[Leica] Fast mechanical shutters

[Mike Johnston <70007.3477@compuserve.com>]

Re: fast mechancial shutters in the Contax S2 and Nikon FM-2:

Don't forget that both those shutters have a projected durability of > 50,000
cycles; certainly they would wear out before 100K cycles. One major advantage
of the traditional M shutter is that it is so overbuilt and understressed that
samples routinely last for half a million cycles or even more--that's *ten
times* the durability of the faster shutters. Also, the faster mechanical
shutters have a lower MTBF (mean time between failures) and are louder.
Reliability, durability, and quietness are among the virtues of the traditional
M shutter, and doubtless explain why Leica has stuck with it for so long
despite the fact that it has gotten pretty outdated in its flash-sync and
top-speed specifications. It's still one of the best things about the
manual/mechanical M, IMHO (although I wouldn't mind a modernized alternative
either, as long as it wasn't an outright replacement). 


Re film loading:

I'm surprised that anybody has any trouble loading an M camera. I don't think I
can misload it when I try. I'm sure most LUGgers know this already, but for the
few who might not--it's simplicity itself. You drop the film halfway in, pull
the leader across, push the cartridge home, and put the bottom plate back on.
Then wind on a couple of times, and back-wind the rewind lever to tauten the
film. I've never taken more than a few seconds to do it, an I've never had a
misload. If anybody is trying to "line up" the film or get it in between the
teeth of the take-up spool, they're're literally trying too hard--extra
measures aren't necessary. Try it a few times with a practice roll of film,
leaving the back up. Notice what happens to the film when you replace the
bottom plate. It's literally impossible to misload it. The only mistake it's
possible to make is not pulling the leader out far enough, such that it fails
to catch on the take-up spool. Just don't be shy--pull it out enough and it
will never fail to catch.

I have more trouble _unloading_ film, because I prefer to leave the leader out.
Sometimes, when I open the back, the leader is curling upwards out of the
opening, and it can be a little finicky to push it down and out of the slot
without touching the shutter.

One tip about loading film I can pass along is that a wrist-strap that attaches
to the tripod socket can speed things up. that way, when you detach the bottom
plate, you can just drop it, and it dangles from your wrist. Then it's right
there when you're ready to replace it, and you never have to worry about where
to put it, or how to hold it, while you're loading.

- --Mike