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Sent quite some gear to CS in Solms...


jaapv

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So I have been using my stuf and beating it up a bit for the last five weeks. A list of what went wrong - I am not complaining, it is what I would expect after this type of trip. :)

 

M9 - The rangefinder, which was spot-on to begin with got gradually out of adjustment, not coinciding at infinity any more.

Summicron 35 asph started sticking when focussing

DMR/R9 - The exposure meter suddenly started overexposing by about five stops.

 

Having said that, I was vewry happy with the performance of the gear. The only thing now is to find the time to process about 70 Gb (edit)of images:(.

 

The M9 turns out to be the better camera over the M8 in terms of handling, mostly due to the "soft-release" feature. The DMR was all I expected, of course a bit slow, especially after the exposure metering broke down, but the Digilux3 with 180/3.4 apo did a good job in quick-shooting wildlife situations.

 

I would recommend this combination of gear to anybody doing a trip into the wild who needs both RF and SLR systems.

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What circumstances? Are you doing anything in particular that could make the rangefinder get out of adjustment?

 

Knock it few times, for example when carrying camera on shoulder (even when camera is in bag) and knock it at doorway or like, and it has big chance rangefinder to go out of alingment. Carry it in panniers or rear rack bag on bicycle. Put it hard on table or on floor (not drop it, but for example you returning home and put camera or bag with camera in it hard on floor). If you do things like that over time rangefinder may go out of alingment.

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Knock it few times

 

I expected something like this, but it must have been a pretty hefty "knock" or lots of them for this to happen after less than two months, I hope. I've been using my M4-P for 15 years now, and it has seen some abuse, but the rangefinder is still OK.

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It's odd but it's nice feeling sending stuff to Solms that has been beaten up in the field. Your gear can kiss mine goodbye when it arrives. I have the same setup there at present and expect it to come back in a few days.

 

I've felt very tempted to get a backup DMR and M9 but what I experience is that the backup gear I do have (I have a few cameras and lenses where I have two of them), I never use the backup. Instead I use 2-3 different cameras alongside, very much like your setup there, except I use D2 instead of D3. One could probably do 90% of it all with one camera alone, but it wouldn't be as fun. But in that way any one camera can act as backup for any other. It doesn't have to be the exact same, at least not in my case.

 

And yes, the M9 is really a performer.

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I've just found out what is happening to the RF adjustment of the M9. There are two small steel balls that fit to the brass connecting arm on the RF on one side and the lightmetal housing on the other. That can give raise to electrolytic corrosion. So there is an application of isolating grease to prevent that. It seems there is a problem with this grease.

That explains to me why the infinity went off and was partly corrigable by pulling the roller arm back with (some careful) force (don't try this at home!!). It squashed the obstruction. So no vibration damage as I surmised earlier.

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It's odd but it's nice feeling sending stuff to Solms that has been beaten up in the field. Your gear can kiss mine goodbye when it arrives. I have the same setup there at present and expect it to come back in a few days.

 

I've felt very tempted to get a backup DMR and M9 but what I experience is that the backup gear I do have (I have a few cameras and lenses where I have two of them), I never use the backup. Instead I use 2-3 different cameras alongside, very much like your setup there, except I use D2 instead of D3. One could probably do 90% of it all with one camera alone, but it wouldn't be as fun. But in that way any one camera can act as backup for any other. It doesn't have to be the exact same, at least not in my case.

 

And yes, the M9 is really a performer.

I agree. The advantage of the D3 over the D2 is the ability to take R lenses, so it works as a backup to the DMR.

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I've just found out what is happening to the RF adjustment of the M9. There are two small steel balls that fit to the brass connecting arm on the RF on one side and the lightmetal housing on the other. That can give raise to electrolytic corrosion. So there is an application of isolating grease to prevent that. It seems there is a problem with this grease.

That explains to me why the infinity went off and was partly corrigable by pulling the roller arm back with (some careful) force (don't try this at home!!). It squashed the obstruction. So no vibration damage as I surmised earlier.

Very useful indeed jaapv! My M8 has similar symptoms - it is not treated with kid gloves - and this explains it perfectly - better send it off now (i've been using it too much to bother)!

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You can set the shutter release button to release the camera on the point that is normally the AE lock, turning it into a hair trigger. I turned it on and will never switch it off again :) I use manual for selective metering anyway.

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Thanks. Yes, I read about function and wondered how people use (or not), since I don't own the M9. I'm sure you like quicker, more precise action. Just wondered if it also provides steadier action, although I wouldn't think camera shake is something you have any need to address. But, seems others may like it for that, too.

 

Jeff

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