefinder. They are complex (especially the M3) and easily knocked out of alignment. I've had that happen several times. I've never had the focusing components of an SLR lose alignment. Perhaps I've just been lucky.

Same here... I get the feeling that I could run over my M5 or drop it from the 7th floor and it would be unscathed except for the rangefinder.

It is hard to admit the superiority of today's plastic wonders, but when Olympus, Pentax and a few others are making relatively cheap digital P&S that can be used underwater when diving then washed off and taken to a dinner party, you realize technology has moved forward.

That is not taking anything away from the workmanship and high-quality of the early cameras including Leica, which are literally working pieces of industrial art.

But back to the original posters question, barring a tragic accident, a Leica will outlast most of us even when gently abused.

 

[P. Lynn Miller]

Not tough enough to survive being shot down over Laos.
Four Photojournalists Killed During Vietnam War Come Home For Burial

Thanks for sharing this link.

 

[le vrai rdu]

There are lots of M3's from the 1950s still snapping away, some 50 years later. How many slrs do you see from that era?

many many many

much more than leicas

just think about that : I have a very old minolta srt 101, I bought it 15 €

when he will have some trouble, I won't spend money on it

If it was a leica I would because it has much more financial value

that is an explanation why we can see very old leicas

any way, I have a zorki 4 from 1968, works fine, used a minolta under the rain, let it fall etc etc, no problem

 

[rya]

I used a Nikon DSLR for portraits at night at below 10 degrees F, in snow. Between touching the camera and the snow, ice developed around a couple buttons until they stopped moving. The ice thawed and it worked fine.

 

[samoksner]

I dropped my D200 with grip and 50mm f1.4 from atop a horse into a puddle of shallow mud. By the time i got the horse to turn around and stop at the puddle and get out, it had sunk to the bottom (15-20 seconds after dropping it). I washed it down gently in tap water, dried it off and kept shooting for the rest of the day... Still have that camera.