..right off my shoulder onto pavement.

Before you commiserate, I got off lucky. A couple of additional tiny knife-edge dents on the baseplate chamfer, a missing chunk of Vulcanite the size of a thumbnail off the bottom back left beside the doorframe, and the RF is off by about 3 frame-line thicknesses at infinity. Shutter, lens, flash sync all intact. Couldn't find the Vulcanite chip anywhere within 25 feet - it either vaporized from the shock or traveled like a bullet when it popped loose.

Since the RF was already out a (literal) hair's-width at infinity, this may have just be God's way of suggesting I get the damn thing adjusted.

So, should I take this 'opportunity' to get the full CLA as well, or just get the RF realigned? The viewfinder could use cleaning inside and the frame-counter reset lever sticks - sometimes I have to give it a push to get back to minus-2 on the counter. These problems existed prior to today's big bang.

I live 20 miles from the Focal Point, so I MAY be able to get the RF tweaked within a relatively short time. I take it a CLA needs to travel further and take 6-8 weeks (?).

And should I just black-tape the chunk of exposed metal, or get a full vinyl re-covering while it's in the shop. The rest of the original cover is intact and showing no cracks right now, except for a fingernail-sized piece above the film reminder.

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), November 24, 2001

Answers

Andy, Sorry to hear about your misfortune. With respect to your need for a CLA if the sticky reset lever doesn't bother you and the dirty VF window is just a minor nuisance, then I would just have the RF readjusted. I too live about 20 miles from John Van Stelten and often take things to him. He enjoys having good company. He can adjust the RF on the spot; however, a CLA will take quite a bit longer and depends on his backlog of work. He also has a bag full of vulcanite "remnants." The repair requires finding a matching piece, glue, and then, melted black wax to fill in the gaps.

-- Henry Chu (heninden@yahoo.com), November 24, 2001.

Andy:

Ever hear of Bob the late Schwalberg? A writer for Modern Photography in the 80s until he died a few years ago.

He sewed a great big button on the curve of the shoulder section of his shirts and jackets to prevent guess what?!?!

Just saw Spy Game last night and Brad Pitt with his noisy Leicas: The Robert Redford character came up with a good line: "When did Noah build the Ark? Before the rain!!"

Cheers

-- RICHARD ILOMAKI (richardjx@hotmail.com), November 24, 2001.

OOOPS Again:

That should of course be "the late Bob Schwalberg".

Another Senior moment.

-- RICHARD ILOMAKI (richardjx@hotmail.com), November 24, 2001.

Richard: Yeah, I'm considering sewing on an epaulet of raw leather, rough side out, on this particular coat, which is slick material. First time it's been cold enough to wear it since I got the Ms, so I'd sort of forgotten how slick it was. Nnnnuh!

Henry: I'll probably call JVS Monday and set up a time - I have a couple of lenses that he ought to look at as well, so I'll see what he thinks about this question, too. At one point I'd heard he'd mostly quite repairs because his lens work took up all his time, but that may be urban legend. Anyway, a face-to-face couldn't hurt.

I guess photographers dropping Leicas are like pilots landing wheels- up. "There are two kinds: those who HAVE, and those who WILL." I've just moved to the first group.

More opinions always welcome.

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), November 25, 2001.

Holy s..I know how you felt.

Make sure to have the collimation checked.

Another way to drop your M is grabbing it by the lenshood (the snap- on mechanism) while pulling it out of a bag. That's how I did it, dropped on the street in Amsterdam. Some minuscule dent/scratch near frame counter and nothing else-had it looked over though by professional repair.

-- Hans Berkhout (berkhout@cadvision.com), November 25, 2001.

I've had similar near mishaps. I lengthened the shoulder strap, and now habitually put it over my head on the left shoulder, with the camera positined just above my right hip - bandolier style. I position it so I can easily lift it to my eye with enough slack in the strap to move vertical or horizontal, wind, etc. The camera is very secure now, no swinging around, no slipping off the shoulder, easier to change lenses if needed, and I find it's actually more handy to lift and grab the shot.

-- Ken Shipman (kennyshipman@aol.com), November 25, 2001.

Stop it! You guys are frightening me. I'm thinking about putiing my Leicas in a display case and buying an Instamatic! (A vintage Instamatic, of course, with a serial number exceeding 1,000,000.)

-- Dennis (couvilaw@aol.com), November 25, 2001.

Sorry to read about your camera drop. I'd send it in for a complete CLA. There's no better time than now. You might want to call Don Goldberg and see what his back log is.

5 weeks ago I was walking into my apartment when the strap on my 1957 Baby Rollei broke and the camera dropped to the carpeted floor. It knocked the mirror out and it wouldn't focus. Had to send it to Marflex for a $175 repair. I have now put away all my old leather straps and bought new nylon straps. I'm just happy it wasn't my IIIg that dropped.

Good Luck!

-- Tony Oresteen (aoresteen@mindspring.com), November 25, 2001.

Hey Andy,

I go out every weekend to downtown Toronto for my weekly "street shooting therapy" sessions. Last week I had both the 0.72 with a 35 Cron and the 0.85 with a 75 Lux out: one on each shoulder "Lutz style". I was so absorbed in the scene during the Christmas parade that weekend that I didn't notice that the 0.72 was rubbing against the brass rivets on my Levi's. When I got home there was an aweful copper discoloration on the 0.72. Fortunately it came off with a little polish but had it not I wouldn't have worried all that much. Its nice to keep a perspective as to why any of us bought Leica equipment in the first place: to capture moments in time. If you truly love taking pictures then your M should be a lifelong companion... who cares if it gets a few "character marks" along the way?

Respectfully,

-- John Chan (ouroboros_2001@yahoo.com), November 25, 2001.