The face plate adornment Poll, or The Most Important Poll of our time!

[David Hughes]

A Hughes Special Edition M10M! Muddy brown with a green rubber covering. Maybe scratch it up a bit like they did for Lenny.

But, but (sob) scratches have to be earned...


Regards, David

 

[Dralowid]

Looking at it from the 'green' angle it should have a small climber growing over it, perhaps an evergreen, rooted in a little pouch on the front that will only require occasional watering. This might be a bit too rustic for the 'street' enthusiasts but should be acceptable and very much on message for the rest.

 

[Pál_K]

So....what’s the origin of tge Red Dot Anyway? ...

Leica Marketing Department seeking to bestow an aura of prestige and glamour to the photo-naive is my guess.

Why else put it on the front of the camera?

It reminds me of the Canon T series (T50.. T90) with all the scribbling their marketing department put on the pentaprism.

 

[Bill Blackwell]

Leica should sell t-shirts with a screw.

Then you'd really be screwed!

 

[Bill Blackwell]

So....what’s the origin of the Red Dot Anyway? ...

The M6 is essentially an M4-P with a meter. At the time, Leica was still looking for ways to cut costs, so they came up with the idea of moving the red "Leitz" logo (later changed to "Leica") from the front of the camera (where the self-timer used to be) to the front of the topcover, replacing (and eliminating the cost of) the screw.

The movement to zinc as the topcover material was also in order to cut costs.

 

[ranger9]

The M6 is essentially an M4-P with a meter. At the time, Leica was still looking for ways to cut costs, so they came up with the idea of moving the red "Leitz" logo (later changed to "Leica") from the front of the camera (where the self-timer used to be) to the front of the topcover, replacing (and eliminating the cost of) the screw.

It strains my credulity that even Leica would pay enough for a screw to affect costs more than a fraction of a percent.

 

[Darthfeeble]

It strains my credulity that even Leica would pay enough for a screw to affect costs more than a fraction of a percent.

You must have never worked around bean counters. The things they come up with can be ......... amusing.

 

[Rob-F]

The M6 is essentially an M4-P with a meter. At the time, Leica was still looking for ways to cut costs, so they came up with the idea of moving the red "Leitz" logo (later changed to "Leica") from the front of the camera (where the self-timer used to be) to the front of the topcover, replacing (and eliminating the cost of) the screw.

The movement to zinc as the topcover material was also in order to cut costs.

If the M6 is an M4-P with a meter, it is also an M4-P with shrunken framelines and a condenser lens missing from the rangefinder.

I think the story about zinc at the time was supposed to be that zinc doesn't dent as easily as brass. However, it cracks more easily than brass; and is apparently the cause of the bubbling that some M6 bodies develop.

Funny thing, brass is an alloy of copper and zinc to begin with. So there was already some zinc in our M2, M3, M4, M5. They ought to have left it at that. 🙁

 

[Bill Blackwell]

If the M6 is an M4-P with a meter, it is also an M4-P with shrunken framelines and a condenser lens missing from the rangefinder. ...

Sorry, but the same condenser is missing from the M4-P (removed during the M4-2 run). The framelines in the M6 were originally adjusted based on distance and to accommodate the meter diodes.

The very last group of M4-P cameras had the same zinc topcover material - and with the flat windows to boot! The zinc material was cheaper to produce than brass.

But please keep in mind, I said The M6 is essentially an M4-P with a meter.

 

[Bill Blackwell]

It strains my credulity that even Leica would pay enough for a screw to affect costs more than a fraction of a percent.

That screw on the top plate is not some common off-the-shelf at Home Depot part. It is specially made for Leica for that specific purpose.

Be that as it may, many of these pennies-per-unit changes have ended up costing Leica more due to unintended consequences of the change.

 

[Rob-F]

How about a portrait of Oskar Barnak in place of the red dot?

 

[Phil_F_NM]

How about a portrait of Oskar Barnak in place of the red dot?

How about personalized dots? For example, a portrait of my cat.
Phil Forrest

 

[Richard G]

How about personalized dots? For example, a portrait of my cat.
Phil Forrest

I was thinking about this, but of oneself: one's cat is so much better, for a stealth camera.

 

[Pál_K]

I support the cat idea.

 

[David Hughes]

A Hughes Special Edition M10M! Muddy brown with a green rubber covering. Maybe scratch it up a bit like they did for Lenny.

The marketing dept. have now suggested we replace "Muddy Brown" with "Dark Titanium" or "Natural Titanium" and have a soft green rubber shutter button...


Regards, David