Anyone make metal MP battery covers and Film reminder wheels?

[Jodad]

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Hey guys.

Is it possible to replace the film reminder wheel to a metal one? Anyone make one of those?

What about metal battery covers?

[250swb]

You mean the current MP? The 'film reminder wheel' is the ISO dial that has electrical contacts to the camera's meter, you can't swap it. The MP comes new with two styles of battery cover, both are metal.

Edited September 25, 2018 by 250swb

[Jodad]

You mean the current MP? The 'film reminder wheel' is the ISO dial that has electrical contacts to the camera's meter, you can't swap it. The MP comes new with two styles of battery cover, both are metal.

 

Ah, i didnt realise it was connected to electronics...

Thanks 250.

[bodchzak]

You mean the current MP? The 'film reminder wheel' is the ISO dial that has electrical contacts to the camera's meter, you can't swap it. The MP comes new with two styles of battery cover, both are metal.

The battery covers that came with my MP are both plastic, are you thinking of the base plate? 

[250swb]

The battery covers that came with my MP are both plastic, are you thinking of the base plate? 

 

Thanks, I'll check to see if I've fitted the baseplate into the battery hole by mistake. But if your battery covers are both plastic they've been cheapened since I got my MP in January 2004. This would mean for the OP 'yes', if it comes with plastic you can get metal.

Edited September 27, 2018 by 250swb

[dkmoore]

They cheapened because I have a 2017 manufactured year MP and can confirm the battery cover is plastic. I don't mind this.

 

I would prefer a metal ISO dial though. For such a beautiful camera this was a miss in my opinion as I'm not a huge fan of the haptics either. 

[wattsy]

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I would imagine Leica ran out of metal ones at some point (my MP from 2011 came with two metal battery covers) and the original supplier no longer exists or Leica's projected need was too low to justify ordering a new batch. Maybe they'll run out of wind levers soon and replace those with plastic ones? 

[250swb]

Leica have all the tools in house to machine metal covers, it's just a case of setting the lathe up and pressing 'go'. Whereas a plastic cover needs very expensive tooling made for injection moulding and requires a large run to bring the individual price down. So 'cheapened' is an aesthetic judgement. It could be that plastic tightens better having more give than brass so less likely to unscrew? Also being situated where it is the brass cover may corrode around the threads making it difficult to remove?

[wattsy]

Leica have all the tools in house to machine metal covers, it's just a case of setting the lathe up and pressing 'go'. Whereas a plastic cover needs very expensive tooling made for injection moulding and requires a large run to bring the individual price down.

 

 

Leica farms out most of its machining work. They are not going to use the in-house capacity that they do have (machines and personnel) making battery covers.

[Ouroboros]

The never ending debate about the MP plastic iso dial always overlooks the fact that the rear flap it is mounted on is anodised and not black paint! Leica have a long history of mix and match.

 

It will be interesting to see what they eventually do with surplus MA battery hole blanking plugs.

[TomB_tx]

Leica farms out most of its machining work. They are not going to use the in-house capacity that they do have (machines and personnel) making battery covers.

True. The years when Leica (or nearly all manufacturers) made most parts in-house are long gone. Even back in the 1970s the company I worked for was into "rationalization" - deciding what parts to farm out to make the best use of internal resources. Before then they took pride in doing everything in-house, until they realized some things could be done by others better and cheaper.

Edited October 3, 2018 by TomB_tx