Do I Need To Worry About Shutter Activations In a Used M?

It is unfortunate that a trusted and respected senior figure should so mislead the gullible. Perfection, as is well known, is an M2 with a Summilux 35, an M3 with an Elmarit 90, and a Noctilux in the beer-barrow.
 
SimonSawSunlight said:
Not at all.
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Well ... from personal experience: One M3, one M4, two M4-P were smelling from oil. All had droplets of oil on the film rails after some usage. On one M4-P the shutter speed dial started slipping through because excessive oil. The second M4-P went to Leica for service and due to excessive oil, the wind-unit had to be replaced and the whole camera cleaned from oil .... cost for this repair USD750.
 
I had the opposite experience with a Standard (1938) Leica. I was scrapping the dirt off and realised it was migrated and dried grease or oil and dirt. So I sent it off to be done properly and spoke to Ian a week or so later and was told a little rust had to be removed and a screw that was rusted was replaced. Then it was put back together, oiled etc and a little haze on the lens removed.

Result one as good as new and looking new as the old oil etc had preserved but not lubricated.

Ignoring those criminal optimists with strange ideas of their camera's condition, the real problem (apart from the blinds) is the brass studs, thread and leather of the old cases. Everything else is usually OK or repairable. But try getting the copper chloride (or copper carbonate?) off the leather and the exposure guide hidden in the back pocket of the ERC! Now that can be a pita...

Regards, David
 
BillBingham2 said:
Bill,

There is something about having one or two cameras that will outlast you but cutting back other than that. I have to say that the Leica and Nikon rangefinders are made to last forever. Leicas need some working when they sit too long, but mostly they come back close to spec. I used to worry about this failing and that and when I was making money for the shoot I had backups. But I have to say, carrying a single camera that you can count on really is all you need.

The M2 is one of those cameras that will outlast my sons sons.

B2 (;->
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This will be my second go-around with an M. I picked up an M3 last year, but the finder went dark in a few months.
[EDIT: The M3 was from Youxin. No smell or sign of oil. He took it back for a full refund. I've seen these reports of excess oil before, but my own, albeit limited, experience has been more than satisfactory.]

The issue of how much equipment we should own and/or carry around seems to be a popular thread topic here. I'll just say I think it depends on taste, style and technique. And a person's comfort level with a bag. I use a bag when I travel (one body, three lenses), but otherwise almost always go out with a camera and one lens. But, then, I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to carry a cellphone or even loose change in his pockets. Definitely in the small and uncluttered camp.
 
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When just goofing about, I usually carried a single camera with one, two or three lenses. Sometimes, though, I needed a second camera loaded with a different kind of film. When I did paid work, or work for which I hoped to earn, I would as a rule have two bodies and would use both. I would then have the two (or more) rolls of film processed separately.
 
"Shutter actuations" is a term and concept that became important to the huge unwashed masses of digital cameras users simply because the camera was able to store and report such data.

The term is not really applicable to an M-Leica, since the shutter can and should be regularly adjusted and inspected.

People like to parrot things they read online in order to sound knowledgeable when, in reality, they have no idea what they're talking about.

Another misused term is "CLA". Many like to repeat the word when they don't even know what it means, but because they follow forums they feel that a "CLA" must be some sort of good thing.

"My photographs don't look well composed. Do I need a CLA?"
 
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