3 questions from a newbie

[Gilo25]

Apologies in advance for bombarding the group with trivial quesions, but on the other hand I think that's the way to learn.

1. I bought from an authorized Leica dealer in Berlin a Summicron 50/2 of 1970 (based on the serial number). Probably I overpaid it, but my question is: does the fact that there appear to be oil on the blades affect performance? Also, the ring on the tip of the front element seems lose (not the lens, just the ring) and when you have the lens hood and the cap on they move a few mm clockwise and counterclockwise together with the ring. Is this a problem?

2. When I was rewinding my second roll out of my M6 I did not push down the rewind lever completely to its horizonatl position. As a consequence, the film was not completely free to slide and despite the extra effort I had to exercise on the rewinder, i didn't realize there was a problem with the position of the lever. Because of this, at some point the film broke while rewinding it. I managed to get it out easily and learned my lesson. Now the mechanism seems to work fine, but I am worried I might have damaged it, despite the sturdiness of the camera. Any views on this (apart from the fact, yes, that this is what happens to a foolish digital photographer who tries to go back to the origins)?

3. Is there a need to caliber the shutter speed of the camera from time to time and do authorized dealers do that before selling them or not necessarily?

Sorry for the lengthy post and thanks in advance to whoever will have the patience to reply, even partially.
G

 

[veraikon]

Is there a need to caliber the shutter speed of the camera from time to time and do authorized dealers do that before selling them or not necessarily?

If it was the dealer at Fassanenstrasse (near Kurfürstendamm), on my search for an affordable and suitable Leica for me, I recently swept in there and this asked also this question. The answer was normally they check it only like you and me - visual and audible - that means they dont measure or calibrate the shutter speeds.
But you have a 14 days right to return without comment. The first thing for me was to check the shutter-speeds with a slide-film (Using times from 1/2 -1/1000).
Stephen Gandy has a in my eyes a good check list at his homepage:
http://www.cameraquest.com/leicamchecklist.htm

 

[Gilo25]

Veraikon, thanks for the link very useful. Yes it was the dealer in Fasanenstrasse.
How do you check the shutter speeds? I am based in the Philippines and I can't get much assistance here, unfortunately.

 

[RF-Addict]

Oil on aperture blades is not a good thing and will eventually ruin your lens. If you are still in Berlin you should return the lens for an exchange or a refund, especially given that you think you paid too much for it in the first place.

 

[Gilo25]

Unfortunately I am in Manila.. I doubt they would entertain me now...

 

[bigdog]

Shutter Speed Test

Shutter Speed Test

Check out this page.....


http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-135.html

 

[RdEoSg]

Your lens isn't going to die tomorrow because of oil on the blades.. It will probably be fine 10 years from now. Yes with time and dirt and gunk, you can get buildup on the blades that could cause them to jam up and not open and close smoothly. Yes with time that oil can create residue on the optics and generate haze and fungus, but again, it won't happen over night. I have a jupiter lens with oil on the blades that appears to have been there for a very long time.. like 1980's probably. The optics look perfectly fine. No haze or anything. The aperture opens and closes smoothly. In fact I just sent it in last month to be overhauled by a well respected guy recommended on this site and he said not to even bother with the oil. That the lenses usually came that way from the factory and he's never seen any adverse effect caused by it.

Since you already have the lens and sending it back isn't much of an option to you, I'd just use the thing. Keep the oil in the back of your mind and check it occasionally with a flashlight to make sure nothing is going on. If it is getting worse or you start seeing the beginnings of some haze then definitely send it in to be overhauled. Yes it will cost you a fair sum to be cleaned but since you are already stuck with the lens now, you might as well use it and enjoy it. 🙂

 

[Benjamin Marks]

Extra oil does have a tendency to migrate, so I'd put it on a list of things to do sometime in the next year. There must be a camera shop in Manila that knows how to properly clean the lens. It should not be too expensive -- so plan on saving over the next year and have it cleaned when you have the cash.

As for testing the shutter speeds, print film is not all that picky -- if you are within a third of a stop, you are probably fine. Shoot a couple of test rolls with the camera and see if you are having any noticeable problems. These cameras are pretty durable.

Good luck and let us know how it turned out.

Sincerely,

Ben Marks

 

[Gilo25]

Thank you all for your comments/suggestions. As far as repair shops in Manila, even though it may sound strange, I still have to find one to which I would entrust a Leica. There is not even a Leica dealer in Manila (in theory there is one but if you call them up, you'll discover they haven't heard about Leica...), let alone a repair shop. It's all digital here, very few die hard.

On the oil issue, I read somewhere else that in many cases it's not really oil, but just a shiny patch on the blades due to friction of the blades themselves that after years get consumed by rubbing on each other and become shiny. If it is oil they say the shape of the patch would change, if it doesn't then it's not oil. In my case it doesn't... in any case I have no choice but to follow RdEoSg's suggestion.

As for the camera (M6), I tried what bigdog suggested (i.e. rick oleson's method to check the shutter speeds) and definitely it came out erratic, i.e. occasionally the right pattern shows up but most of the time it doesn't (particularly at 1/250).

I also went through the checklist of Stephen Gandy, and I noticed the following:
1. at 1 sec speed the sound is on time, it sounds like one sec, but there is a sort of of accompanying sound like a 'zzzziiiinnnnng'. Is it normal?
2. there seems to be some fogging on the inside in the viewfinder, if you look at it under artificial light and with a certain angle.
3. While at infinity the RF image overlaps properly, at minimum focusing distance it doesn't, i.e. both the lenses I have (Summicron 50/2 and Elmarit 90/2.8) seem to focus at a distance 5 or 10 cm less than their declared minimum distance. In other words at 70 cm distance the RF images do not overlap for the Summicron: I have to get a bit closer.
4. The flash sink test shows a pattern which is not really square: it looks more like an octagon (i.e. the corners of the rectangle seem clipped and rounded off).
4. The film advance is ok but I would not define it "silky smooth" as Gandy says it should be.
5. The built in meter seems to be ok, but it doesn't really give the same results of my hand held Sekonic. Which one is right is pure guess, I think.

Now the question is: how does one draw a line between checking for legitimate defects and becoming paranoid? In other words, did I get 2 lemons and therefore need to send them both in for repair or does it mean I should simply go out and shoot and forget about all these issues?

 

[spiderfrank]

My pragmatic approach is: put a roll of slide and go out to make photos. Leave at home your Sekonic, and use only the camera: if the results are good... well, this means also the shutter speeds and the light meters are "good enaugh for the job", if not... Ok, you got a lemon! But, if all the slide are only a little under or over exposed, correct the iso, and go forward, or just remember this when you read the light ...

Ciao
Franco

 

[rlouzan]

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=004swz

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0063Rd

 

[RdEoSg]

That ziiiing sound you hear at 1 sec is correct. I can't recall the technical reason for it but it's something to do with the spring that controls the slow speeds.. or something 😛 someone here can explain that better than I!

I can't speak for leica design directly, but in general, most cameras have slow speed and high speed governors. If one second and half second seem correct, then most like everything from 30 down is good. If the faster speeds seem to change as you change the numbers, then they are probably pretty close too. Usually if speeds go out, they will do so in the slower speeds more often than the faster speeds, and usually they will go out entirely, not just be off by a bit. It does happen, but your camera is probably still usable. Maybe not precisely tuned, but good enough to work.

I'd go with Franco's advice. Just go shoot some film in it and see how it looks.

 

[ijohnnyz]

I don't know if this is any indication of proper shutter speed, but I checked all the shutter speeds on my M6 by comparing it's flash sync. Put a flash on your hot-shoe, open up the back and shoot a nearby white surface. It should sync fine from 1/50 and slower. With speeds 1/60 and higher, you should be able to see a black bar coming from the right side. However, it's hard for me to actually catch the curtain traveling at 1/60 but it is very apparent at 1/125. My camera might be off.

Oh, be careful of using older (high voltage) flashes on the TTL and later models. It might fired something.

amendment: I'm guess what I'm hoping for myself is that if 1/60 and 1/50 are on, then all should be well.