Does your M work at 1/1000?

[zauhar]

Plus one for the warranty. The 1/1000 on my M3 is perfect.

Ditto. My M3 also had a shutter issue when it first arrived, which was eventually resolved under warranty.

If the tech at the shop cannot resolve it, see if they will agree to pay at least part of the cost to send to someone like Sherry Krauter.

 

[efirmage]

That's funny, I've never used it! In fact I think 90% of my 35mm photography is done with either 1/125 or 1/250.

 

[taskoni]

My M2 works @ 1/1000 😀 I can confirm that now since I shot a roll of tri-x on open sun - f/8 @ 1/1000 sec. and the negative looks great, even though the scan are a bit over exposed.
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=162278&ppuser=39285

Regards,
b.

 

[Roberto V.]

My M4 works perfectly at all speeds, from 1s to 1/1000. It has never been opened since it left the factory in 1970, still has the L seal intact 😱. It amazes me that the slow speeds are still accurate. The original owner only put less that 10 rolls through it, and then kept it in a closet until I bought it.
I actually use it at 1/1000 a lot, because sometimes I have a roll rated at 1600 after a night of shooting. Slow speeds get a lot of use too.

 

[hexiplex]

No issues with 1/1000th on my M4-P, I have had issues with very faint underexposure on the sides of my negatives, but that's not manifesting itself anymore, strangely enough,

 

[print44]

Yes! Have had exactly this with my M2 on 1000. Latest was last weekend shooting Portra 400 and couldn't work out what had caused the horrible black banding on the LHS. Same camera did the same thing a couple of months back - black band and underexposure and the only thing I could think was that I'd had something obscuring the lens. Im fairly sure my M4P doesn't do it. And I didn't realise the 500 - 1000 speed change doesn't really mean a one stop exposure value.

 

[rogerzilla]

It's now gone to CRR Luton for a full service. Peter says it can be adjusted out temporarily but it's the first indication that the shutter actually needs a proper overhaul and lube because the curtains aren't running freely - in due course you get virtually no image at 1/1000 and then 1/500 starts to cause problems too. It doesn't actually damage the camera to keep using it like that, but it becomes progressively more annoying.

 

[print44]

I'll try to post a couple of the bad images later. Had thought about sending the M2 off to CRR in the Autumn anyway. Maybe this makes the decision for me.

 

[Moriturii]

THIS is the reason why I turned to a Hexar RF, the Leica shutter seems sooooooo antiquated, just fundamentally in design and all, it's goes right back to the 50's with the M3. Maybe even it has same shutter as Leica IIIc's and stuff? Someone correct me.

And also correct me on this, ALL Leica cameras from M3 to M7 have more or less exactly the same shutter except that some parts are made from different metals after the M4 and M7 is electronically controlled, but still, same mechanism? Someone school me but that sounds un-acceptable. Nikon surpassed Leica in this regard DECADES ago with titanium cloth shutters, Leica still in the stone-age with people who bought into a idea to be HCB or whatever.

Leica has fallen into that disgusting kind of corporation (proven with the M9-P) that has given up on making their cameras better, just sticks one or two completely superflous items and sticks a few thousand extra dollar price tag to cater to the stupid dumb consumers with no brains but big wallets.

Anyway, someone add the real and correct info about the Leica shutters, especially the difference between M3, going to M4 and later M7 shutters.

 

[print44]

 

[print44]

Sorry about the size - I'm still trying to master the whole posting mullarkey... But it seems to me that this is the same problem rogerzilla has had. And reviewing some of my M2s films it seems to account for some odd underexposures and shots which failed to expose at all, when all around were fine.

 

[rogerzilla]

Yes, that's the second curtain catching the first, with some massive underexposure thrown in. It needs a service.

I got CRR's invoice and report today. The previous repairer had just poured oil in to try and fix the shutter. AGH! No damage done, fortunately. Also, the non-return mechanism in the wind-on lever was totally non-functional and the only reason I hadn't noticed is because I always wind on with a complete stroke. The vulcanite is apparently very sound so Peter just patched it rather than replacing it (he can do hot-fitted reproduction vulcanite). The prisms aren't separating although there is a small crack at the edge of one which he doesn't think will go any further.

It should be good for another 50 years now.

 

[rogerzilla]

Still having minor problems with underexposure on the leftmost 1/4 to 1/8 of the frame, even after a service. Peter can't understand it as it looks perfect on his rotating drum calibration device. He's going to run some film through to reproduce the problem. It doesn't seem easy to get this right, but it is only a 2mm slit that has to be controlled (electronically-controlled shutters have big advantages in accuracy).