Earlier in the "Vulcanite?" post of 2001-10-30, I had stated that the PVC covering started with the M4-2. A friend was discussing this with Don Goldberg and the M4-2 and M4-P cameras had vulcanite. Don did say the Canadian factory had a great deal of trouble getting it right. My apologises for my statements to the contrary.

Cheers,

-- John Collier (jbcollier@powersurfr.com), October 31, 2001

Answers

John - this has always confused me! This mistake has been repeated in nearly all the Leica books and web sites. Always seemed strange as my M4-2 and M4-P coverings always felt and looked just like Vulcanite. I thought maybe they were 'plastic' copies of Vulcanite, wheras the M6 has a more 'sticky back plastic' thin covering.

-- Giles Poilu (giles@monpoilu.icom43.net), October 31, 2001.

I had a M4-2 with plastic leatherette while my 1981 M4-P definitely has vulcanite (rubbery grip and the thing smelt like an old developer tray before I cleaned it!). Don't know if the M4-2 was made with the leatherette or if someone added it later (I bought the camera second hand).

-- Andrew Nemeth (azn@nemeng.com), November 01, 2001.