The Sound of £10k Hitting the Deck
Was walking a long a hospital corridor Thurs afternoon with my two-week old M10 Monochrom (& 50mm Summilux-M ASPH) dangling from my left shoulder, preoccupied with finding my way through a maze of corridors when I was startled by a loud metallic crashing noise. Looked down and there on the floor were camera/lens - I think my blood pressure and heart rate instantly both hit new highs! With a feeling of utter dread at what I might find, I picked them up and initial examination revealed only a large dent in the (extended) hood. Externally the M10M seemed unmarked but the first worry was rangefinder alignment. Arriving at the waiting room of the department where my wife had an appointment, I took a couple of shots (close-up & mid-distance) which on the LCD looked OK. Changed to the 28mm Elmarit-M ASPH that was in my bag and checked the 50mm over. Due to the dent the hood was jammed in the extended position but otherwise seemed unharmed.
How could the camera slide from my shoulder? Well, I was wearing a heavy winter coat and was used to having other M's dangling from my shoulder with never a hint of them sliding off - the difference with the M10M is the leather strap compared to the standard Leica nylon strap with its very grippy, knobbly shoulder pad. Somewhat shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted, this morning I fitted the M10M with the standard strap from my M240.
Next item on the agenda was rangefinder alignment. Fitted with 135mm Telyt-APO this morning I sallied forth for a short walk mainly to find some distant views but also taking test shots at various distances. Having done so I took similar shots with the dented 50mm. With the results now on the computer, zooming into to 200% and even 300% shows no indication of misalignment in either portrait or landscape formats. (Ignore the dust spots on the attached photo and yes, I was able to unscrew the undamaged filter). Recommendations as to where to have the 50mm's hood replaced welcomed.
So, seemingly a lucky escape from an incident seared into my memory and a lesson learnt - i.e.the coefficient of friction twixt a Leica leather strap and cotton is far too low for safety!