G
Guest
The current Leica Motor-M should not be confused with previous winders for M cameras: it is a great improvement. The new motor is a more compact unit that operates quietly and smoothly, although it still causes the camera's shutter release button to bob up and down, which can take some getting used to. This happens because the link between camera and motor is purely mechanical and the camera's shutter release button is used both to take the shot and to activate the motor.
The bobbing shutter button may be a bit disconcerting, at first, to people used to the more common electrical linkage in other camera/motor combinations (including Leica's R series). However, it has one advantage over, say, the R8 winder: it's easier to avoid accidental double shooting, because it takes a conscious effort to maintain enough pressure to overcome the recoil of the shutter button to allow the camera to continue with the next shot.
Too much pressure on the shutter button, though, will cause the motor to jam until the button is released. This means that the user can purposely delay the winding on of the film by holding the shutter button down. Leica discourages this practice, although the user's manual states that no harm will result from it.
A three-position switch on the rear of the motor has positions 0 - "off", I - 1.5 frames/second and II - 3 frames/second - not exactly blistering performance! However, it is very quiet at the slow setting and not too noisy at the fast setting. Leica recommends using the slow setting for single frame shooting and the fast setting for sequence shooting. If the battery power is low and the motor becomes sluggish, Leica recommends using the fast speed until the batteries can be replaced.
In sequence shooting at low shutter speeds, there is a risk of the film moving during exposure. For this reason, it is advisable to use shutter speeds faster than 1/60 second for sequences.
The camera is fully useable with the motor in the "off" position, e.g. for silent operation. Winding manually causes a faint "clickety-click" sound, which I haven't found unduly obtrusive. What can be more obtrusive is the sound made when releasing the shutter after the film has been advanced by the motor (i.e. the first shot taken after switching off the motor). There is a spring-loaded mechanism in the motor that disengages it and prevents it from trying to advance the film until the shutter is next fired (one of the consequences of a mechanical linkage). The release of this tension causes a sharp click that is quite a lot louder than the camera's shutter. Once released, however, it doesn't happen again until the motor is energized, so it's only the first shot that's noisy after switching off the motor.
The motor is attached to the camera body in place of the normal base plate. Since film is loaded from the base of the camera, this effectively means that the motor cannot be attached or detached when there is film in the camera. However, since the film can be advanced manually with the motor switched off, this is not a major inconvenience.
Two lithium 123 type batteries are contained in the cylindrical grip on the right of the motor body. If these batteries should become exhausted when there are no replacements handy, the user can simply resort to manual film advance without having to detach the motor.
A centrally located tripod socket is provided on the base of the unit, which actually makes tripod mounting easier than with the offset tripod socket in the normal camera base plate.
The Motor-M weighs 225gm without batteries. It is thicker than the base plate it replaces and increases the camera's height by a couple of centimeters. Although it increases the size and weight of the camera, it does provide a more secure grip and improves the camera's balance with the heavier lenses. One other thing: the only color available is black!
The bobbing shutter button may be a bit disconcerting, at first, to people used to the more common electrical linkage in other camera/motor combinations (including Leica's R series). However, it has one advantage over, say, the R8 winder: it's easier to avoid accidental double shooting, because it takes a conscious effort to maintain enough pressure to overcome the recoil of the shutter button to allow the camera to continue with the next shot.
Too much pressure on the shutter button, though, will cause the motor to jam until the button is released. This means that the user can purposely delay the winding on of the film by holding the shutter button down. Leica discourages this practice, although the user's manual states that no harm will result from it.
A three-position switch on the rear of the motor has positions 0 - "off", I - 1.5 frames/second and II - 3 frames/second - not exactly blistering performance! However, it is very quiet at the slow setting and not too noisy at the fast setting. Leica recommends using the slow setting for single frame shooting and the fast setting for sequence shooting. If the battery power is low and the motor becomes sluggish, Leica recommends using the fast speed until the batteries can be replaced.
In sequence shooting at low shutter speeds, there is a risk of the film moving during exposure. For this reason, it is advisable to use shutter speeds faster than 1/60 second for sequences.
The camera is fully useable with the motor in the "off" position, e.g. for silent operation. Winding manually causes a faint "clickety-click" sound, which I haven't found unduly obtrusive. What can be more obtrusive is the sound made when releasing the shutter after the film has been advanced by the motor (i.e. the first shot taken after switching off the motor). There is a spring-loaded mechanism in the motor that disengages it and prevents it from trying to advance the film until the shutter is next fired (one of the consequences of a mechanical linkage). The release of this tension causes a sharp click that is quite a lot louder than the camera's shutter. Once released, however, it doesn't happen again until the motor is energized, so it's only the first shot that's noisy after switching off the motor.
The motor is attached to the camera body in place of the normal base plate. Since film is loaded from the base of the camera, this effectively means that the motor cannot be attached or detached when there is film in the camera. However, since the film can be advanced manually with the motor switched off, this is not a major inconvenience.
Two lithium 123 type batteries are contained in the cylindrical grip on the right of the motor body. If these batteries should become exhausted when there are no replacements handy, the user can simply resort to manual film advance without having to detach the motor.
A centrally located tripod socket is provided on the base of the unit, which actually makes tripod mounting easier than with the offset tripod socket in the normal camera base plate.
The Motor-M weighs 225gm without batteries. It is thicker than the base plate it replaces and increases the camera's height by a couple of centimeters. Although it increases the size and weight of the camera, it does provide a more secure grip and improves the camera's balance with the heavier lenses. One other thing: the only color available is black!
