Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/11/16

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Subject: Re: [Leica] M6 durability
From: "Dan Post" <dwpost@email.msn.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 11:47:18 -0500

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