[rollei_list] Re: Leicas and Nikons and Rolleis
- From: "Richard Knoppow" <dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:53:32 -0700
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marc James Small" <marcsmall@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 7:16 PM
Subject: [rollei_list] Leicas and Nikons and Rolleis
At 09:31 PM 9/29/2009, Marvin wrote:
>I was in Africa shooting with a M4P. I placed my bag on
the ground and the
>camera was struck slightly rigorously. The M4P has a
ridiculous design using
>an aluminium rewind crank. The crank was deformed and
would neither move
>forwards nor backwards. From that moment on the camera
remained inoperative.
>A Nikon FM2 on the other hand is virtually indestructible.
(I think the same
>could be said for Rollei TLR's in some ways, though the
shutter mechanisms
>are delicate and the whole system relies upon it.)
>This may be why journalists moved over to Nikon, sturdier
build, and a more
>flexible and forgiving system overall. It seems now Leica
have moved away
>from the flimsy designs M6-M4P, back to the tank like
construction, of the
>M2/3.
Wow. Several points.
First, I am not certain what you mean by "struck
slightly rigorously". Was the camera whacked or not?
Second, the only major camera system I have ever
had fail, and fail time and time again, were
Nikon F2's. Junk. Soured me on Nikon forever,
especially as Nikon refused to stand behind them
until legal action was threatened. Replaced with a REAL
tank, A Canon F1.
Third, the M6 is a tough camera. I always
bounce-test my Leicas on concrete from at least 3
feet, and my M6 bounces quite nicely and just
keeps on working. But, then, I have done the
same on my M3 DS and my IIIc and IIIf RDST and my
IIIg. They just keep keeping on.
Fourth, Rollei TLR's are extremely tough save for
the body. The shutter is tough as can be. But
the body is aluminium and can be deformed. This
can jam the film advance and the alignment of the lenses.
Marc
I agree about the Compur shutters used in Rolleis, they
are actually pretty tough and are well protected. I think
the weakest part of the camera is the back, just stamped
sheet metal which can be twisted all to easily. The body is
a casting and fairly strong and stiff. It certainly be bent
or broken but it takes quite a bit of force. The front is
also a weak point but we are talking about cameras here not
military weapons. Actually, most Rollies where the font
cover is not even all around the edges just have missing
shims or are slightly bent (can be bent back) which has no
effect on the actual lensboard. If you drop a Rollei on its
front it may bend the focusing slides which is big time
damage.
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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