Anodised silver replacing chromed brass

[Michael Geschlecht]

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Hello 4X5B&W and Paul,

 

Please re-read my Post #15, above.

 

I specifically wrote that the top covers & bottom plates were NOT aluminium.

 

It is the body shell castings that I wrote were aluminium.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

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[pgk]

I specifically wrote that the top covers & bottom plates were NOT aluminium.

I checked and it is the M-D which has aluminium top and bottom plate.

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Paul,

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

I was writing about film camera bodies.

 

The M-D is a digital camera.

 

In his book: Leica M  The Advanced School Of Photography, Umschau Verlag 1986

 

On page 22 Gunter Osterloh wrote about the M6:

 

"Body Housing: One-piece body housing of die-cast aluminum with hinged back cover."

 

As was the situation with the screw mount cameras before the "M" film cameras. Except that the general production screw mount cameras did not have backs that opened.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

[Exodies]

<snip>

If brass was as usable in disposable situations I think that the liking for it would be rather different.

I disagree. Aluminium is used in food packaging but has to be carefully coated; it's used for pans but you wouldn't want to have one in your kitchen. The idea that it is toxic gives it a bad reputation, not its cheapness.

Brass is nice to the touch, aluminium not.

[Michael Geschlecht]

As per Exodies Post #24 above;

 

Brass is an alloy of Copper & Zinc. Both of these metals are needed, in small quantities, in people's diets for good nutrition.

 

Aluminium, even though it is the most common metal on this Planet, has no known use in a person's body.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

[NB23]

Superior in what sense?

 

Again, there are Bronze statues and there are aluminum car engines. No one is arguing againdt the virtues of aluninum (roll eyes), but making a 50 apo in alu imstead of brass is simply cheapass.

[pgk]

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Copper is toxic too - so?

[pgk]

Superior in what sense?

 

Again, there are Bronze statues and there are aluminum car engines. No one is arguing againdt the virtues of aluninum (roll eyes), but making a 50 apo in alu imstead of brass is simply cheapass.

If you prefer the feel and look of brass so be it, but cheapness is a red herring when using a potential better material for the job which aluminium probably is. I can't imagine anyone wanting to but a brass or ever bronze underwater camera housing - wrong material to use. So what's wrong in using aluminium for lenses?

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Paul,

 

As per your Post #27, above:

 

Copper, Zinc, Aluminium: They are all toxic when they are ingested in too large of a quantity.

 

As per my Post #25, above:

 

Copper & Zinc have a use in a person's body when ingested in appropriate amounts.

 

There is no known use for Aluminium in a person's body.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

[jdlaing]

Sage advice. Don't lick and chew on your aluminum ALLOY lenses.

[jdlaing]

And chromium is a carcinogen.

[pgk]

And chromium is a carcinogen.

 

Therefore clearly has a bad reputation .

[edwardkaraa]

Aluminum is used in antacid preparations and deodorants

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Everybody,

 

Chromium, in appropriate amounts, is essential to proper nutrition.

 

And, let's not forget about Iron (In the springs of Screwmount & Film "M" cameras.) which is also an essential nutrient. In proper amounts.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Again Everybody,

 

Well, here we are discussing the properties of various elements nutritionally. This is good because appropriate nutrition & the toxicity of various metals when ingested inappropriately is an important issue.

 

An interesting aside to this newly developing direction is:

It appears that some people writing in this Thread like the fact that their Screwmount Cameras & their Film"M" Cameras have bodies made out of aluminium. These aluminium bodies appear to combine durability with light weight in a successful manner.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on the matter?

Best Regards,

 

Michael

[edwardkaraa]

I don't really mind the weight saving of the aluminum plates of my M262. It doesn't sound like much of a difference on paper but in actual use it's real.

[ralphh]

Industrial brass has all kinds of highly toxic additives, including lead. It has to be painted or chromed so it's not toxic to touch. I would much sooner eat aluminium.

 

Or so I've read

 

Out of curiosity, how many people have actually swallowed a lens by mistake?!

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Ralphh,

 

It's probably better to eat on high quality, properly glazed, porcealin.

 

There are many types of brass that are used in manufacturing things.

 

250 years ago a tallcase clock in a person's home might use 6 or more different types of brass of different compositions, treated differently during their (Not the clock's) manufacture. The different types of brass do different things different ways in different part of the clockworks.

 

The same with the iron & steel in the same clockworks.

 

Just like the Windsor Chair in the same room which might have a back made of ash, spindles made of maple & a seat made of pine.

 

All the parts are wood. But different woods for different purposes.

 

Some parts aged wood, some parts green wood.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

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Hallo,

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[derleicaman]

Most of the top plates for the M6 were made of cast zinc, as were the later "flush window" top plates of the M4-P. I know this as when I specced out the LHSA Black Paint camera with Leica, we had to use brass under the black paint, which was one of the stumbling blocks to that model. Leica had to change their production methods to do the black paint, which they did, and it has since been a regular production finish/material. At the time of the LHSA Black Paint model, black paint had become a lost art for Leica, as it had been discontinued in favor of black chrome for over ten years. Those first black paint cameras were subcontracted out to a firm in Austria, as Leica could no longer do the finish in house. The only reason they could do brass, was that they had switched over to CNC machining of the top plate rather than using the original deep drawn die-press process used before the M6 cast zinc tops. The dies from the old M cameras were worn out and had been scrapped years before.

 

The top plate of the M 262 is aluminum, and to be done in brass would require recertification of that model to use brass, which is very costly. The M-D top plate is brass.

[benleaman]

Hello gentlemen,

 

I have recently purchased my first Leica system, a M9 and a Summicron 35mm ASPH 6 bit; both items were purchased previously owned and separately of one another.

 

This thread is making me curious whether my silver colored lens is chrome plated brass (as it was advertised) or if it is the silver anodized aluminum version. By the feeling holding it in my hand I'm beginning to doubt whether it truly is brass.

 

So my question to all of you is, how do I tell for certain the lens body material?

 

Is there a serial number indication? I don't recall seeing a model number on the lens (it's not with me at the time of posting)

 

Could anyone tell me the weights of either lens? I looked on Leica'a website for the lens but on my mobile I don't see that information.

 

I appreciate any help that can be provided.

Regards,

Ben