Leica M Motor Winder

[spikemozeley]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi everyone,

 

I am thinking about grabbing the Leica M Motor Winder to accompany my M7.

Two reasons, grip and faster shooting capabilities if I need it.

Any thoughts on the Winder for users? Pros cons?

 

Thanks!

[jdstall01]

Mine works great, but I hardly use it due to the fact that it makes the camera a lot larger/heavier and there's just not much need for being able to shoot that fast. That being said.. I do enjoy it being in the kit.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[pico]

Spike, I use a Leica M Motor Wind on an M7 I reserve for a 75mm Summilux. My reason is simply to minimize   camera movement due to the lever advance. An experienced M user can match or beat the frames-per-second of the Leica motor with Tom Abrahamsson's RapidWinder. Not me. I'm old and no longer that supple.

 

Wordy. Sorry. I highly recommend the Leica motor wind, but it is not sports-photography fast, instead it is there to avoid the manual advance, and is especially useful to left-eyed focusing.

 

Very Best,

Pico

Edited March 19, 2017 by pico

[Denys]

In my opinion, an M winder adds weight to a light camera, size to a small camera and noise to a quiet camera..will that outweigh the prospect of using a (fairly slow) continuous drive? Maybe there is a grip that makes the camera more comfortable to hold - not sure which design you are considering.

Edited March 19, 2017 by Denys

[pico]

[...] Maybe there is a grip that makes the camera more comfortable to hold - not sure which design you are considering.

 

Yes, the very lightweight and quiet motor-wind integrates a grip, ya big silly.

It has been available for about sixteen years.

 

Edited March 19, 2017 by pico

[Denys]

Yes, the very lightweight and quiet motor-wind integrates a grip, ya big silly.

It has been available for about sixteen years.

 

Yes - I was aware of this.. ..not my "cup of tea" - just another addition that seems to turn an M into a DSLR.

[pico]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Yes - I was aware of this.. ..not my "cup of tea" - just another addition that seems to turn an M into a DSLR.

 

Gosh! Each of my seven Leica Ms have a motor wind, a Leicavit or a RapidWinder but none have transformed into a DSLR! Two are digital, the others are film, and still the framing/focusing part is rangefinder.

.

Edited March 19, 2017 by pico

[Denys]

Gosh! All my five of my Leica Ms have a motor wind, a Leicavit or a RapidWinder but none have transformed into a DSLR!

.

Must be your "cup of tea" then.. ..happy for you :-)

[250swb]

I don't know where you get 'tea' from, the motor winder is more like a cup of hemlock for an M camera.

 

It's fine if there is a very specific requirement, but it's a heavy lump that spoils the handling of the camera. And given with an M the winder can't simply be removed without at the same time changing the film then it's frustrating to have to carry it around no matter what. And has been said, speed isn't improved, only the ability to keep the camera dead steady during film advance. It is an anachronism from the days when even sports photographers 'sometimes' used a Leica M.

[spikemozeley]

I just grabbed the drive. Have so say I'm very happy with it.

Not something I will always use but certainly for some projects.

Seems to run better on my MP than M7

[Fotoklaus]

The reason to use a M is high quality compared to size and weight. So I would choose just another camera to have a winder.

Using an EOS 30 or F100 would also add some features additionally to the built in motor. But that´s just my personal opinion.

For me I just enjoy having a compact M without any additional size and weight.

[pgk]

Spike, I use a Leica M Motor Wind on an M7 I reserve for a 75mm Summilux. My reason is simply to minimize   camera movement due to the lever advance. An experienced M user can match or beat the frames-per-second of the Leica motor with Tom Abrahamsson's RapidWinder. Not me. I'm old and no longer that supple.

 

Wordy. Sorry. I highly recommend the Leica motor wind, but it is not sports-photography fast, instead it is there to avoid the manual advance, and is especially useful to left-eyed focusing.

 

Very Best,

Pico

 

Makes sense for the heavier lenses if the advantage gained is relevant as stated here. That said, I've owned one and I didn't like the added weight/bulk and resold it. As with many add-ons, you really need to try them to decide. Advice is great and can help determine whether something's worth considering (as above) but the reality is that you need to handle such items on the camera for yourself I'm afraid. There are alternative grips and of course Leicavit/rapid winders which add less bulk, though I don't think that grips and leicavit/rapid winders can be used together as the baseplate is needed for the handgrip and is replaced/deeper for the winders (I may be wrong).

[M9reno]

Never having used the M-Motor, is it the case that, during continuous shooting, the shutter release is caused to move up and down?  That would seem annoying and a cause of unsteadiness.  Could users comment on this please?

[Guest]

Your info and deduction are correct.

[andybarton]

The shutter release does ride up and down when shooting, but it's under your finger, and doesn't cause any problem.

[wattsy]

Yes, if you keep the shutter release depressed you get a little nudge in your finger each time the shutter recocks but it isn't enough to cause a problem. Even with the motor on full speed (I seem to recall it has three settings: off, 1.5 and 3 fps) it is pretty pedestrian and not like a Nikon F5 ripping through a roll of film in 3 seconds. For some reason I liked the M-Motor enough to buy two when the M6TTL and, a little later, the M7 where my first choice cameras. I quite liked the extra height and the grip made the camera feel more secure in the hand when using it without a strap. In fact, I very rarely actually used the motor itself and had the M-Motor almost always in the off position so it was really just an expensive and heavy grip for me. The only times I used it as a motorised winder – and when it came in handy – was bracketing exposures with the camera on a tripod. When I acquired the M8 and subsequent digitals I sold the motors along with most of my film M bodies. Having since sold off all my digital bodies and returned to film bodies I now prefer them without grips and winders.

Edited March 21, 2017 by wattsy

[Jaybob]

I have a non-grip Winder M that doesn't get much use on my M6.

 

All my "motorized" cameras are set on "single shot" so the frame advance rate doesn't really bother me, however, I'm not a fan of the pulsing shutter, the extra weight, or the noise.  It's the noise mostly.

[SilentShutter]

I have a non-grip Winder M that doesn't get much use on my M6.

 

All my "motorized" cameras are set on "single shot" so the frame advance rate doesn't really bother me, however, I'm not a fan of the pulsing shutter, the extra weight, or the noise.  It's the noise mostly.

 

Think you never heard a Nikon F2 with MD2 ?

 

I had the Leica Winder M with my M6 for a while for some street photography.

Two frames per second is not much but could be the difference of get the right moment or not.

 

If you hate the weight - just dont buy it. 

[a.noctilux]

I have a non-grip Winder M that doesn't get much use on my M6.

 

All my "motorized" cameras are set on "single shot" so the frame advance rate doesn't really bother me, however, I'm not a fan of the pulsing shutter, the extra weight, or the noise.  It's the noise mostly.

 

14408 Motor-M is different from the former winders or motors:

- the grip is very secure for handling (for use example without strap)

- this is the lightest "pulsing shutter" so much less than previous ones

- it's the quietest without vibration

 

Look here for a complete reviews of Leica M motor/winder:

https://www.cameraquest.com/LeicaMmotors.htm

 

I use this Motor-M only when needed, not allways because of weight and bulk, but this last one is the best with Leicavit M better yet , with no pulsing shutter.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[pico]

Thank you, a.noctilux for the clarifying link. I failed to understand why people objected to the weight of a motorized M until I saw the early units which are monsters and obsolete except to collectors. Really, M motorwinds are so close to the weight of the Leicavit that the difference is insignificant.

 

Repeating myself - all my Leica M film cameras have either Tom Abrahamsson's Rapidwinder, a Leicavit or Motor-M strictly for ergonomic reasons.

 

Very recently I was fortunate to purchase a black Abrahamsson Leica M2 rapidwinder from one of our members.

.

Edited March 24, 2017 by pico