Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/11/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Walt- Your description of 'Pretty damn good despite the funky design" is right- I have my decorator camera shelf with cameras 30-70 years old that ooh and aah the folks who visit, they think I am a camera nut, but these are all nearly defunct! The amazing cameras- the Leicas and Rolleis I keep in my 'computer room', my special 'hidey-hole' to be protected from the unwashed because THEY STILL WORK! Funky design notwithstanding, Leica has the philosophy of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"- particularly with their the M design. The darn things work, and work for decades, the biggest hazard to them is non-use, and even pre-war versions of Leicas can be repaired today with no problem. Try that with any just about any other 70 year old camera! Looking at the drawing of the inside of a Leica, it appears deceptively simple, but that is part of the beauty of it- less is more, with less there, there is less to go wrong! We delight in showing the little Minolta P&S with its tangle of motors, gears, wires, assorted circuit boards, and myriad of parts to people who come into the store and are dismayed that repairing their plastic P&S costs more than a new one! They quickly see! I guess it's why I still carry the IIIf a lot- simple,quiet, and it keeps going, and going, and.... Dan dwpost@msn.com