jklotz Posted June 1, 2010 Share #1 Posted June 1, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) I'm taking a 2K mile motorcycle trip here shortly. I'd really like to take the M9, but it has recently been back to Leica for calibration, along with 3 of my favorite lenses. It's now spot on. With reasonable precautions, i.e. good packing in a well padded case, securely tied down, am I risking having the calibration thrown out? I have some other cameras I could take, but the M9 would be ideal, assuming it's not going to cost me another trip back to the mother land. Thoughts? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 1, 2010 Posted June 1, 2010 Hi jklotz, Take a look here Vibration and M9 Durability. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jklotz Posted June 1, 2010 Author Share #2 Posted June 1, 2010 85 views and not a single opinion? I must be mistaken - I thought I was on the M9 forum, not the free legal advice forum Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 1, 2010 Share #3 Posted June 1, 2010 Ok, I'll bite - from all reports - this question has been asked before, also for the M8, there should be no problem at all. Having said that, a light aircraft managed to "readjust" my M9 RF... An Allen key twitch on the road and a subsequent professional adjustment sorted the problem. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epimetheus Posted June 1, 2010 Share #4 Posted June 1, 2010 My M9 is also at Leica for a rangefinder adjustment after couple of months of light everyday use. It is a sensitive machine but I wouldn't leave home without it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anguish Posted June 2, 2010 Share #5 Posted June 2, 2010 Wear the camera on the body so the flesh absorbs the vibration. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho_co Posted June 2, 2010 Share #6 Posted June 2, 2010 James--You bought the camera for taking pictures, right? And now you're saying that the chance something might happen to it is more important than getting the pictures? You have to decide. It would never occur to me to ask. You can't drop it over the falls if you leave it home. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted June 2, 2010 Share #7 Posted June 2, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Wear the camera on the body so the flesh absorbs the vibration. Not on a motorcycle. Foolish. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jklotz Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share #8 Posted June 2, 2010 Interesting replies I don't think it is an unreasonable question. Clearly, I'd like to take it on the trip, but if it means another 3 or 4 week trip back to Lieca to be realigned when I return, after having already done that once, I'm going to think long and hard about taking it. I don't want to be without it for another month. Like I said, I've got a 5D that would be ok for the trip. Clearly there is no definitive answer, I was just hoping to hear from somebody who has taken theirs on a similar "adventure", and what the results were. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 2, 2010 Share #9 Posted June 2, 2010 To the long trip of the camera: Leica have a policy -at least in Solms- of a five day return for the M9, fast-tracking the camera, maybe the USA is the same, and rangefinder adjustment is not neccesarily a Leica CS thing - any competent repairman can do the job. For instance a few months ago the M9 fell from the seat of the car on the street- no external damage, just a nearly invisible chip off the edge of the bottom plate coating, but the vertical alignment of the RF was knocked out of line. I happened to be twenty minutes from Will van Manen. He adjusted the RF within ten minutes and I was -after a glass of wine- on the road again within the hour. By coincidence somebody else did exactly the same thing last Thursday:mad: to the camera and again it had no damage - but again the RF vertical was off. As I wanted Leica to chec the sensor after the Dust-Aid disaster I had and it needed a CLA anyway, I sent it to Solms on Friday. It will be in my hands again coming Monday. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_torben Posted June 2, 2010 Share #10 Posted June 2, 2010 Interesting replies I don't think it is an unreasonable question. Clearly, I'd like to take it on the trip, but if it means another 3 or 4 week trip back to Lieca to be realigned when I return, after having already done that once, I'm going to think long and hard about taking it. I don't want to be without it for another month. Like I said, I've got a 5D that would be ok for the trip. Clearly there is no definitive answer, I was just hoping to hear from somebody who has taken theirs on a similar "adventure", and what the results were. Thanks Yeah; buy a 7000 dollar camera and leave it in the safe! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJP Posted June 2, 2010 Share #11 Posted June 2, 2010 I have used my M8 on motorcycle trips (Ducati 916, so plenty of vibration both from the engine and the stiff suspension). I just have it lying on some padded gloves in the tank-bag & usually transport it without the lens mounted. The lenses get stuffed into some socks or similar padding (bubble wrap) and also go into the tank-bag. Do not wear camera gear on your body - that is really not at all sensible. No adjustments required so far - that was only neccesary when it pitched lens first into snow while mounted on a tripod (one of my more stupid actions). It took me three months before I noticed a minimal vertical misalignment which was fixed locally by Wil van Maanen with about 2 days turnaround (also had a lens cleaned, rangefinder adjustment only might have been faster). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jklotz Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share #12 Posted June 2, 2010 Yea Stephen, I've got a moto guzzi, so I know all about that Italian vibration Actually, an earlier post may have hit on something: Maybe a small back pack would be the best location to carry it? I suspect one's body would absorb a lot of the vibration.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 2, 2010 Share #13 Posted June 2, 2010 Yea Stephen, I've got a moto guzzi, so I know all about that Italian vibration Actually, an earlier post may have hit on something: Maybe a small back pack would be the best location to carry it? I suspect one's body would absorb a lot of the vibration.... Plus your body would absorb the impact of a solid piece of metal in case of an accident. Worst case scenario then-a broken back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jklotz Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share #14 Posted June 2, 2010 Plus your body would absorb the impact of a solid piece of metal in case of an accident. Worst case scenario then-a broken back. yea, but at least my M9 would be intact Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted June 2, 2010 Share #15 Posted June 2, 2010 There was a thread somewhere some time ago that I recall on the subject of motorcycles and hanging stuff on your body, alone or in a pack. Sean Reid, who has run motorcycle tours for about a dozen years every summer, was adamant that once in a while, someone will leave their bike, and that person will roll, and anything around their body will serve as a deadly weapon. When I queried him privately, he said that, yes, he's seen it happen. I haven't owned a bike for a long time, and I only left that one once, on grass. I rolled. However, there seem to be lots of ways to damp the larger vibrations with foam sheets or bubble wrap. Anything you can do to protect the rangefinder from sharp shocks seems worthwhile. scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJP Posted June 2, 2010 Share #16 Posted June 2, 2010 As stated previously the rangefinder can withstand the vibrations withoun any special measures, my main reason for padding the camera at all is that the M8 body might dent the tank due to inertia. DO NOT CONSIDER transporting it in a backpack! Sean Reid is more sensible than I had expected:D Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted June 3, 2010 Share #17 Posted June 3, 2010 It's an excellent question. One I raised several years ago with respect to my then-new M8: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/23995-m8-motorcycles-vibration-resistance.html I write for one of the motorcycle magazines and put in a lot of serious camera-on-motorcycle miles. What I concluded shortly after that thread above was that my M8 and my M-lenses would be okay on my bikes (with most miles done on the R1200GS). I carried them in my A&A bag both in a tank bag and in the hard saddlebags. After several years and many miles - no issues at all. Now I don't give a second thought to carrying my Leicas on my R1200GS, K1200RS, or GSX-R1000 (when on the Gixxer, they go in a tailpack). Fast forward a couple of years and I bought a Harley Road King. The hard saddlebags on that big twin vibrate quite soundly (though the rest of the bike is quite smooth). Again the worry about vibration damage to my Leicas raised its head - and was the biggest factor in my buying a Nikon D3. I wanted a camera with image quality comparable to the M8, but one that wouldn't prompt me to shoot myself if it vibrated apart. I've recently begun carrying my M9 on the Harley - but it goes in a bag on the seat behind me (an area which, again, is quite smooth). If I want to carry a camera in the saddlebags, the big Nikon gets the call. My suggestion is to be thoughtful and deliberative about carrying your M9 on your bike. Be mindful of where vibration occurs on your bike, at speed. You can tell that by gently touching different spots on your bike with your left hand. Avoid areas of obvious vibration. But otherwise don't be overly anal about it. The gas tank - ergo, a tank bag - is usually a quiet place on most bikes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlatkob Posted June 3, 2010 Share #18 Posted June 3, 2010 An excellent answer! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riccis Posted June 3, 2010 Share #19 Posted June 3, 2010 I can't speak for bikes but most of the times I am on airplanes (on flights anywhere from 4 to 9+ hours) and none of my Ms have needed any calibrations even after flying through heavy turbulence (which happens all the time)... I use one of the regular A&A messenger type bags without any additional padding other than the red foam dividers that comes with the bag. Have a fun trip! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZDavid Posted June 3, 2010 Share #20 Posted June 3, 2010 Hurray! Must be just about the only M9 issue on this forum that is mechanical not digital! Padded case worn diagonally or backpack. Works fine on my Vespa anyway... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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