Re: [Leica] The tripod socket on M6 TTL

["William Larsen" <ohlen@sierratel.com>]

MV writes:
> As a new user of a Leica M6 TTL, I am a little baffled by
the tripod socket
> being off to a side on the M6. I realize that most M6
users shoot handheld
> (as I did, on my recent trip to India, and the slides look
awesome!) but I
> am used to an SLR + tripod, and would occasionaly like to
use a tripod with
> the M6. Does the offset socket cause stabilty problems,
especially with
> vertical compositions? I am planning to use a light weight
tripod with a
> ball head.

If you look at the way that the bottom plate is designed and
the way it fits, first you will find that there is not
enough room to place the tripod socket in the center and
secondly, the strongest areas of the bottom plate are at
each end, but particularly at the tripod socket end.

This design does not seem to produce stability problems
since it has been used for years and years with the RF
design Leica used on tripods for macro photography.  The
socket end is the one attached to the lug and that is about
as stable as you are going to get.  Of course, you can
always get a Tom Abrahamsson Rapid Winder where the socket
is in the middile. ;-)

Regards, Bill Larsen from California's Heartland