Baseplate Forever

[charlesphoto99]

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Obviously anyone complaining about the removable base plate never used a Nikon F with the entirely removable back!

Total non-issue in my book. I'll be testing the 11 on Saturday at my dealers, but the base plate won't even cross my mind. 

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[digitalfx]

happy it's finally gone...long overdue. It offers no value, only an inconvienience.

 

[Stef63]

Since the M10 I do not use baseplates anymore.  My M10 and M10M are sitting in a Arte di Mano half case with access door to the battery and card.  Very convenient.

Accessing the battery and card on an M11 with an half case will be more cumbersome and could lead me to use the M11 “naked” like I do with my SL-2.

To me it is a non issue.  The good thing is we don’t see those plastic or rubberised “doors” on an M11 that give access to various connectors, cards etc like on other camera’s.  I’m totally not against the implementation of Leica on this latest M. 

Edited January 13, 2022 by Stef63

[Paulus]

vor 3 Stunden schrieb setuporg:

This thread is exclusively dedicated to the baseplate resistance.  Will it be a deal breaker for you?

I have to consider the new camera carefully before switching from M10-R so an automatic trade-up is probably not such a clear option at the moment.

I answered already here:

Maybe this thread can be merged by the moderators?

 

 

[setuporg]

1 hour ago, M9reno said:

marketing spiel of the M9 age, of a digital Leica as a “lifetime companion”.

I dunno, as your name signifies, M9 is still going strong, I got the last new one last August and it's amazing.:)

[M9reno]

😁 I still have my M9-P, but I am no longer under the silly illusion that I was in (when I bought my first M9, my first digital Leica in 2011) that it is in any way comparable to my grandfather’s IIIg.  When something does go wrong with an old digital Leica, it will be more economical to replace with another copy (if one can be found) than to fix. Just think of all those beautiful black paint and anthracite baseplates that will still be perfect in 100 years, not to say 20 years from now, when most M9’s will be paperweights.

Edited January 13, 2022 by M9reno

[setuporg]

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So I got mine M9-P to experience and verify the "different color" of it, and it'd proven itself in spades, as well as shown its character with the old lenses.  I think there will be a niche industry of keeping a subset of M9s alive for that reason.  Among all digital cameras, Leicas already show enormous salient longevity.  Electronics seem to last quite alright for 10-15 years, so I'd be curious for how long will we actually see them last!

I had a period of film exploration last year when I got a few old cameras: an Exakta, a Contarex, and a Bessamatic.  One of the Exaktas was fine, miraculously, while another was completely stuck.  Then I read that pin holes in the shutter curtains are typical problems of its deterioration.  A perfect Contarex is almost impossible to find.  And the Bessamatic prism had separation showing a Rorschach picture.  Hopefully a replacement prism could be found.  All those cameras are very hard to fix, as most people who knew how are passing away...  I'd not immediately judge mechanical ones lasting more decades than a digital one from Leica...  We'll see!

[Pixeleater]

I prefer the removable bottom base plate. I had no issue removing the Leica grip when I needed to extract the SD card or battery. Lately I use the ADM half case with the battery door which is convenient. On a purely romantic side I like how it ties the M10-R to the past Leica cameras. It's forms a part of its gestalt.

[M9reno]

9 minutes ago, setuporg said:

So I got mine M9-P to experience and verify the "different color" of it, and it'd proven itself in spades, as well as shown its character with the old lenses.  I think there will be a niche industry of keeping a subset of M9s alive for that reason.  Among all digital cameras, Leicas already show enormous salient longevity.  Electronics seem to last quite alright for 10-15 years, so I'd be curious for how long will we actually see them last!

I had a period of film exploration last year when I got a few old cameras: an Exakta, a Contarex, and a Bessamatic.  One of the Exaktas was fine, miraculously, while another was completely stuck.  Then I read that pin holes in the shutter curtains are typical problems of its deterioration.  A perfect Contarex is almost impossible to find.  And the Bessamatic prism had separation showing a Rorschach picture.  Hopefully a replacement prism could be found.  All those cameras are very hard to fix, as most people who knew how are passing away...  I'd not immediately judge mechanical ones lasting more decades than a digital one from Leica...  We'll see!

Funny!  Like you, 2021 was for me a year of exploration, along much the same lines:  a Contax I, II, IIa and IIIa (!) and Contarex, added to Nikon rangefinder, and even some medium format (yes - I was bored shitless in lockdown).  The Contax I is a curiosity piece (the vertical shutter still works, but I am terrified each time I try, so I mostly leave it alone).  The shutter on the II broke on the first day it was received, returned, and fixed by the seller.  The IIa and IIIa are fine - but knock on wood.  The Contarex is a beautiful but completely impractical monster (beautiful images, but I hate using it): unfixable if anything goes wrong, I take it.

The Nikon rangefinders, on the other hand, are good and dependable cameras, just like my various film Leicas (screwmounts and M’s - too many!), and I have no worries about economically viable repairs available for any of these for the indefinite future.

Anyway, digital cameras are different.  Every time I switch on my R9 DMR the experience is like using the Contax I.  A sigh of relief every time it fires up… until a sudden death, where it will either be impossible or impractical to fix.  I just accept it.

[ynp]

46 minutes ago, setuporg said:

 I think there will be a niche industry of keeping a subset of M9s alive for that reason.  Among all digital cameras, Leicas already show enormous salient longevity.  Electronics seem to last quite alright for 10-15 years, so I'd be curious for how long will we actually see them last!

I decided to keep one of my M9s,  I sold my backup M9u (upgraded to M9-p) when I got my M10-r. Just bought a coupe of new batteries and a spare upgrade kit for the M9 (black paint top and bottom with the Leica script and the sapphire screen), I know of a spare shutter assembly  sold somewhere in SEAsia, most probably I will buy it too . I played with an idea to get an M9ti again, but the prices are still insane. I understand why the M9 worth keeping.

yevgeny

Edited January 13, 2022 by ynp

[shirubadanieru]

On 1/7/2022 at 4:12 AM, mujk said:

Let's hope Leica will produce an M11-D with a fake wind lever and a "fake" removable bottom plate 😀 

This is hilarious lol 

[Danner]

Digital M baseplate is a bit of a Leica Gorget.

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