Rapid winders

[drewbarb]

I used one of Tom's Rapidwinders when shooting events, and really liked the speed and smoothness it afforded in fast paced situations. For regular casual shooting, I left it off the camera. I have not used a Leicavit, either the new one or the old one, so I can't compare. The Leicavit is smaller than the Rapidwinder. Leica went out of their way to make sure the new one was the same dimensions as the original Leitz model.

Tom's design is excellent, and the unit is very well made. It's very simple, with fewer moving parts than the Leicavit. Plus, Tom's lifetime service is better than anything Leica can do. Consider this story: I bought my Rapidwinder on ebay a few years ago, and shot probably 100 rolls with it while owned an M6 and an M4-P. It always performed quite well, until the end of last summer, when it started to misbehave a bit- the latch got loose, and the clutch skipped once or twice. I emailed Tom about it, and he told me to send it back to him. I did, and a couple of weeks later it came back to me completely overhauled, with the latch and the lever replaced, updated to the current ones. He even milled out the little dot to indicate then "Open/Closed" point on the latch. Incredible service, at no charge- even though I'm not the original owner. It now behaves as new.

I have since sold my motor lugged M's- I prefer M3's- but if I could mount the Rapidwinder on my M3's I'd still be using it. There are certain situations where I miss it. I have considered having an M3 modified to take it, but I'm nervous about using it with the brass M3 drivetrain. If you are interested, I might be willing to sell- and of course, it's in good shape...

 

[Leica Geek]

I used one of Tom's Rapidwinders when shooting events, and really liked the speed and smoothness it afforded in fast paced situations. For regular casual shooting, I left it off the camera. I have not used a Leicavit, either the new one or the old one, so I can't compare. The Leicavit is smaller than the Rapidwinder. Leica went out of their way to make sure the new one was the same dimensions as the original Leitz model.

Tom's design is excellent, and the unit is very well made. It's very simple, with fewer moving parts than the Leicavit. Plus, Tom's lifetime service is better than anything Leica can do. Consider this story: I bought my Rapidwinder on ebay a few years ago, and shot probably 100 rolls with it while owned an M6 and an M4-P. It always performed quite well, until the end of last summer, when it started to misbehave a bit- the latch got loose, and the clutch skipped once or twice. I emailed Tom about it, and he told me to send it back to him. I did, and a couple of weeks later it came back to me completely overhauled, with the latch and the lever replaced, updated to the current ones. He even milled out the little dot to indicate then "Open/Closed" point on the latch. Incredible service, at no charge- even though I'm not the original owner. It now behaves as new.

I have since sold my motor lugged M's- I prefer M3's- but if I could mount the Rapidwinder on my M3's I'd still be using it. There are certain situations where I miss it. I have considered having an M3 modified to take it, but I'm nervous about using it with the brass M3 drivetrain. If you are interested, I might be willing to sell- and of course, it's in good shape...

Is it a black one? Is there anyway you can send me a picture of it? How much are you willing to let it go for? You can PM me.

thanks.

 

[shenkerian]

Two of the 4 Leica bodies that i use regularly have leicavits attached. They're small, quiet, dependable and never need batteries. They're always ready to go. The additional size and weight are non factors to me. I may even add a third one at some point. I am left eyed but find it very convenient to focus with the left hand index finger and advance with the second and third finger on the wind lever. The left thumb helps secure the camera. When I started shooting journalistic work in the 60's I wanted a Leicavit for my M2's since the M2 mot bodies were very expensive and the motors were out of sight too plus they were very large and heavy. If I remember correctly the motor and battery pack were about 1.5 times the size of the camera body. I think they took 10 AA batteries too.

Out of curiosity, when you say two out of four, are you including the MP and Leicavit you received last week? One out of three isn't quite as ringing an endorsement.

I've tried getting used to my Leicavit, but it adds too much bulk and weight for me. But then, I also dislike portrait grips for DSLRs.

 

[Harry Lime]

I used one of Tom's Rapidwinders when shooting events, and really liked the speed and smoothness it afforded in fast paced situations. For regular casual shooting, I left it off the camera. I have not used a Leicavit, either the new one or the old one, so I can't compare. The Leicavit is smaller than the Rapidwinder. Leica went out of their way to make sure the new one was the same dimensions as the original Leitz model.

I own a Leicavit-M and have used the Rapidwinder. Yes, the Leicavit has a lower profile and weighs a little less. Aesthetically speaking it blends better with the body, because it looks more like a Leica product (duh). If you are an amateur or semi-professional, you would probably be perfectly fine with a Leicavit. I got mine used, so I saved a good deal of money on it. There is no way I was going to spend $900 on a new one, considering the price of the Rapidwinder. The unit itself is very well made and works smoothly. Leica claims a lifespan of about 2000 rolls, before an overhaul may becomes necessary.

If you are a professional shooting hundreds of rolls a month and your gear has to survive all sorts of abuse, by all means get the Rapidwinder. You could probably run over one of these with a car and keep shooting with it after you picked the bits of tire off of it. I'm convinced that you will experience 'operator failure' before one of these gives in.

In addition the Rapidwinder has the better trigger lock. If you bump the Leicavit trigger just the right way it will unlock and collapse.

PErsonally I'm probably going to pick up a Rapidwinder for my M6ttl and will leave the Leicavit on the M7.

 

[Leica Geek]

Just got my rapidwinder in the mail. I went and shot a little at lunch. It takes some getting used to, but it really makes life as a left eye shooter much easier. It's a nice looking winder Tom makes.

 

[abenner]

If anyone cares, I've got a Leicavit M in black paint, 99% like new cosmetically, 100% like new mechanically, that I'm selling. Email if interested. I've got lots of pics.