[Leica] Re: Wet Leicas

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

No one will pay any attention to this post on wet Leicas anyway, but  
what the hell, here it is.  True believers will feel that their Leica  
is immune to the ravages of nature. Equjpment fetishists will never  
take their camera out of the box.

The whole waterproofing discussion started when Doug Herr requested  
advice for a camera to be used on a kayak. A kayak is an either or  
situation. You are either thoroughly dry or thoroughly wet. Most of  
the anecdotal tales of Leica's water resistance come from  
photographers who dampened their cameras with rain or immersed them  
in fresh water, even muddy fresh water. Although not sealed, the  
openings in an RF Leica body are small and it takes a few minutes for  
the water to get in. Steel parts rust slowly in fresh water and if  
the camera is dried reasonably quickly little harm is done.

Besides, Leicas, for all their picture taking ability are very simple  
machines embodying a 50 year old mechanical technology. I'm speaking  
only of the Leica RF cameras here. The guts of the camera contain a  
rubberized curtain focal plane shutter with relatively large gears  
and springs, a film transport, and, in some models, a fairly well  
sealed range/viewfinder. Admittedly the sealing is to prevent dust  
from getting in but it works for a while against water. The only  
sensitive parts are the slow speed escapement, the RF cam and  
mechanism and, in the Ms, the tiny shutter ball bearings. The older  
Leicas up to the M4 had no electrical components except for the flash  
contact. Dry a wet camera out and it should work pretty well, perhaps  
not perfectly, but given Leica's tolerances, few photographers will  
notice the difference. It may pain a LUGGER who just spent a couple  
of thousand dollars for one of Solm's finest to realize that Leicas  
are primitive cameras. A modern P&S with auto focus, auto exposure,  
zoom lens and electric film transport is far more complicated. But  
reliability comes with simple.

The best way to dry out a wet RF Leica is to remove the lens, remove  
the baseplate and open the back and put it a few feet in front of a  
electric heater with a fan. Also good is an oven with the door open,  
set at the lowest heat level. The camera should never get hotter than  
a temperature comfortable to hold in your hand. Probably 110 F. is  
the limit.

Even most of today's electronic cameras can survive a fresh water  
dunking if they are dried out immediately.

There are a couple of cautions. If the camera is allowed to get wet  
and not dried out fairly quickly, the damp steel parts will have a  
chance to rust and then will have to be replaced. This is expensive.  
I stored a cardboard box of unused cameras in an attic over the  
winter. The roof leaked and wet the box. By spring I had a sodden  
mass of totally rusted photo equipment. I salvaged a few optics and  
viewfinders but the rest was history. So much for Leicas water  
resistance.

Salt water is entirely different. Salt water is very corrosive to the  
metals in cameras. Worse, if allowed to dry, tiny salt crystals form  
which continue to attract moisture and cause serious rust. Few camera  
repairmen will work on a saltwater immersed camera that has not been  
rinsed in three of four changes of fresh water. If the camera is  
allowed to dry unrinsed, repair costs will be more than the camera is  
worth.

If you insist on dropping your RF Leica in salt water, you can try to  
salvage it by immediately dunking it in a bucket of fresh water.  
Change the water and do it twice again. Then try the drying routine  
suggested above.

After you get back from the trip or assignment, it's best to give the  
camera a CLA. It probably past time for one anyway.

This advice is based on 50 years of experience mistreating Leicas and  
on the after the fact recommendations of a couple of well known Leica  
repair persons. Of course if you have good photo equipment insurance  
coverage you can forget all of the above.

Now can we get on with trashing of the yet to be released M-8.

Regards,

Larry Z