Re: Leica M Winders

[Paul Schliesser <paulsc@eos.net>]

>I'm interested in getting a winder to fit my M-6 and M4-P.  I've heard a 
>lot about the winders available and most of the comments have not been 
>favorable.  Can anyone enlighten me re: the winders in general as well as 
>specific complaints re:jamming, noise and tremendous torque (jerking) 
>when using these winders.

Mark,

I have the old M4-2 winder. This version only works with the M4-2; there 
was a later M4-2 winder and an "M" winder that both work with all three 
cameras.

The M4-2 winder is pretty unsophisticated. One annoying thing that it 
took me a while to figure out is that you need to keep the shutter button 
depressed until the shutter has closed. The winder will oafishly advance 
once you let up on the shutter realease, whether the camera is ready or 
not. This is not usually a problem when shooting at normal hand-held 
speeds, but at slower speeds (under 1/30 or so) you need to be sure to 
press the shutter and then hold it. If you let up too soon, the winder 
makes a loud thunk and jams, and you need to manually advance to reset 
it. It is a loud and unpleasant sound, accompanied by a jolt as the motor 
suddenly stops; the first time this happened, I thought I had mangled the 
insides of my camera.

I can see why Leitz beefed up the film transport for this winder, because 
it seems pretty violent. It's also not especially quiet. However, once 
you are aware of how to use it properly, it seems reliable, although I 
have not used mine very hard. As I mentioned, I use it only on a tripod 
with the Visoflex. I bought it because I found a really cheap user; I 
wouldn't pay too much for it.

The newer winders behave differently, and are capable of continuous 
firing. I have heard people complain that there is a "kick" on the 
shutter release when these winders advance, but I don't have any 
first-hand knowledge of this.

Several things that I've read indicate that there are both mechanical and 
electrical connections in the body for the winder, but dammed if I can 
see anything other than the dog where the motor couples to the camera 
base and a little pin that extends when the shutter is depressed and 
activates the motor.

I was amused to see that the M4-2 winder has a red metal Leitz dot on the 
base (like the one on some camera bodies), and there is another one on 
the base of the motor, _inside_ the battery compartment.

Speaking of Leica dots, how come in the old days, the M-cameras had 
script logos and model number engravings on the top plate, where they 
would be hidden by the meter, and on the M6, the meter moved inside and 
now the top plate is blank?


- - Paul