Riding a bike with M9

froyd said:
...but on the flipside... my m4's rewind knob came loose after sitting on the floor for 9 hours during a transatlantic flight. The tech who repaired it thought the "micro" vibrations from the flight loosened the screw that holds the part together. It took seconds to tighten everything up again, and he was nice enough not to charge me for the service.
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kbg32 said:
It was probably coming loose from use and time anyway...
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I have to agree that it was probably coming loose anyway. I've flown a LOT of hours in military aircraft with M4s, and got thousands of miles on my motorcycle with my old M4-2 without any issues at all from the transport. My biggest concern was keeping them dry and relatively dust-protected.

I had my M4-2 out in the Anza-Borrego desert on a Honda 3 wheeler years ago. My whole kit was in an early Lowe-Pro bag. I was charging down an arroyo at about 25 mph when the bungee that held the bag on the cargo rack let go and my entire kit went charging down the arroyo through the sand and rocks at 25mph. After I noticed it had flown off, I turned around and went back expecting to find a dented and smashed M4-2, and lens glass that looked like a broken Coke bottle. Much to my surprise, all was intact without damage at all. I still have that bag.

A couple of years later, I was out shooting with the M4-2 on a tripod and the wind blew it over an embankment onto a pile of end-table sized rocks about 10' below. That time, the M4-2 didn't fare as well. The baseplate was dented, and a crescent-shaped crack half the size of a small fingernail appeared in the bottom of the body on one side. The baseplate still worked, and was light-tight though. The rangefinder was still spot-on. I used that camera for another ten years before I sold it.

As I said, they're tough. The Digi-Ms are probably even tougher in some ways because they really don't have as many moving parts.
 
I ride every day on a Harley, I cross EEUU with a M9 on my neck, now I "wear" a MM on the road, sometimes I put on the saddlebags only into a Artisan& Art bag, no problem.

If your body resist the vibrations your M9 will do too.
 
tester said:
I'm wondering about thousands of shakes and micro shoks during the ride.
What do you think about it?
Is it safe to transport camera in a backpack on a daily basis?
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A backpack should be fine. There's not a lot of vibration or sudden jolts. If you were talking about panniers, then I'd definitely say no.

Just a warning to others, the first time I got a motorcycle I put my camera on the bike in a pannier and went for a trip. When I got there the lens had literally vibrated apart. I started carrying my camera in a backpack when riding and it survived just fine.
 
I travela lot with my M7 and M240 (formerly an M9) in my backpack or bag. The M7 itself has been to all sorts of places in all means of travel. Never had a problem that I would attribute to it.

As someone said, if the RF does get out of alignment, them get it adjusted back. I think that's a much lesser evil than missing a shot because you didn't have your camera.
 
I would not.

If you consistently see award winning pics, drive and carry camera.

War cameras and National Geographic were agency owned. In Nam they rotated them through repair very frequently, monthly if I recall, whether they appeared to work or not. NG filed the film gates to identify particular cameras and if film was bad, they knew where to look.

If you insist, wrap it in a large bath towel and use a back pack.
 
CrisR said:
If it goes out of alignment, adjust it. These are working tools, not glass flowers
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+1 to this. I take a camera (either M6, M-E or X100S) to work with me every day, either by bicycle or Vespa. Hang it bandolier style, or take some care in how it is packed in your bag and you will be fine.

Ronald M said:
I would not.

If you consistently see award winning pics, drive and carry camera.
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Is this not a somewhat parochial view of where good images are to be found? Also, by the time you've got out of the car and set up your shot, that shot has probably fled.
 
Ronald M said:
I would not.

War cameras and National Geographic were agency owned. In Nam they rotated them through repair very frequently, monthly if I recall, whether they appeared to work or not. NG filed the film gates to identify particular cameras and if film was bad, they knew where to look.
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I dunno what the rest of the services did way back then, but as a Navy photographer in that era, the Navy cameras pretty much only went to camera repair when they were broken. I'm sure there was probably a PM schdule, but it wasn't very frequent... and it depended on the piece; they weren't all on the same PM schedule. I don't recall any of my issued Leica gear getting PM'd while I had it... and mine got used hard. I did have to take a 90mm Summicron in for collimation after I dropped it though. Most of the camera repair jobs came from damage... usually drops, falls, and bangs. The Leica M gear is pretty tough.

I remember an occasional Leica piece in the lab's camera repair shop, but most of what went through was 5" aerial systems cameras, Mamiya C330 and Topcon gear, and most of that was gear from the squadrons rather than the photo lab's gear.
 
This is why people think of Leica users as wealthy dilettantes.

Why not have your chauffeur drive you around to get the photos or better take them for you...

Ronald M said:
I would not.

If you consistently see award winning pics, drive and carry camera.

War cameras and National Geographic were agency owned. In Nam they rotated them through repair very frequently, monthly if I recall, whether they appeared to work or not. NG filed the film gates to identify particular cameras and if film was bad, they knew where to look.

If you insist, wrap it in a large bath towel and use a back pack.
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I've taken my M6 everywhere without fear. The cameras are serviceable if something should happen... so it could be fixed. Just don't drop it in a puddle/pond/lake/river.

I personally think if you are so worried about the expense of the camera limiting you from taking pictures where and how you want, then maybe sell it, buy a cheaper system shoot till your heart is content and replace that body when it breaks. Whatever you paid for the M9 would likely pay for multiple "lesser" bodies.
 
I've been riding with my M9 in a bare bones bag, worn cross-body, for a couple of seasons with no issues. Almost all road-riding, a little rails-to-trails or well-graded dirt road once in a while. I would not carry the camera in my saddlebag (unpadded) or on my front rack, however. That seems to me to be pushing the vibration/shake resistance envelope.
 
Another motorcycle rider here. I take my M9 or M8 (or both) with me everywhere slung over my shoulder. Motorcycle is my only form of transportation. I've never had any issues. I bang my cameras around and occasionally they've gotten splashed and even rained on. They still work perfectly. They aren't in mint condition cosmetically, but that's not a big deal as I use the cameras, I'm not saving them for the next guy.

The digital Leica M's aren't gentle flowers that need to be handled with kid gloves. They can take quite a bit of abuse.

Edit: A lot of my favorite street photos were taken while I was sitting on my motorcycle in traffic.
 
I had my Leica M go out of calibration while horse riding. Which was quite crazy because it was near impossible to focus by the RF anyway!

My vertical alignment went off by 1mm. I adjusted it myself in about 15 mins. Not sure how confident I would be in calibrating the horizontal alignment by myself, though.
 
hepcat said:
I dunno what the rest of the services did way back then, but as a Navy photographer in that era, the Navy cameras pretty much only went to camera repair when they were broken. I'm sure there was probably a PM schdule, but it wasn't very frequent... and it depended on the piece; they weren't all on the same PM schedule. I don't recall any of my issued Leica gear getting PM'd while I had it... and mine got used hard. I did have to take a 90mm Summicron in for collimation after I dropped it though. Most of the camera repair jobs came from damage... usually drops, falls, and bangs. The Leica M gear is pretty tough.

I remember an occasional Leica piece in the lab's camera repair shop, but most of what went through was 5" aerial systems cameras, Mamiya C330 and Topcon gear, and most of that was gear from the squadrons rather than the photo lab's gear.
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Off topic, but would you be interested in starting a thread perhaps about the gear you used in the Navy? My father was USAF and a former professor was Signal Corps, and they both mentioned having used exclusively the Nikon F/F2 bodies.
 
my Leica M9 is with me every day.

I ride a Norton Commando and Ducati monster and sometimes a Vespa PX. no problem whatsoever and these twin vibrate nicely. 😀
 
Ive landed on mine in a backpack when I dropped a cliff skiing and crashed. It was fine. Yes asphalt is harder then snow but you wont be falling 20ft to your back
 
When I was biking to work I changed t-shirts when I got to work, so the camera was always wrapped up in the spare T in a pannier or my daypack. No problems, ever. These days I've added a gallon ziplock bag to the mix for the camera, to keep out dust, or if it rains. This all feels a bit TOO safe to me, but heck, it's not difficult.
 
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