Pioneer
Member
My M6 Shutter has burn holes in the curtain. I did it so it is certainly my own fault, but it got me thinking about the Leica camera mystique. How is it possible for people to claim that the Leica camera is so reliable when it doesn't take much to burn holes in the shutter. Face it, the solution to this certainly is not new technology. My Contax II has shutter curtains that won't burn and it was built in the mid-30s.
I'll certainly get the curtains replaced, after all it is a decent little camera. But my erroneous presumption of excellent build quality has taken a serious hit. I know that I will be using my Zeiss Ikon a whole lot more going forward. At least I won't have to worry about the shutter curtains holding up.
So the point behind this little post is this. Why has Leica insisted on staying with the cloth shutter all this time? They know it is very susceptible to being burnt. Is this only a way to keep their technicians happy or was there a real reason behind keeping this shutter on the camera all this time? They are no more accurate than other types of shutter. Theoretically they are quieter in operation, but compared to just about any leaf shutter they sound like a gun going off in a quiet room. So why persist when other, more durable shutters were available?
I'll certainly get the curtains replaced, after all it is a decent little camera. But my erroneous presumption of excellent build quality has taken a serious hit. I know that I will be using my Zeiss Ikon a whole lot more going forward. At least I won't have to worry about the shutter curtains holding up.
So the point behind this little post is this. Why has Leica insisted on staying with the cloth shutter all this time? They know it is very susceptible to being burnt. Is this only a way to keep their technicians happy or was there a real reason behind keeping this shutter on the camera all this time? They are no more accurate than other types of shutter. Theoretically they are quieter in operation, but compared to just about any leaf shutter they sound like a gun going off in a quiet room. So why persist when other, more durable shutters were available?
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