Would you buy an M2/3/P rewind post accessory?

[Benjamin Marks]

Got this from Tamarkin for my M2. I like it. Probably a little spendy . . .

PHOTO EQUIP" RE-WIND FOR THE LEICA MP OR YOUR CLASSIC
LEICA M3 & M2 $119

http://www.tamarkin.com/catalog/products/leica/leicamaccs.html

Ben

 

[Ronald M]

I would not put one on a camera if they were free.

 

[rover]

Never would buy one. Leica got it right with the post and messed up when they went to that slanted thing in 1967.

Hey I just saw this thread pop up and these were my immediate thoughts. Good to see that even though I don't remember saying this, I have a consistent opinion.

 

[bob338]

do any of us really need to change a roll of film in an ancient camera that quickly anyway?

i wanted to buy one of these things for the last few years. but every time i find the one i think i want, i change my mind because of the money and my doubts about really using it.

i have a rapid rewind crank for one of my stereo realists and have probably used it twice int he last 15 years. and realists are much more of a hassle to wind than leicas.

that being said, if i found a leica crank for $25 or less, i'd probably buy it!

just my .02

 

[Artorius]

do any of us really need to change a roll of film in an ancient camera that quickly anyway?

i wanted to buy one of these things for the last few years. but every time i find the one i think i want, i change my mind because of the money and my doubts about really using it.

i have a rapid rewind crank for one of my stereo realists and have probably used it twice int he last 15 years. and realists are much more of a hassle to wind than leicas.

that being said, if i found a Leica crank for $25 or less, i'd probably buy it!

just my .02

For me it's a plus. The faster I can unload, in turn gives me more time to reload. Think of it as a trade off. With the M2, 3, for me , it just makes sense. As a paid photo/journalist, if I don't have 2 bodies, I need any advantage I can get.

 

[Nokton48]

If you have a look at my new avatar, you can see I have one on my M2. I like using it, it does speed-up reloading for me. I paid $75 for mine in the RF classifieds. So, if I do buy a second M2, I will probably look for another rewind add-on. And it looks cool on the M2 IMO.

 

[Chris101]

I've got an M4P, and it HAS the ideal crank already. However if I were stuck with one of those straight up knob things, I'd not want anything on it, but would learn to use it ... I guess.

 

[peterm1]

I must admit I would be tempted. I cannot tell you how many times I have wound until my fingers were sore then thinking I had reached the end of the film roll, opened the camera back prematurely ruining some shots. For some reason, on my M3 at least, the winder stiffens at one point before the end of the film is reached and then subsequently becomes easier to wind - just as it does when you reach the end of a roll. Fools me 2 times out of three if I have not been shooting regularly. I figure this gadget would help as well as speeding up the operation.

 

[visiondr]

You people who like the rewind post are nuts!
Are you telling everyone that you're happy with a S L O W rewinding system when there's a much faster system available as a simple add-on for less than $100?

 

[sepiareverb]

I've got the GMP version on the MP3 and I love it. I found the original knob less annoying than I had thought it was going to be, but the crank is a lot easier for me.

 

[marke]

I don't find the knob on my MP as annoying as I thought I would. I think the difference in speed when compared to the crank isn't as much as some people make it out to be, if you have your technique down. It hasn't been rough on my hands either. I have thought about getting one of the cranks, but would only use it if there was absoluetly no chance of it damaging my camera during use, even sloppy use!

 

[Tom A]

I have about 5-6 different rewind cranks for my M2/M3/MP's. They do speed up rewinding considerably. The Leica "original" one is too expensive and the spring loaded "knob" does slip out of your fingers to easily. The GMP one is good (it's on my MP) - looks like the Leica one, but no spring load.
The Wasserman is probably the quickest one as it has the longer "grip" on it. Several of my M2's have that one on them (Richard is a good friend and we have dismantled and fiddled with these over the years).
There is also a good Japanese made one - dont know the manufacturer, but you can find them in Tokyo for around $50-60.
"The "Magnum" crank is the slickest looking of them. I have one of the original and of Stephens on a couple of M2's. It would be posible to remake, but it is not a cheap job. Tricky to machine and the older version had a soldered fitting on it and that adds labor.
The slickest one is without a doubt the folding handle, stainless steel one made in N.Y. in the 60's. It is a jewel like contraption with a small lever that folds out and in doing so - pulls the lever out. It is held in place by three miniscule set screws. Only drawback is that you have no visual confirmation on film rotation as it covers the top.
I will see if I can put up a picture with the various ones - still dumbfounded about posting on RFf. Tuulikki knows though.

 

[Tom A]

 

[cosmonot]

You people who like the rewind post are nuts!
Are you telling everyone that you're happy with a S L O W rewinding system when there's a much faster system available as a simple add-on for less than $100?

But it's even faster to have a second body loaded and ready to go 😀

 

[Tom A]

But it's even faster to have a second body loaded and ready to go 😀

Ok, so what about a second body with a rewind crank too - that is really fast!

 

[BigSteveG]

I wouldn't bother w/ one....

I wouldn't bother w/ one....

They probably don't provide enough benefit to justify buying one. I'm quite happy w my MP/M2 rewind knobs. One of the reasons I got rid of my 1st M, an M6TTL, was due to the sh#$*y rewind crank.

 

[drewbarb]

The knobs don't bother me. I use two M3's; I have two Wasserman rewind cranks, one of which is premanently jammed on one of my cameras. The other sits in a drawer unused.
The crank does speed up the rewind process, but I've noticed that when I rewind by grasping the knurled handle, the whole shaft rocks back and forth rather alarmingly. I worry that in time this might cause damage, so mostly I use the rewind grasping the base, like turning a wing nut. Using it this way is a bit more comfortable than rewinding with the knob as Leitz designed it, but it's not much faster- and anyway, I prefer the camera's ergonomics as it left the factory.

Most of the time I can find a good moment to change film when there's nothing I want to shoot- and using two bodies means one will alwys have film in it anyway. Anyone want to buy my other Wasserman crank?

 

[Bill Blackwell]

Why?

So you can save five or ten seconds rewinding your film? I must confess I have never understood these devices. If you're in that much of a hurry then a Leica M is probably not your camera of choice.

 

[mike kim]

You guys know that you can rewind your M3/M2/MP very fast just by running the pad part of your hand over the rewind knob, right? There is no need to do the turn turn turn......

Patrick

i tried this with my m2, but the knob is to stiff when the camera is loaded... i'm only able to do this without a roll in it. is my camera's rewind knob stiffer than normal? it had a recent CLA.

 

[marke]

i tried this with my m2, but the knob is to stiff when the camera is loaded... i'm only able to do this without a roll in it. is my camera's rewind knob stiffer than normal? it had a recent CLA.

Mike, I have a brand new (2 month) MP and the palm-roll method doesn't work for me either. Too stiff when there is film in the camera. I just roll it between my thumb and forefinger.