Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/03/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]George, Yours is another testament to Leica. You know, whenever I get together with those few people that I still know from my pro days back in the 60's and 70's, it's always a joy to trade these "war stories". My current friends with Leica systems are, I'm afraid, all more interested in keeping their gear in mint condition rather than USING it. Here's another small personal story about Leica's legendary ruggedness. I was sent to shoot a downhill ski championship race. This was in the early 70's. I was given a spot at the bottom of a turn, behind a small (and quite ineffectual) barrier, a pop box to sit on, and was told that a snow cat would pick me up at the end of the day. I was alone at that spot (I didn't ski at the time and had no way down other than the cat). Other than my camera gear, I had sandwiches and a thermos of coffee. The temperature was about -10C, the sky was overcast and there was a steady wind blowing crystaline snow that got into everything. I sat there shooting for close to 4 hours. I had with me a Hassleblad with 3 lenses, a Nikon F with 6 lenses and a Leica M2 and M3, Visoflex and 4 lenses. I didn't plan on shooting with the Leicas because I was mostly using long lenses. The Hassy was intended for some wide views and I planned on using the Nikon most. The outcome was that the Hassy froze up and became useless after about 45 minutes. The Nikon lasted for about 2 hours and then froze up. The 2 Leicas worked all day and I ended up doing most of my shooting with them until *I* finally froze up and called for help to get me off the mountain. Like I said, whether desert, arctic or rain forest, if I had to absolutely posatively get the shot, I'd always take an M Leica. Cheers, Michael >Loved the story and the attitude Michael > >I've been using an M6 for 4 years .... first time out in "bad weather" was a >walk (hike) on the Milford Track in New Zealand, day one and the sky just >opened up, water every where .. up to our knees .. and we have the photos >to prove it > >At one point in pouring rain, my partner was holding a hand towel above the >camera as I took the shots, both the 21mm finder and the viewfinder were so >fogged I couldn't see a thing, so I just pointed and took the shots. > >The fog in the 21mm finder took a couple of days to clear ... But 3 years >later, no service and all is fine > >Regards, > >George Moore, Sydney Australia > >gmoore@magna.com.au > > >