Leica M5 - Design

Design

The M5 departed from the traditional silhouette of the Leica rangefinders, that had little changed since the M3 (1954). The height and width of the body were larger (H 84 mm x W 150 mm x D 36 mm), and the body heavier (ca. 100 g more than other M cameras). The folding film rewinding crank hides in the bottom plate. The self-timer arm and the field-of-view preselector (now on the M5 additionally with battery test function) are of the same design as the Leica M4 (1967). The M5 was the last M to feature a mechanical self-timer (duration 5–10 seconds). The M5 incorporates an improved rapid film loading spool design over the M4. The M5 has a rapid transport lever which winds the shutter and advances the film and the frame counter in one single motion, or in a series of shorter motions. A marker for the film plane is engraved on the top of the camera housing. The M5's redesigned horizontal travelling cloth focal plane shutter is reported to be the quietest of the M series. The shutter curtains travel at a relatively low speed which has as a consequence the 1/50 second flash sync speed.

  • Black Chrome 2-Lug M5 Griptac Cover

  • Black Chrome 2-Lug M5 Rear View with optional Astigmatic Diopter

Read more about this topic:  Leica M5

Famous quotes containing the word design:

    “If I commit suicide, it will not be to destroy myself but to put myself back together again. Suicide will be for me only one means of violently reconquering myself, of brutally invading my being, of anticipating the unpredictable approaches of God. By suicide, I reintroduce my design in nature, I shall for the first time give things the shape of my will.”
    —Antonin Artaud (1896–1948)

    “Nowadays the host does not admit you to his hearth, but has got the mason to build one for yourself somewhere in his alley, and hospitality is the art of keeping you at the greatest distance. There is as much secrecy about the cooking as if he had a design to poison you.”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    “With wonderful art he grinds into paint for his picture all his moods and experiences, so that all his forces may be brought to the encounter. Apparently writing without a particular design or responsibility, setting down his soliloquies from time to time, taking advantage of all his humors, when at length the hour comes to declare himself, he puts down in plain English, without quotation marks, what he, Thomas Carlyle, is ready to defend in the face of the world.”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)