Introduction & Question

[HaubeDesign]

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Hi, I'm super new to the Leica world (owned my M-A about 4 months now and absolutely falling in love with it).
A quick question: I wanted to go out yesterday on the spur of the moment and as I was getting ready it started raining (very heavily) so I postponed my inspiration.

How does the M-A (and other film Leica's I guess) fair in inclement weather?
I presume the M can take a serious battering given it's history but I'd be curious to know what peoples experiences are in the rain (how heavy? where do you draw the line?) and also how do you keep shooting? Any covers anyone would recommend? (most on the market seem very much tailored to bigger SLR type bodies/lens combos.

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[jaapv]

As the camera has no electronics and is built from high quality materials it is hard to see what harm it would come to. The worst would be the viewfinder fogging up, I suppose. I  would advise against dunking it in salt water, though.  As for keeping shooting: wear a wide-brimmed hat. 

[HaubeDesign]

🤣 Ha! Thank you.
Yeah that is true there is nothing electronic to go haywire I guess. It does seem very exposed though - I'm specifically thinking the top of the film back / hinge - it's clearly exposed with cloth/hinge.And like your ear if water can get in it doesn't mean it can get out - the thought of it rotting from the inside over decades is horrible.

I'm probably overthinking it.

[rmueller]

Hi, 

welcome here and good choice with the M-A. I have taken the M-A out in Monsun season in India and during very humid weather with viewfinder, lens and everything fogged for minutes. No issues so far. However I try to protect the camera as much as possible from rain and too much water, there is no protection for humidity of course.

Tip: Whenever staying in hotels, grab those shower caps and put them in your photo bag. I use them all the time in heavy rain.

Regards,

Ralf

[spydrxx]

IMHO water and cameras, especially those with electronics, are incompatible (except bodies like the ?Nikonos). A light mist with the camera out briefly ok, but rain....never. That's when I have chosen to shoot from inside out thru a window. I've tried plastic rain covers, umbrellas, wide brimmed hats, bit to e each hindered my shooting. But to each his own.

[jaapv]

If this were true, cameras would be flawed tools and 30% of photos never taken. 

[250swb]

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In rain and the camera gets wet avoid tucking it into a coat, putting a hand over, it or keeping it somewhere warm, keep it cool and if you have to shield it just put in into the camera bag at the same ambient temperature as the outside and you will avoid condensation in the viewfinder. But even if you get condensation just let it dry out slowly in a warn room.

[ktmrider2]

Leicas don’t need to be babied.  Remember, they were working tools of photojournalists in the 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s etc.  If you look at images of the Vietnam War and the photographers covering that conflict, they usually had a couple M’s and a couple Nikon F’s strapped to their body.  I cannot think of a more hostile environment for cameras than covering a war in SE Asia.  Leicas survived the monsoons just fine.

The MP or MA or M6 have the same heritage as the M2’s and M3’s and M4’s that covered Vietnam and many other news events through out the world.  Unfortunately, Leicas have become pieces of jewelry and status symbols and are no longer working tools for news photographers and photojournalists.  I have used just about every model of Leica since 1975 in just about every environment on the planet.  They do fine under your poncho or rain jacket shielding them from a downpour, work fine at least to minus 20 C and can operate just fine in temperatures over 40 C.  I know since I had cameras in those conditions.

Go shoot.  Don’t dip your camera in the ocean (it is not a Nikonos) but don’t get overly concerned.

[earleygallery]

I always wonder what the actual scenario is when this question crops up, which it often does.

Do you (OP) intend to get soaked or will you use an umbrella or wide brimmed waterproof hat? Consider similar protection for your camera.

What about rainwater getting onto your lens? That’s going to seriously affect the image quality unless you want the effect! Or heavy rain in front of the lens? It will diffuse the image a lot more than than multiple filters (and some people are adamant that a single filter will degrade their image quality).

If there’s a real risk of the camera getting soaked use a weatherproof or waterproof camera, a housing or just a cheap camera that you won’t worry about damaging. 
 

[jakontil]

I would protect my fragile self before the camera, and the camera always follows me, so as long as you are safe, the camera will have a better survival rate, that’s my rule of thumbs

and yeah one of the reason my i love my MA..