Leicavit Vs Leica M Motor

I have been given a present which is a Chrome Leicavit-M, but I want

to use it with my Black M6TTL. I cannot swop the Chrome for a Black

because the shop that was instructed to post it to me as a present

does not have a Black one (and cannot get one from any where else

either). But the shop can make a straight swop for a Black Leica-M

motor drive. Question is: Shall I keep the Chrome Leicavit-M and use

it with my Black M6TTL or shall I swop it for a Black Leica-M Motor

drive and WHY? Your logical input will be much appreciated. Many

thanks.

I'd swap for the motor for 2 reasons :

(1) You would have matching colors

(2) I prefer the motor to the Leicavit.

If it were me I would simply sell it and buy something truly useful. Then again the colour mis-match wouldn't even enter into my mind in such a deliberation so obviously we have different priorities.

I am inclined to agree with Terrence. I have a chrome M6 and a black Rapidwinder and have used them together without thinking it looked all that odd or mismatched. Still, I can tell that I would not feel as comfortable using a chrome accessory on a black camera. I am esthetically sympathetic although not a fan of motorwinder.

Several of my Leicas have an artisticly applied brass edging on some of the chrome parts ;-) The Leicavit makes a great defensive weapon with the trigger extended and never runs out of electricity. On the other hand, while they made sense with the knob wind Leicas, the standard M thumb lever is just as fast for winding and cocking as the Leicavit. Sell the Leicavit and buy something useful.

I agree with Terence simply because I don't see a use for either one. To my way of thinking, if you want to go all out and blast through roll after roll of film, there are cameras far better suited for that.

 

Since its your Leicavit or motor, what are your reasons for keeping one or the other?

"the standard M thumb lever is just as fast for winding and cocking as the Leicavit", not if you are a left eyed shooter like me. I like the CV trigger winder, you can put it on and take it off without ruining the film.

Tough call, Afzal!

 

I'm an avid user of the M motor and got the chance to try out a Leicavit for a day. However,

my thoughts following the questions below are not the end-all, they were just my

reasonnings when I asked myself those questions before I got my cameras motorized.

 

As you don't seem to have any experience with either 'add-on', I simply propose to you to

ask yourself the following questions..

 

A - Do I intend the LV/LM to sit underneath my camera at all times? Do I mind the hassle

to switch back and forth (film rewinds/reloads, different ergonomies)

 

..with the motor attached the camera becomes quite a beast in most every respect, much

less so with the Leicavit. You can do 'direct switches' in a changing bag albeit loosing

correct frame counts.

 

B - Do I want to do series, and on tripod? Or only 'follow-up shots'?

 

.. for series in sports photography and the like, even 3 pics/s are rarely fast enough; yet

the motor is way steadier and faster than the Leicavit; tripod use is a breeze with the

motor for it has a centered thread; don't know with the LV.

 

C - Will the sound/heft/etc. of the motor keep me from taking pictures or from taking the

camera with me as often as I do now? Do I have the extra space in my bag? Do I want to

carry around a bigger bag?

 

D - Does the motor grip add to the ergonomy of the camera or not - or even to the

contrary?

 

.. it sure did help me with larger lenses and I like gripped cameras better. Then again,

every one has different hands and camera/lens holding techniques.

 

Side note: I got myself two of A's Softies because I had to change completely the way I

would push the release button with the motor on the camera. This because I experienced

release button bounce-induced camera shake and had trouble not to choke motor series

by pushing down too strongly. The Softies nullified both problems elegantly and now I use

them even when going motorless.

 

Hope this helped, cheers, Peter

I keep my M motor bolted up to my M6 TTL permanently; that's how much I like not having to move a muscle to refire. Frankly, I could never see the benefits of a Vit over my thumb. But the motor is slick and extremely quiet.

 

Ray Hull

I had a motor for a couple of years and only used it a couple of times (I finally sold it). Later I bought a Leicavit. The motor's weight on the camera was very noticeable after an hour or so. And the grip is simply too big (at least for my hands).

 

Try contacting Tony Rose:

 

http://www.popflash.com/item.cfm?id=%24%24%2EBO%5FP%20%20%0A

 

He may be willing to work out a trade for a black-chrome Leicavit matching your camera.

Hmmm. Life is hard. The motor is nice but weak. Bang it and it is out of comission. If you

cannot trade in the Vit, sell it and get an Abrahamsson Rapidwinder. Half-price and

guaranteed for life.

The critical question is the ethical one of whether changing it would offend the kind

individual who gave you the present.

If you're in the USA I've just been told if you contact Leica in New Jersey, they will swap it out for you for free (FWIW).

I'd get the motor, or a store credit for something useful...?

Nobody has mentioned what I think is the main advantage of the motor, that being, you

can shoot continuous frames, without removing the camera from your eye, and at the

same time adjust the focus, for me it has just made shooting the cameras much more

fluid. I did try the rapidwinder but didn't feel it added much usefulness as the movment

made looking through the veiwfinder difficult, and you can't focus and wind at the same

time, changed it for the motor and loved it, just bought a second for my other body.

Having said that, the amount of film I shoot when I work, differs from when it's my hobby,

and then I might not want the bulk and weight..........Robert.

Bill has offered some good advice.

 

My son has both a Leicavit & an M-Motor & the motor drive takes some getting used to - bit of a bounce back after each frame - I'm used to a Nikon F5 with seamless motor drive action that is quick & sometimes too fast on constant setting. It's a bit different & I personally for a Leica M body would tend to opt for a Leicavit. If you can't swap for the right color I'm certain you could sell here & buy another that matches - not that it really matters but if it were me I would want either silver or black depending on the body.

 

Good Luck

How about:

get the MP eveready case that fits an M6 or 7 or MP WITH leicavit so no one will know if the winder is black or chrome. The case looks great BTW.

 

Seb.

From an ergonomic perspective, I much prefer my M7 with the Motor-M attached than

without. I went for a number of months last year using just the small Leica grip (trying to

keep the weight I had to carry down to a minimum) but found it a relief to stick the Motor

back on. The M just seems to fit my hands better with it on (especially in the portrait

orientation - which is how I mostly shoot nowadays). Incidentally, I rarely use the Motor to

wind the film - the shutter release bounce is annoying and I am too used to flicking the wind

lever after each shot.