Re: Leica and Everest

[Jim Brick <jimbrick@visualimpressions.com>]

At 12:30 AM 1/10/97 -0500, you wrote:
>At 05:53 PM 1/9/97 -0800, Jim Brick wrote:
>
>>If you climb to the top of Everest, you take an M Leica. You don't take a
>Contax G. 
>
>The possible first ascent of Everest would have been documented by the Zeiss
>lens on the camera taken along by Mallory and Irvine, a Kodak VP.  And the
>historical first ascent was documented by the Zeiss lens taken on the camera
>carried by Sir Edmund Hillary, a Prewar Retina.  Both lenses were, of
>course, Tessars.
>
>In all fairness, if I were climbing Everest today (and this is NOT bloody
>likely, I hasten to add!) I'd schlepp either a Rollei TLR or a Leica M6
along.
>
>Marc
>
>msmall@roanoke.infi.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315
>Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir!
>
>
>

Correct Marc... the point is you take the tools YOU think (and hopefully
know) will do the job for YOU. The lens formula is not as important as
"will the system hold up for the intended use." Leica M has the reputation
for being rugged enough and operable in extreme environments. And maybe the
pre-war retina and maybe Galen Rowell's Nikon FM2 are reputable enough
also. For them... not me. I think my Retina IIa had a bellows (long long
time ago... can't remember) that I would not trust in extreme cold. The
Contax G has NO reputation. If I don't know the company and don't know the
equipment, I wouldn't use it in a critical un-repeatable situation. And
before you ever set off, you make damn sure nothing is going to fall off or
not fit. Use plenty of Loctite and Duct tape!

Remember... what you get out of something is only as good as what you put
in. The very thing you forget to double check is the very thing that will
fail. People are very quick to blame someone or something else. Sometimes
other people do stupid things that causes your failure. Usually it's the
person in the mirror.

I the back country of Colorado a few years ago, I had one of my two Leica
R4's lock-up. I was shooting two different film types so really needed two
cameras. I knew exactly what the problem was, the camera and the winder
were out of sync. The ONLY way to fix it is to physically remove the winder
from the camera, then replace it. Simple. Yes... but no. I use Really Right
Stuff Arcs Swiss mounting plates on my equipment. The plate mounts over the
screw that removes the winder. The plate is screwer into the winder tripod
socket with a TORX head screw. Did I have a torx driver??? NO! Could I get
the winder off of the camera body? NO! Did I have to make do with only one
camera? YES!  WILL I EVER EVER EVER DO THIS AGAIN...? NEVER! It was that
guy in the mirror that caused the problem.

And no, just removing the battery pack does not solve the lock-up. The
winder must be physically disconnected from the baseplate.

Jim