Whenever I’m considering a new product, I always ask myself whether it will make me a better photographer. Will this item help me produce better images? Will it speed up my workflow? Can it help me do something I can’t do right now? And, because I’m a working photojournalist who lives only slightly above the poverty line, if the answer is “no,” I tend to avoid picking up said item.
These metrics do not apply to Leica equipment.
If you’re a Leica shooter, you can skip this paragraph. You already know the fever that can take hold—that nervous, heady sweat that forms on your brow when you see whatever the cool new thing is. Put three of us in a room, and it’ll turn into a beat-for-beat recreation of the business card scene from American Psycho. I like to tell myself that a camera is only a tool—a box with a bit of glass to transmit light and shapes to your film—but put an MP or M3 in my hand, and all those thoughts turn… fuzzy.
I wrote about this a few weeks ago and promised a review. After buying it and the adapter, I’ve spent the last few weeks testing it out in the field.
The satin metal finish is almost indistinguishable from the silver of my M3. It fits seamlessly on the bottom, with no give or potential for light leaks. The trigger unfolds and locks in place without any issues and advances smoothly. Interestingly, the language on the plate is a mixture of English and German, mirroring the original Leicavit in appearance as well as function.
I will say that the original assembly was not difficult, but it did require you to pay attention. The adapter is very easy to mount, but if you’re not careful, you may unknowingly mount it incorrectly, resulting in a camera that doesn’t wind properly. Double-check once you’ve mounted it with a roll of film to ensure that it’s pulling your film lead along before closing up.
So, after the last few weeks, what’s the verdict? Well, circling back… does this make me a better photographer? Does it do something I couldn’t otherwise do? Will it help me produce better images? The short answer to all those questions is a “no” with a “but,” and the longer answer is a “yes” with an “if.” The Leicavit existed for a reason: to mechanically speed up the shooting process for photojournalists without the need for a bulky, battery-powered winder. Is it significantly faster than the thumb advance? Sure, but negligibly so. Will it help me capture better images? Possibly—shooting action scenes requires many things to come together organically to succeed, and being able to capture multiple images in quick succession is part of that formula. Are there better ways to do that? Absolutely. A Nikon F5 or F6 could capture multiple images significantly faster, with better metering and through-the-lens focusing. There’s a reason the Nikon F supplanted Leicas for many news shooters in the 1960s and 1970s.
But like I said… for Leica shooters, such logic starts to get a bit fuzzy. And besides that, the KEKS Rapid-Winder is… well, it’s just kind of cool. It’s fun to use. I’ve enjoyed bringing it with me to assignments and wandering around the city with it. It’s a shockingly well-engineered accessory that does a simple job and does it well.
For those reasons alone, I kind of love using it.
