5nap5hot
Pest at large
Is it harmful to the camera to leave the shutter cocked for an extended period of time?
general noob question
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wyk_penguin
Well-known
IMO, I don't think it really matters. Because spring tension is basically due to the crystal structure of the spring metal and without large (a few hundred degrees) temperature change, I don't see how a cocked spring will lead to loss in tension.
However, leaving the shutter uncocked does prevent one from taking nice picture of the camera bag.
For Bessa R2/3A users, such as myself, I recommend cocking the shutter after each exposure because the meter cannot be activated with the shutter uncocked. Therefore you can't really meter the scene when you are composing with the shutter uncocked, and you can alway use that darn shutter lock if you don't like pictures of your camera bag. :angel:
However, leaving the shutter uncocked does prevent one from taking nice picture of the camera bag.
For Bessa R2/3A users, such as myself, I recommend cocking the shutter after each exposure because the meter cannot be activated with the shutter uncocked. Therefore you can't really meter the scene when you are composing with the shutter uncocked, and you can alway use that darn shutter lock if you don't like pictures of your camera bag. :angel:
wolves3012
Veteran
Up to a point, not really. Springs in OLD watches and clocks lose tension through being left wound. A lot depends on the quality of the spring metal. With regards to a camera shutter, it's not going to do much harm short-term (like cocking and then not taking a shot for a few days/weeks). Long-term might not be such a good idea. As pointed out elsewhere, leaving uncocked avoids accidental shots in the bag etc. It doesn't take long to wind on before a shot, so unless the camera requires you to wind on for some reason (mirror-cocking on some SLRs, for instance) why bother?5nap5hot said:
sleepyhead
Well-known
I think that the answer depends on the camera in question. For Leica M's (not M7 and M8 obviously), it makes no difference as the tension is the same cocked or un-cocked. The manual for my Minolta CLE clearly said not to leave the shutter cocked for long period of time.
