[Leica] Electronics vs. Mechanics, was 2500 ISO

[rangefinder at screengang.com (Didier Ludwig)]

Concerning the reliability mechanical vs. electronic, it is difficult to 
compare peaches with bananas. Mechanical stuff was more repairable in the 
past but is getting less today, and electronics are mostly replaced as 
everything is soldered together on circuit boards.

I would say the difference is between old/new stuff, not mech./electronic. 
Most products made before the nineties did not have predetermined breaking 
points like today. I have for instance a Sanyo stereo tape recorder from the 
the early 80ies that survived 15 years in humid rock'n'roll rehearsal 
cellars, and now even my kids can't kill it, still works. Otoh, one of the 
digi Ixus I throwed away after 1 year of use had a stuck lens-cover 
mechanism, the only visible mechanical part of that camera. To come back on 
topic, my M6 has the second shutter and a the second finder (MP upgrade) and 
works well.

I agree with Frank concerning the reasons of buying new gear. I guess all of 
us LUGgers (except the pros) could live well with one camera only and every 
additional camera purchase is purely gear-lust driven. 

Didier




>Many people change cameras and computers frequently but this is  
>rarely because of reliability - though certainly some products are  
>designed not to last long - it is because they want something new. My  
>point is that saying mechanical items are more reliable than  
>electronic is not supported by facts. Mechanical items may usually be  
>easier for an artisan to repair but they are not inherently more  
>reliable - quite the opposite.
>Frank