Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/10/20

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Subject: Re: [Leica] chrome cleaning
From: Alexey Merz <alexey@webcom.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1999 20:42:25 -0700

Anthony Atkielski rhapsodized:
> One Leica body that really impressed me was dangling from 
> the arm of a professional photographer.  It looked like it 
> had fallen off a few buildings, gone down with the Titanic, 
> and been road-killed once or twice.  And yet the lens was 
> crystal-clear, and it still operated smoothly and silently, 
> from what I saw when he used it.  It's that kind of ruggedness
> and reliability that makes my mouth water over a camera, and 
> that's one of the reasons why I bought a Leica. I don't really
> care whether the chrome shines or not.  But I guess there's no
> accounting for taste.

Damn straight!

My 1-year-old M6 0.85, one of only 4,000 or so made, has 
significant zinc showing at the edges of the baseplate (though
the vinyl protective strip is still there) and zinc peeking 
through adjacent to the rewind knob. Also some burnishing is 
visible at the hinge where the plastic thumbplate meets the 
rest of the wind lever. No dents yet, but this camera is *kaput*
as a collector; it is clearly not mint. 

That's what happens when a camera is used. But hey, it was 
designed, built, and bought to be used. So it is!

Collectors... harumph. 

- -Alexey