My 1995 M6. CLA Question.

[qruyk12]

New to Leica M world. Have a question about CLAs. Should I just keep going with my 1995 M6 until something starts going wrong? Do you guys and gals have CLAs at some regular interval?

Reason I ask is the original owner I bought from never had one done.

 

[payasam]

Users generally have CLAs done only when their cameras need that. The most common first indicator is misbehaving 1 sec. and other slow speeds.

 

[BillBingham2]

The best thing to do with any M is keep using her. M's that are used on all shutter speeds regularly rarely need CLAing. If you let them sit, the grease gets gunked up and you run into in accurate speeds. As you are not sure of her history, I would recommend that you try dry-firing the shutter on each speed a few hundred times. The best place to do this is while watching TV on or two nights. You get to know the sound of the speeds (each is different) and will loosen up any old lube that needs it.

If you see or hear a problem, send it in for CLA, otherwise just lover her, respect her and use her.

B2 (;->

 

[Sean Moran]

Hello Mukul,

Good advice (I like to misbehave at all shutter speeds though).

Another diagnostic possibility is to look at the photographs. Are the things you focused on sharp? Is exposure even across the frame?

Hope this helps,

Sean.

 

[johnastovall]

I take a rather opposite view from the others here. When I get a used M which has not had a CLA (with receipt) I send it in for one. That way I know I'm starting out with a camera which will not pack up on me at some critical time and I know the ranger finder is going to be clear and sharp.

 

[ocean7]

I do the same thing as John. Unless the used M was recently serviced by the previous owner I send it in for a CLA. Same with lenses. Can be costly but then I know I am starting fresh.

 

[RichardB]

Many M's are so coveted by thier owners that they hardly ever get used. With batteries removed if M6 or later, there is nothing that can happen unless a corrosive environment. The lube may dry but the camera will still function. Remove the bottom plate and flip open the back, run through each shutter speed with your eye up to the back(this assumes lens on and lens cap off). If you can see light at each speed and the time interval sounds reasonable, put a roll of positive film through it and view the slides. If they look ok, use the thing until it breaks or malfunctions. I have purchased 4 M's used starting with M3, M6 Classic and two M7's(whopps, one M7 was a Demo) and all function just fine. I did evetually have Leica CLA the M3 but only after a Leica Tech Rep had checked the camera and said it works fine but no lube so send it in within a year! Why waste your money? -Dick

 

[payasam]

A newspaper with which I was associated in the early 1980s had Nikon SLRs for its staff photographers. Preventive maintenance was practised: camera bodies and lenses were packed off for servicing at pre-determined intervals.

Sean, is there any aperture at which you misbehave?