The M8 needs a film advance lever - but not for film

[CameraQuest]

The M8 needs a film advance lever -- but not for film.

To be more exact, it needs a DUMMY film advance lever.

Why?

Think about it a moment. We carry the M around in our right hand and use our thumb / lever advance to help grip the camera.

Woe be to the fast grabbing M8 owner who watches their camera slip from their hands to the concrete / rocks below.

Seriously, the M8 needs a dummy film advance lever to 1) replicate the M feel we are used to and 2) to help grip the camera.

Whether or not a M7 / MP advance lever can be installed on the M8, I don't know. IF not, it would be a smart Leica move to to design one which can be fitted to the M8.

Stephen

 

[kbg32]

I agree. Gripping that camera without something, looks like an accident waiting to happen. If not a dummy film advance lever, at least something on the back for one's thumb. I'm sure there will be an aftermarket auxillary grip, costing much more than it's worth.

 

[irees]

... and charge $250 for it ...

 

[VinceC]

That's certainly the way I carry a camera.

 

[Rich Silfver]

I disagree. A faux advance lever would be ridiculous and I for one applaud Leica to not go down the R-D1 route and treat their customers as intelligent beings with hands that have been proven to be able to hold onto a number of items without dropping them.

I also may be using my Leica in the 'wrong way' as I have never felt that the advance lever in any way helps me 'grip the camera'. 🙂

 

[boarini2003]

I also think a "film" "advance" "lever" would be kind of... ridiculous.

 

[Chaser]

I think there is a company that makes a little rubber bump that you could get and put on the back to aid in gripping the camera...

 

[back alley]

use a wrist strap...

 

[James Brannan]

I'd only think a film advance lever was not silly if it actually did something. I still like the other idea of having it do something like help charge the battery. Maybe make it programmable like a function button on a DSLR. Option A changes to different shooting banks, option B changes to a different curve, ect.

Actually I'm sure someone will come out with an accessory grip with a top protrusion with a spring loaded advance lever. Maybe I should make a few. I'm not really into Leica's but I see the price of the accessory grips and the simple machining these things entail and it really makes me wonder...

 

[sdai]

This is exactly why a-la-carte exists ... imho, there's no safer way to grip/hold/carry a M8 than using one of these:

 

[Dracotype]

A small point of fact:

If you have ever used any of the Leica I, II, or III series or even one of the FSU equivalents, you have gotten by without a film advance lever.

So why would one be so necessary now?

Drew

 

[visiondr]

I think there is a company that makes a little rubber bump that you could get and put on the back to aid in gripping the camera...

Yup, Lutz Konermann makes and/or sells this exact product. He calls it the SNOB. It's a black rubber sphere you stick to the back of the camera upon which to rest one's thumb. It's only $6! Here's the link: http://www.leicagoodies.com.

Ron

 

[jlw]

I disagree. A faux advance lever would be ridiculous and I for one applaud Leica to not go down the R-D1 route and treat their customers as intelligent beings with hands that have been proven to be able to hold onto a number of items without dropping them.

So you're saying that Leica users are more "grasping" than R-D 1 users?

Or just noting that Leica customers have been forced over the years to develop extra dexterity for holding onto removable baseplates and takeup spools while reloading?

(I know you already know that the R-D 1's lever is not "faux" -- it's necessary for cocking the shutter, since the Cosina-derived chassis had no provision for the electric shutter-cocking motors found on DSLRs -- so I assume you just made that crack to be controversial...)

 

[jlw]

Instead of a lever, how about a baseplate-mounted trigger "winder" that would operate a small generator to recharge the internal battery, permitting longer shooting sessions between battery changes?

They could call it the Leicavolt...

 

[amateriat]

Owning two examples of the only other M-mount camera without a wind lever or rewind knob, I've never had a problem "getting a grip". Granted, the Hexar's "shoulders" are square, not rounded as is the standard Leica M (save for the M5), and the body's covering is rubberized. Note that this Hexar body has a SLING over the right strap lug, largely so I can let the camera "hang" from my hand while walking (with the other Hexar simply 'round my neck); I would highly recommend this accessory to anyone who hasn't used it on an M-camera yet, and especially any nervous prospective M8 owners who simply don't feel secure without that "extra something" for their thumb to catch. (Added note: now that I think of it, most Leica-toting folks I've seen who didn't have their M around their necks had some sort of strap securing camera to hand/wrist; very few relied on "wind-lever thumb-tuck" alone.)

(I'm getting a feeling Leicagoodies is about to have a run on SLINGs; I suggest anyone so inclined should get their orders in now. As usual: no connection to Leicagoodies, etc.)😛


- Barrett

 

[Keith]

A small point of fact:

If you have ever used any of the Leica I, II, or III series or even one of the FSU equivalents, you have gotten by without a film advance lever.

So why would one be so necessary now?

Drew

Well said ... my IIIg feels comletely safe in my hand and if it didn't I would use a wrist strap. Mind you it probably weighs a lot less than this mysterious M8.😀

 

[Terence T]

I think the advance lever on the R-D1 is a great idea. Personally, I feel that it makes me shoot digital in a slower and more deliberate manner, having to pause between shots to think about what I want to take next. Without it, I would be machine gunning like I usually do with my DSLR.

 

[Terao]

Leica is all about ergonomics and I think its ommission will make the camera feel very strange for a while...

 

[ghost]

can't say i miss it on cameras with motor winds.

 

[Erl]

All the speculative crap aside, it is imperative that the M8 is ergonomic. This can be achieved in a number of ways, including the tried and proven method(s) we all use with existing 'M' models. eg. Wrist straps & thumb under wind lever.

The M8 is new. If Leica is worth its salt, the M8 will be comfortable albeit spartan in its ergonomics, but it must, as a basic unit be functional, durable and easy to handle. I do hope it does not go down the path of the Digilux 2 which I passed over in favour of the LC1 from Panasonic, simply because it handled better.

My present 'M' cameras do need, for me, the addition of a wrist strap as well the wind lever for comfortable prolonged handling. The evolution of the M8 is a brilliant opportunity for Leica to upgrade its ergonomics to something a little more functional, but I will be surprised (pleasantly) if they do. The M8 is (I assume) such a leap forward in Leica design that I hope effective, if simple, ergonomics have been added to improve handling over an extended period as required by any photographer involved in more than just happy snapping periodically.