FreeLists / leicareflex / [LRflex] DMR Casualty Report

[Bill Abbott <wbabbott3@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear friends,

I found the Setting Button and Wheel of my DMR missing the morning of  
May 29; the two parts were later found in my camera bag.

The casualty took place almost 4 months to the day after I bought it,  
serial number 1001379, and after 1251 images had been made.

I am away from home and will return the DMR to my dealer, Camera West  
in Monterey, in whom I have the highest confidence, when I return.  
I'll keep you posted on what transpires.

I have fooled with temporarily holding the parts in place to try to  
change the last settings (ISO 100, jpeg fine, WB set to A) but have  
decided to leave well enough alone and not risk further damage. The  
camera appears to be functioning normally otherwise.

I have no idea when or how the damage and detachment (perhaps two  
separate events, perhaps two immediately sequential events) occurred,  
whether the damage occurred when I was using the camera the prior  
day, upon placing it into the bag that day, during its ride in the  
bag on the walk home, or upon its removal from the bag. All are  
possibilities. The only part of which I am certain is that detachment  
occurred somehow as to leave the two parts in the bag.

In my humble opinion (IMHO), the Settings dial and button are nowhere  
near as robust as any other user operated device or feature I have  
ever seen on a Leica camera, going back to the M4 with MR Meter, and  
the R4, or during 20 years with a seemingly bullet-proof 3.5 Rollei  
TLR. Again, IMHO, the current DMR Setting mechanization cries out for  
re-engineering.

The message of this casualty, and similar ones documented on the  
Leica Forum, is for all DMR users  to exercise some sort of caution,  
but I will leave it to your collective experience to suggest what  
that might be.

All the best,

Bill
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