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Leicavit


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  • 3 weeks later...
vor einer Stunde schrieb Torontoamateur:

Who has used the Leicavit on the M-A and what did you think of it? Did you use it much? What was it really good for ? What kind of shooting? I am thinking of getting both the M-A and a Leicavit. I presently have a M4-P and M6.

Perhaps a Leicavit makes sense if you need a series of photos that have to be shot one after the other faster than you could manage with the film lever of your mechanical Leicas.
Or if you think you want to choose the best photo from a quickly shot series afterwards.
But these days no 'frenzied reporter' uses analog Leicas anymore.
And your subject should not move away from the location, because in addition to operating the Leicavit's transport lever, I have never seen anyone who would have readjusted the distance at the same time.
A nice addition is the tripod connection, which is located more in the middle of the Leicavit's base plate and possibly offers a little more stability with heavier lenses.
Only - mounted on a tripod, the Leicavit's quick-action lever can no longer be operated ...😎
My guess: Today there are more useful camera equipments for quick image sequences, therefore most Leicavits should be lying around completely unused since years in the collectors' showcases.

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I've used one on my MP and it's not a great experience, mnutzer sums it up perfectly. It is barely faster than the film advance lever and meanwhile it makes the camera feel like a brick and less comfortable to hold. It is perfect for posing with, perhaps wearing a tweed jacket and smoking a pipe, or in combat fatigues storming up the local beach going rat tat tat.

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Made some sense on ltm models with knob wind, but unless you have hand problems with a thumb lever no need on an M. I remember the US Leica Photography once had a short on a photographer shooting an accident of a race car  with an M3. From the images they figured he hit 3 frames a second with thumb wind.

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If you want the experience of using a trigger wind get one of the 1950’s Canon Leica screw cameras with a leicavit type base trigger.

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I'll join the chorus that the Leicavit is not much use on an M camera. I have a black paint one and it looks nice but I cannot remember when it was last fitted to a camera.

I imagine that it could be useful if you are left eye dominant but I'm not.

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Can improve the grip, though it sees more use as an expensive counter-weight, than a winder:

It makes the camera very weighty, which helps prevent the heavier lenses from tipping forward when carried on a neck strap.

Here with a 35/1.4 ...  not one of the heavier lenses.

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Edited by FrozenInTime
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32 minutes ago, FrozenInTime said:

Can improve the grip, though it sees more use as an expensive counter-weight, than a winder:

It makes the camera very weighty, which helps prevent the heavier lenses from tipping forward when carried on a neck strap.

Here with a 35/1.4 ...  not one of the heavier lenses.

 

Is this a MA with the Leicavit attached? It is hard to tell because the shot is from the top.  I am buying an MA soon.

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27 minutes ago, Torontoamateur said:

Is this a MA with the Leicavit attached? It is hard to tell because the shot is from the top.  I am buying an MA soon.

On the MP, or MA, or earlier M6 or M4-P the current/last Leicavit will fit. From the photo you reference the BP Leicavit when I got mine maybe seven years ago it was in the glossy BP that matched my early MP, not the duller satin black chrome finish of 'FrozenInTime's image. I can't post an image of it because I think I only used it once before selling last year. So, just saying, there may be more than one finish out there and not all are BP..

Edited by 250swb
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I use Leicavit M and Leica Motor M on M-A, and before that on MP/M6/M4-2/M4-P/etc.

Color matching is not important for me as I used to mix gear colors for long.

In use the two "winder aids" help a lot for comfortable handling, I'm left eye M user 😁.

 

Here are the combos seen so many times in this forum ...posted some years back.

We see black chrome M-A with black paint Leicavit

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DR +  silver M-A and Motor M

 

 

 

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10 hours ago, 250swb said:

So, just saying, there may be more than one finish out there and not all are BP..

Yes, there was a black chrome variant. I remember Leica UK had a promotion about 15 years ago where they gave you a 'free' Leicavit when you purchased a new MP or M7. I chose the black chrome Leicavit as my free gift to go with my then new M7 and immediately sold it to help offset the cost of the camera. I seem to recall that it was very easy to sell so the black chrome Leicavit must have been quite desirable at the time (being Leica, probably hard to obtain). For some reason, I bought a black paint Leicavit later on.

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  • 1 year later...

To me a Leicavit makes sense when shooting portraits of people (in vertical camera position). I can leave the camera at my eye and doesn´t move it a lot when winding. Very steady framing. When I wind with the cameras build in lever, it´s the same hand I also press the shutter release. Not so steady to me. Also the better frame rate adds when shooting a small portrait series.

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I have been using Tom A Rapidwinders since they became available and now have a Leicavit on my MP. I am a left eyed user so the winder allows me to take successive shots without taking my eye off the finder. It isn’t about it being faster. It’s an essential accessory to me.

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