M7 motor drive or 'Leicavit"

[jongraham1]

I have found that I must move my eye from viewfinder in many

situations that require rapid shots. I tried a Leicavit and was

pleased with the results (yes, I know about the Abramson raapid

winder abd assume it works as well). Is the motor drive a better

alternative?

 

Comments from users appreciated.

[kens]

I've tried the motor and the Rapidwinder, and I prefer the Rapidwinder. The motor noise defeats the quietness of the M, requires yet more batteries, and has a shutter button kick-back that distracts me. But I'm left-handed, too, so maybe the Rapidwinder just works better for me.

[bruno_menilli]

Jonathan

 

 

With its present design the short answer is no.

 

 

From memory the thing that real annoyed me about the winder is that you can't get single frame advance, in other words keeping the shutter button pressed results in continuous advance.

 

The ideal for me would be a system which allows a photograph to be taken and then when you are ready ( moving away) finger pressure is released and the film is wound on. At present too much effort is spent concentrating on getting your finger off the shutter button to avoid a series of unwanted exposures.

 

I use the Rapidwinder and find it excellent for what I want. It is also great for vertical shots where your right hand is used just to grip the camera and the left hand for supporting the camera, winding on, and aperture/focus. The right index finger can adjust the shutter speed if needed.

 

Regards

[gary_ferguson1]

Statement of the obvious, but the Leicavit requires you to shift your left hand away from the focusing ring (assuming you're right handed and use the traditional leica grip), so it'll slow you down in fast focusing situations. It also felt very odd in the vertical format. Anyhow, I voted with my feet and sold mine!

[rudymerz]

Jonathan,

 

I don't know about the motor drive. But I certainly love my Leicavit.

I use it with the little and the ring finger of my left hand, and still can focus.

It doesn't need batteries, it is quiet and fast.

I decided against the Rapidwinder because the Leicavit is smaller.

And I use only Leica accessories, but this is just me.;)

 

Ruediger

[abufletcher]

Both the sample Leicavit I tested in a shop as well as CV triggerwinder I own

make a horrible "clack" sound and IMHO also defeat the silence of the M. I

also agree that using the triggerwinder and focusing are mutually exclusive.

[sandy.]

The new Leicavit is superb in action, much smoother that the R-winder. Use you second and third finger for focus, forth and fifth for winding and everything is perfect.

 

I hate it when people pass judgement without actually expeirencing the Leicavit and bad-mouth it. It is as bad as a road test report on a car without ever owning it. A lot of conjecture and pure BS.

[feli]

I agree with Gary. I few days ago I tried out a Leicavit and didn't like how I had to use

my left hand to both focus and advance the film. It works if you are using hyperfocal

focusing for shooting, but even then I didn't find it much faster than simply cranking

away with the standard lever. Of course practice would make things go more

smoothly. I have shot with the current motor winder and really liked it, because I

could concentrate on exposure, focus and framing and didn't always feel like I would

be better off with a third arm. You can also pick up the motordrive for less money

than the Leicavit.

 

 

feli

[terence1]

i have a rapidwinder and a mtor, and i use the former a lot more. the motor has a

built-in handgrip, which is an advantage to some people. rapidwinder becomes silky

smooth after some use, and is much less expensive than the leicavit.

[Bill Blackwell Images]

I own a Leica Motor that I've used three or four times. While it�s not super �M� quiet, for a motor-winder, it is actually not bad (for sure much quieter than any Nikon motor). However, I don't like the grip on it because it protrudes too far out from the body and it weighs a ton around my neck after some time has passed. I've found just advancing the film in multiple strokes with my right hand (with the forefinger remaining on the shutter release) I can crank off about one frame per second without too much effort. This suffices for me when I think about spending $900 on a Leicavit.

[steve_barnett2]

'From memory the thing that real annoyed me about the winder is that you can't get single frame advance, in other words keeping the shutter button pressed results in continuous advance.'

 

It begs the question that if you don't want multi frame advance why do you keep your finger on the shutter button? But, despite user error, the current M winder is a good, but not great, piece of kit. I don't like the grip, and the bounce back from the shutter button can annoy some people. Noise wise it isn't that bad at all, and for most occasions that you need to use a motor you do tend to find that the background noise is immaterial. That is unless you leave the motor on your camera for decoration and status. In which case it is noisy and for poser value only.

[jay_.]

I am also left handed but right-eyed. I've been told that a rapid winder is a boon to left-eyed shooters, who already have enough to contend with having to smash their noses into the ISO dial. However for me the Leicavit and Rapidwinders leave me scratching my head. I can wind just as quickly with the thumb advance. As someone else pointed out, using the trigger winder means not being able to keep a grip on the focusing ring or tab (on those unfortunate lenses that have the infernal things). Finally, the triggers are like daggers, and if you lean forward with the camera around your neck it can swing forward and gouge something like furniture or an automobile's paint. And if you let go of the camera so it drops down on the strap (such as when quickly grabbing the other camera you're wearing) the dagger-trigger can stab you wherever it hits. So for quick sequences or if the thumb lever isn't cutting it for you, I recommend a motor winder. But one of the older ones, that take AA's and do not have the idiotic tubular battery compartment that masquerades as a grip.

[patrick_jelliffe]

The current Motor M does have a switch to select single frame or continuous advance. One gets used to the pop-up of the shutter release after each frame shooting continuously. It is quieter than a Hexar RF advance, and can be found for half the price of the new Leicavit. Mine lives on a TTL, as I like the added mass, and the grip. The batteries last 100 rolls or more. Cheers.

[charles barcellona www.bl]

Patrick, no it doesn't. It has off, 1.5fps and 3fps settings

[dougmiles]

This seems to be a very individual matter... and an emotional one! I've gotten into the habit of a smooth unhurried advance of film, so as to be gentle both on the film and the internal mechanism. Using the same easy-going method with the Voigtlander trigger winder results in quiet operation.

 

And I like lens focusing tabs, too (delighted that my "new" LTM Pentax 43mm has one)... seems to me they are particularly handy with a trigger winder.

 

Clearly "your mileage may vary"; glad that we have such choices!

[stephen_w.]

I'm a left eyed shooter, and recently bought a RW on this forum. I don't like it; the balance and size of the camera and lens is altered. I have no problem with winding on or off viewing through the VF, and I evaluate the next shot w/o the camera to the eye. It doesn't fit in my bag. Avoid both.

[skip_williams]

As a right-eyed shooter with Leicas, I've owned a RapidWinder, older Winder, and and an M-Motor. For me, the Motor is the answer, and the only one that I still have. I liked the RW, esp the light weight and smooth action; it's a spectacular piece of equipment. I didn't like how it interfered with my shooting rhythm. I also scratched a fair number of pieces of furniture and almost a car when I leaned over with the RW's trigger extended. The older Winder is just to darn big, no matter how smooth it can be adjusted. The new M-Motor, is just right for me. Quiet, esp at the slow speed. Light, esp with the lithium batteries. The grip helps, at least for me. It does just what I want. Probably stays on my M7 75% of the time.

 

The Leicavit's $900 price is ridiculous. The RW, esp a used one, can be had for 35% of that price.

 

Skip

[tom h.]

What Skip said. I only take it off to reload.

 

Tom

[bruno_menilli]

Steve B

 

The reason for keeping the shutter button down, after exposing is to reduce movement as much as possible, and to not have the film wind on which causes additional noise (no matter how little)and the m/winder is left on as taking it off mid film would ruin the whole roll!

 

Regards

 

 

Bruno

[ray_moth]

I've owned a Motor-M for a couple of years; after the first year, I stopped using it for several months and then went back to using it. I've found that I much prefer using the camera with the Motor-M than without it, despite the extra weight. It does its job well; I've grown accustomed to the bobbing shutter button; it isn't too noisy in operation but it also allows me to use manual advance, at any time, as an alternative to motorized advance if I need real silence; its weight helps me to steady the camera and balances well with my heavier lenses; it provides me with a firm and comfortable grip, although I know this varies from one user to another; and it allows the camera to stand vertically on a surface, such as a table, without falling over. I don't know how long the lithium ion batteries last because I'm still using the set provided by Leica.

 

I can't understand Bruno's problem in taking single shots with the Motor-M. The kick-back reaction of the shutter release, although annoying to some users, means that it's almost impossible to take an unwanted sequence by accident. This is one way in which the Motor-M scores over Leica's R8 Winder, which really needs a selector for single shot but doesn't have one, with the result that it's all too easy to take an unwanted sequence of 2-3 shots before realizing what's happening - a design defect, if ever there was one.

 

In fact, taking a sequence of shots intentionally with the Motor-M is quite tricky at first. It's an acquired skill, requiring just the right amount of pressure on the release button to make it work consistently. IMHO, "Motor-M" is a misnomer: being ill-suited to sequence shots, by virtue of both its awkward operation and its limited top speed of 3fps, it is really more of an automated winder than a true motor drive.

 

I've never tried a Leicavit or a RapidWinder, so I can't comment on those.

[Bill Blackwell Images]

Bruno: I feel like I'm missing something... If the motor is on the camera and you want to make single shots, you can just turn it off! As has already been pointed out, the settings are 3 fps, 1.5 fps, and OFF.

[bruno_menilli]

Bill

 

On my R8 motordrive there is a 1 frame setting, whereby you take a picture, keeping your finger on the shutter release, which allows you to move away and then by releasing your finger off the shutter button ,the film is wound on discreetly.

 

When I tried this on an M motor it kept on taking exposures. The kick-back only came as I was taking my finger off the release, with it, sort of, pulsing under the finger whilst continuing to wind on.

 

I like to keep my finger on the shutter button after the exposure for as long as possible, and having to think about making sure my finger is off, to prevent further exposures happening, is something I find distracting, and not acceptable. For me the 1 exposure rate should be just that, and not continuous, unless you get your finger off quick enough.

 

Hope that makes sense!

 

Regards

 

Bruno

[bruno_menilli]

Bill

 

I suppose my disappointment is that there is not a dedicated single frame advance, who would really want 1.5 frames per sec.? Surely 1 + 3frames per sec would be more useful? Using an M motor to take single frames and having it wind on, I think, would be great.

 

Regards

 

Bruno