Re: [Leica] Leicavit (was: Jim Marshall - rock and rollphotographer!)

["Bryan Caldwell" <bcaldwell@softcom.net>]

Tom,

Thanks for the very thorough explanation. How does the Rapidwinder compare
to the Leicavit in size and weight?

Bryan


- ----- Original Message -----
From: <TTAbrahams@aol.com>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Monday, December 13, 1999 11:14 PM
Subject: Re: [Leica] Leicavit (was: Jim Marshall - rock and
rollphotographer!)


> On 1 2/13/99 8:05:07 AM  bcaldwell@softcom.net (Bryan Caldwell) wrote:
> >The Leicavit was very trouble-prone. Tom A. could give you a more
detailed
> explanation than >I can. Another problem is that ordinarily the Leicavit
will
> not work with an M4/6. Marshall's >cameras have been modified to work.
With
> Tom's Rapidwinder available at a fraction of what >a new Leicavit would
cost
> - and with no modification required for M2, M4-2, M4-P, and M6, it >really
> wouldn't make a lot of sense to bring back the Leicavit.
> >Bryan
>
> The original Leicavit started of as the SCNOO rapid winder for the older
> screwmount Leicas and evolved into the SYOOM Leicavit for the IIIG and
IIIF.
> The version introduced with the Leica MP in 1957 was for all practical
> purposes a "re-bodied" SYOOM Leicavit. It was later offered as an
accessory
> to the M2 and M1 cameras.
>  I have had several of these, both in screwmount and in M2/MP
combinations.
> It works quite well, but it is extremely complex for what it does. It
suffers
> from several problems. The drive is by a chain which is prone to
stretching
> with use and also had a very irritating habit of breaking when you used it
> heavily. The clutch was a simple spring-loaded cam type. This meant that
if
> you wanted to do multiple stroke advances (handy when you hold the camera
> vertically), it required that you pulled the lever to a halfway point and
> then when you let it go back to start, it would only engage if it is was
> pulled back to were you stopped. The outside shell was made from 0.8mm
brass
> (same thickness as the top-plate of a brass top-plate on an M camera) and
> would literally deform by squeezing it hard. The lever had a razor sharp
edge
> at the bottom and impromptu appendectomies were always a chance if you
fell
> on it! The lever lock was hinged in such a way that the lever tended to be
> sloppy, even when locked down. It had a side-turn lock on it, a small
lever
> that stuck out from the side of the housing and that was prone to getting
> stuck in clothing or facial hair (remember this was a late 50's and 60's
> set-up and some of us had lots of hair then). All of these little nagging
> problems notwithstanding, it is still a very jazzy little thing. It is
most
> unfortunate that it has taken on a collector status and now costs
> multi-thousands of dollars! My last one croaked on me in the mid-80's. It
was
> worn beyond repair, the chain was repaired several times with great effort
> and the clutch was less than reliable. It was a black paint version and it
> was attached to an equally worn M2 in matching brass/black paint. I turned
it
> into a couple of M4-Ps and although great cameras, they had to be advanced
> with the regular lever. This started the whole procedure of making my own
> "Leicavit" - little did I know that 13 years later I would still be at it!
>  If Leica would make a Leicavit today, very few of the parts in the
original
> design would be useful. Modern technology has created stuff like carbon
fiber
> reinforced drive belts, multi pin clutches and ultra strong alloys that
work
> better and longer than the Leicavit of the 40' and 50'.
>  There are improvements that are possible to my own Rapidwinder. The lock
can
> be improved maybe with the introduction of a click stop at the locked end
> and/or a similar type of folding key that Leica uses. The spring inside
the
> winder is designed for a long life and I could make it slightly softer to
the
> touch by reducing the spring wire diameter. This could compromise the life
> span of the spring so I have resisted doing it. The dog-clutch (the part
with
> the teeth that engage the cameras winder drive) could be machined out of
> stainless steel and surface hardened. The lever is overly large compared
to
> the Leicavit lever, but it is much stronger too and it has a far duller
edge
> to it. Less chance of inflicting punctures on you if you misuse it!
>  When I work on improvements on the Rapidwinder, I always try to
incorporate
> them in such a manner that a/ it does not affect the price and b/it can be
> retrofitted to existing winders. Another design feature that I
incorporated
> early on in the Rapidwinder is that by trying to keep the design as simple
as
> possible, it allows a user to fix it or install a part supplied by me. The
> Leicavit MP was not very friendly in this aspect. It contained 51
different
> parts, 4 different springs and some truly weird looking parts. I did try
> several time to fix broken Leicavits while on jobs, but in most cases I
was
> not that successful with it. For some reason the sliding bar in the drive
was
> a magnet for collecting mud and sand and it required several different
> screwdrivers and needle nose pliers to dismantle (this was before
Leatherman
> Tools and commonly available Swiss Army knives). There has been many a
time
> when I was crawling around in hotel rooms on all four, looking for a
> minuscule screw, essential for re-assembly and trying to explain to fellow
> photographers "No, I haven't had anything to drink, but I am looking for a
> lost screw". You don't say things like that to photographers, particularly
to
> the ones coming from competing newspapers. It gives far to much ammunition
> for them in later bar discussions!
>  As for adapting a 50's Leicavit MP to a M6. It can be done, but is quite
> expensive and requires the drive parts from an M4-Mot/M4-M to replace the
> current "tulip". It is not a simple matter of installing just a M2 take up
> shaft. If you do that, the filmcounter is rendered useless and you of
course
> also have to be prepared to go back to the M2/M3 take-up spool way of
> loading.
> Tom A
>
> Tom Abrahamsson
> www.rapidwinder.com
>