Hotrodding the Leica M, from LHSA Viewfinder

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Hotrodding the Leica M
(From LHSA Viewfinder, vol. 36 no. 4)

The ridge gleamed like it was coated with precious stones. I tightened the belt on my waist pack and decided on the 'boarders rolling up the half pipe instead of a winter mountain landscape. Not for the first time, I was grateful for the light weight and tack sharpness of Leica gear as I skied down for a better view of snowboard acrobatics. I chose the Leica for just those characteristics, though there are flaws in a fifty-year-old design.

M-cameras aren't perfect for every application, but clever (and relatively cheap) improvements are possible.

The Vulcanite on earlier M bodies is quite grippable, and the leatherette covering on more recent M's while not up to the earlier standard is still good. But many of us need a better handle on our cameras. For the M3 with goggled 35mm 'RF' lenses like the first version Summicron shown here, you need enough clearance to change goggled lenses without removing the grip. The GMP metal M-grip has the clearance and metal durability. The notch on Tom Abrahamsson's Rapidgrip makes it even more unslippable in your hand, but its tighter clearance makes it unsuitable for an M3 and RF lenses. That's why it's on my M6 TTL.

I always dreaded getting to exposure 37 and struggling with the M3's rewind knob. Unless you were a pianist with strong fingers the thing would constantly slip out of your hands, especially as you approached the beginning of the roll. One of several rewind crank adaptors will solve this one. Perhaps the best of these is Richard Wasserman's. It must be good, since Leica has copied it for use on the new MP and charges nearly five times as much. The only drawback is the likelihood of scratching the camera's top plate with it if you're cranking in a hurry.

In a studio or with flash, the M3's nonstandard sync contacts require a PC socket adaptor. These adaptors are very unreliable. After the third adaptor with flaky flash triggerring, I bit the bullet and had my local Leica repairman replace the stock M3 contacts with PC sockets for an M4. The later-model parts fit beautifully, and presto! No more flash problems!

Some of us use Leica Ms on tripods. Arca-Swiss ball heads are particularly handy with lightweight cameras. With the ball fairly loose, you can change the camera's position and it'll stay put without tightening the ball back down. Arca quick-release plates make it fast to tripod-mount cameras. Arca's universal plate screws into a tripod socket, but it loosens and slips all over the place. You don't want to remove the grip or replace the motor with a stock baseplate just to attach an Arca plate, either.

Really Right Stuff and Kirk Enterprises have stepped into the breach with slippless plates fitting some of the grips, motor-M, and naked Leicas (gasp!). I use RRS' B9 plate on the GMP M-grip, and Kirk's PZ-65 plate on the motorized M7 for those portrait sessions with 90mm or 50mm lenses. The PZ-65 is the only plate that fits the Leica motor-M. RRS' B30 is handy on the naked M when I'm traveling light but want to tripod-mount the camera outdoors.

Then there's the poke in the eye lefties get advancing the film with the camera's top-mounted lever. The Abrahamsson Rapidwinder solves this problem for less cost, complexity, and weight than Leica's new Leicavit M. It also maintains battery independence, a plus when it's -10 F out and you're shooting skiers at Squaw Valley.

Finally, we have Larry Welker's Rose switch on my M6 TTL. This is a great way for your M6 to always be ready without constant meter battery drain. It takes only fingertip pressure to reach around the RapidGrip and flick on the camera's meter when you want to shoot. If you're using a Visoflex III, the Rose gets in the way of the full lever lock position. However, you can still mount and partially lock the Viso III on the camera with the Rose in place as I've done here on my M6 TTL.

You may notice the late-model Leica strap on the M3. After an older leather strap broke and sent my M3 with Noctilux crashing to the ground right before a shoot, I decided I didn't need to pay for another budget-busting repair. So I bought a new, unbreakable strap identical to the ones usually living on my M6 TTL and M7. Anything else is hazardous to your camera's health.

RESOURCES:
Abrahamsson RapidGrip and Rapidwinder are available at www.rapidwinder.com.
Wasserman rewind crank and GMP metal M-grip are available at www.photovillage.com.
International Camera Technicians, Mountain View, CA does M3 flash contact replacement; www.ictcamera.com. Really Right Stuff Arca plates are available at www.reallyrightstuff.com.
Kirk Enterprises Arca plates are available at www.kirkphoto.com.
Rose switches are available at www.quickreleaseplate.com/m6switchpage.html.