Re: broken camera

[Godfrey DiGiorgi <ramarren@bayarea.net>]

>My Minilux has just let me down.For some reason it will not load
>colour negative or tranparency films - only TRI-X.BTW "only
>TRI-X is not a slur against that film - it is my personal
>favourite".When I insert the other films the thing whirs away,
>stops and then the frame counter flashes the number one
>continually and nothing else happens.I loaded and shot 2 rolls
>of TRI-X and the exposures were on so I don't think that it went
>to a default DX reading or anything like that.I have also
>checked and cleaned all contacts and istalled a new and tested
>battery with the same results.

Something has broken. Likely corrosion or a bad connection in the 
camera's wiring. It needs repair, ship it to an authorized service 
outlet. All machines break occasionally, even under the best 
circumstances. 

My M4-P was a fine camera, I never noted that it was any better or worse 
made than the M3 I had before it but many years seperated those two 
ownerships. It worked extremely well for the year and some I owned it. 
I've also had Nikons for more years and more exposures than anything else 
(F, F2, FM, FE2 models). None of those have ever broken on me either, and 
they've been put through far more hell than any Leica I ever owned except 
one (which died falling down the Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico City oh 
many an age ago). I have had small repairs on some of my cameras required 
from time to time but cannot fault the problems to the cameras' design or 
construction. 

Godfrey