johnastovall Posted January 28, 2008 Share #1 Posted January 28, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) I was reading the M3 and M3 were the last "all metal" Leica's. Just what are the plastic bits on or in the M4. I know about the inserts on the autotimer and frame preview. But are there other plastic parts inside? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 28, 2008 Posted January 28, 2008 Hi johnastovall, Take a look here Plastic and the M4?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Joop van Heijgen Posted January 28, 2008 Share #2 Posted January 28, 2008 I was reading the M3 and M3 were the last "all metal" Leica's. Just what are the plastic bits on or in the M4. I know about the inserts on the autotimer and frame preview. But are there other plastic parts inside? You will not find any plastic in the M4.... The 'plastic' on the autotimer and frame preview and transport lever are pure functional! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc_braconi Posted January 28, 2008 Share #3 Posted January 28, 2008 Like in the M3 there also some pieces of glass ..... just kiddin' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhild Posted January 28, 2008 Share #4 Posted January 28, 2008 Apart rom the rangefinder there is a M3 inside the M4/M4-P, all metal no plastic... Jo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tummydoc Posted January 28, 2008 Share #5 Posted January 28, 2008 I was reading the M3 and M3 were the last "all metal" Leica's. Just what are the plastic bits on or in the M4. I know about the inserts on the autotimer and frame preview. But are there other plastic parts inside? On the M4 the articulating tip of the film wind-on lever is also plastic, as is the corrugated light-gathering window (illuminates framelines) between the rangefinder and viewfinder windows (which is likewise plastic on the M2 but is glass on the M3). TTBOMK the only plastic on the M3 are the body cap (partially) and the protective caps for the flash synchronisation portals. The danger of plastic parts on decades-old cameras is that plastics weren't as advanced then and tend to have become rather brittle with age. But although the preview and delayed-action lever inserts have a tendency to chip at the edges and go missing, the film wind-on tip rarely does so unless struck rather soundly, and the light-gathering window cannot go missing because until the M6 (and very late M4-P) they were installed on the inside of the top plate and the opening therein is smaller than the perimeter of the plastic plate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_newell Posted January 29, 2008 Share #6 Posted January 29, 2008 To supplement (and borrow an acronym), TTBOMK the only plastic parts against which real complaints have ever been made is the frame counter wheel in some mid-production M6 bodies. People who write stuff like what you read need to get out of their collection room and take some pics! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tummydoc Posted January 29, 2008 Share #7 Posted January 29, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Actually, the plastic film counter disk, still present in the M7 and MP, was never the part which failed nor was it the cause of the failure of the film counter to reset correctly. When the counter was redesigned with the plastic disk, each hit of the disk as it resets serves to un-thread it. Leica has since affixed it with an anticlockwise thread which solved the problem. Inexpert repairpeople sorting older M6s often simply replace it with an old-stock part, in which case the issue resurfaces. Expert repairpeople tap the reverse thread and install the new part. Some of us manage to glean and disseminate correct information despite whatever time we choose to spend in our 'collection rooms' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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