Just received M2 - questions & possible problems

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hawkhkg11

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Hey everyone,

I recently received an M2 I bought off eBay in good cosmetic condition. The seller didn't go into detail about the mechanical condition except to say that it was "perfect, fully working, all shutter speeds working".

I have a few questions about the camera after checking through it. Since I'm not too knowledgeable about Leica's, I'm not sure if these are problems or not.

1. The CQ checklist talks about a "seam" on the left hand side of the 2nd curtain, being that a visible one is bad. What is the 2nd curtain? I assume its the one you see after the shutter is cocked? And by left side, does it mean looking from the back or the front of the camera? There is infact a seam on the left side of my curtain when the shutter is uncocked (looking from the back), and the seam gets bigger after I fire off a slow speed and smaller after a fast speed.

2. On 1s and 1/2s, the winding noise of the shutter seems to keep going erratically for a few seconds after the shutter closes, and I can get it to make some more noise if I shake the camera a little. However, the speeds generally seem accurate and consistent.

3. Shining a very bright flashlight through the lens mount, I appear to see a sliver of light coming through at the top of the shutter curtain behind the gate (not sure if that's the right term). Basically, if you hold the camera with the bottom facing you, and look at the curtain from the back, you can see that little gap inside the top of the shutter curtain. That's where I see the faint light coming from when I shine my 225 lumen light. However, if I don't try to look into that little gap and just look at the shutter straight on from the back, I can't see any light, even in a completely dark room. Again, I'm not sure if that's normal or if it indicates a light leak.

I will shoot a test roll soon and hopefully that will clear up any light leak issues.

Thanks for all your help!
 
1 My understanding is that the 2nd curtain is the 2nd to fire, i.e. AFTER you've fired it.

2 The whirring 'run on' is normal.

3 Never tried it but I'd not worry until you've shot a test roll. Take the lens off and wiggle the camera about in sunlight to see if there's a problem. Even then, it's recommended only to change lenses with the camera shaded by your body.

Cheers,

Roger (38 years using Leicas, 34 years with M-series).
 
hawkhkg11 said:
The seller didn't go into detail about the mechanical condition except to say that it was "perfect, fully working, all shutter speeds working".
Click to expand...

Boy, I've heard that one before. 🙂

Unless the seller specifically states that the camera has had a recent CLA, I factor in one into the cost of these older camera.

Shoot some film. You may be lucky and your M2 is fine. If not, contact seller and either return camera, or ask him to cover the repair costs.

Good luck!

rt
 
It is always best to factor in a CLA into the purchase of a camera, especially older ones. Run a roll of film through it if you are unsure. But, after 40 years any camera will need an adjustment.
 
Thanks for the responses guys. I've decided to take the safe route and get a CLA done. It looks like the camera has never had one as I still see the little L seal on the mount.
 
The seller didn't go into detail about the mechanical condition except to say that it was "perfect, fully working, all shutter speeds working".
Click to expand...

Uhhhm, how much more detail was the seller going to go into??? 😕 Shoot a roll or two and see what you get. Most M2s and M3s are older than most people reading this forum. A CLA would not be shocking, but it would be contrary to a description that includes the words "perfect" and "fully working."
 
Sounds a lot like my recent M2 purchase. You should not see the seam (it was visisble with mine). Speeds seemed ok, but a roll of slides revealed they were way, way off.

Use a meter or camera you trust as reference and shoot a roll of slides. This will soon reveal how good it is. But I'd bet that it needs a CLA. Don't worry, after that it will probably good for 15 years.
 
I've recently purchased a M2 as well where the seam is visible, extending about 1.5mm-2mm from the left edge. However, this photo.net post (http://photo.net/leica-rangefinders-forum/00ACEo ) claims that Dan Goldberg has indicated that this is actually normal and that problems may arise if the seam is too far past the edge. So, what's the real story here?
 
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my way of thinking is hey...if it's in good cosmetic condition, and all it needs a basic tune up without any serious repairs you're gonna get a sweet looking and smooth running camera after the CLA. Heck, you'll need to get one anyway some day.
 
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