[Leica] WAS: For Sale Friday Leica M5 :-) NOW: 3 LUG leica's. :-)

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

Sonny offered:
Subject: [Leica] For Sale Friday Leica M5
> Very nice 3 lug Leica M5      I'm asking $1100, lens and strap are not
> included.  Domestic shipping  included.
> > http://www.sonc.com/M5-3lug.htm<<<

Hi Sonny,
Sorry mate this has nothing to do with buying or selling an M5.. :-) However 
it is about 3 lug M5's! :-)

As soon as the M5 was available I made my usual camera exchange from M4 to 
M5. 3 bodies arrived and I put them around my neck and here were these three 
(3) dumb ass designed two lug on one end hanging against each other off my 
neck on my chest.

Another camera from those stupid designers who carry one camera off the 
shoulder taking pictures of castles on the Rhine. :-) Instead of "working 
photojournalists" using three (3) hanging horizontally off the neck one 
above the other. What a pain in the ass vertically!!!!!!!!! And always 
banging against each other.

A week later I went to Europe on assignment and included a visit to... of 
all places, surprise ........ Wetzlar! ;-) To see if this could be rectified 
because up to this moment only 2 lug M5's were available and still a pain in 
the ass! And I was getting ready to go back to my M4's!

Visit to the plant, warm greetings all round until I asked about a 2 lug 
version, one on each end so the camera could be used in normal fashion or a 
three version? Easy to satisfy both vertically correct people and the normal 
folks.

Now to make my point very clear after there was some hesitation about this I 
illustrated what the problem was with them only on the end.

Try to imagine I'm standing there with three M5's hanging vertically against 
each other. Now to add the dramatic touch, I took each of the outside 
cameras left and right held them out at full length neck strap and let them 
go swinging inward to the single camera hanging on my chest!

To say the least there was a sudden gasp by those observing as the three 
cameras crashed to-gether! :-) It kind of shook them up a tad.:-)

Said I, "Now you see why these cameras should have three lugs? Or go back to 
normal with two!"

There was a pause and several Leica folks looked at each other and finally 
one said... "Mr. Grant why not give me your cameras and go for lunch, we'll 
have them fixed when you come back?"

Sure enough I came back, they all had three (3) lugs!

And that ladies and gentlemen is the story behind how Leica came out with 
three (3) lug M5 Leica camera's! Absolutely true! ;-)

ted