Why not the whole M body in aluminium?

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I think  titanium frames with a carbon fiber coverings, utilizing silicon waterproof seals would bring these bodies more up to date. I think it's time to honor the past with a decent respect to where it's led us.

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I think  titanium frames with a carbon fiber coverings, utilizing silicon waterproof seals would bring these bodies more up to date. I think it's time to honor the past with a decent respect to where it's led us.

 

I love carbon fiber and have a notable number of things made out of it. However, having done a bit of carbon fiber layup, I'm not entirely sure it is the right material for a camera body. The big problem is making high strength attachment points. Anywhere you want to have a screw to attach one assembly to another assembly you have to embed little metal pieces which have the threads. Bonding these into the structure of the carbon fiber is correctly is much harder than it looks. Much of the internal structure of a camera is attaching subassemblies precisely and rigidly. Lightweight machined metal works better for that kind of thing. It also makes it much more easily repairable. Many carbon fiber assemblies are glued together.

 

Also carbon fiber is not ideal for the external casing. It is less resistant to the normal bumps and scrapes of regular use. The initial plastic phase of metals tends to handle that better than the composite epoxy and carbon fiber which tends to make microfractures that ultimately degrade its rigidity and strength. Also slightly deformed metal retains a large percentage of its strength while carbon fiber is greatly compromised. 

 

Anyway, I love carbon fiber. I crave lightness. I'm not convinced that it would be ideal for this situation. In general, I like the Leica T and SL manufacturing approach and I think that it suits Leica's volume and brand ideal quite well . Maybe I wish that they had a tad bit more ergonomic nuance in the handgrips other than that I like them. If a subsequent lighter M were made like the T or SL out of a CNC milled block of metal, I wouldn't complain about how this new M lost some essential classic M-ness. 

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I think  titanium frames with a carbon fiber coverings, utilizing silicon waterproof seals would bring these bodies more up to date. I think it's time to honor the past with a decent respect to where it's led us.

 

I'm not convinced about silicone rubber seals either. Silicone rubber as used in 'O' rings and the like is soft and requires lubricant where control shafts pass through it - both of which make it prone to wear so it will need eventual replacement which may well be an expensive addition in the servicing cycle. Nitrile rubber can be better but all these materials do eventually age so the product life will be finite and short - of course there will be many who will argue that this is true for digital products anyway so why worry. If so I'd argue that using the lowest cost 'quality' materials is the best route to follow - back to aluminium to plates it is then. Aluminium with a good, hard finish looks good and lasts well and is relatively cheap.