how to tell when a CLA is need

[ywenz]

I just received my M6 classic, the seller doesn't know how extensively the camera was used by the previous owner. I'm just going thru the used M checklist from :

http://www.cameraquest.com/leicamchecklist.htm

and it mentioned that the film advance should be "silky" smooth without film inside. On my M6, the crank is smooth up until the last 5 degrees of the turn when I can definitely feel a couple notches of resistance, I assume this has to do with the mechanism that's advancing the film counter.

Is what I described normal? What other ways can I tell if a CLA is required?

thanks!

 

[richard_l]

It's normal. I never thought about it, but it's like that even on the M3 DS near the end of the second stroke. Maybe cocking the shutter does that.

 

[Paul Connet]

I would say that if you made it all the way through Mr. Gandy's list of things to check and the only thing you noted was a slight hitch in the cocking stroke, you have a very fine M6. Put some film in it and go shooting.

My take on CLA's is to get one when the camera no longer functions as it should. Generally with a M Leica that is a very long time. My M6 was made in 1988, and made it all the way to 2001 before developing a slight light leak past the baffles. It was working perfectly otherwise, but it took a CLA to solve the light leak.

Good shooting to you with your M6. Show us some pics from it. 🙂

Regards, Paul C.

 

[ywenz]

I just loaded the film in less than 30 seconds!! haha why do people say it's soo hard? I hope I didn't jinx myself and end up with a roll of nothing!

..but the rewind knob is turning! 🙂

on Gandy's list regarding I should hear two distinct gears at 1/15 speed... I don't knwo if I'm hearing that... 🙁 I don't even know what I'm suppose to be listening for.

edit: Oh... and here's my new baby:

 

[titrisol]

nice baby :droooooool:

 

[rover]

I just loaded the film in less than 30 seconds!! haha why do people say it's soo hard? I hope I didn't jinx myself and end up with a roll of nothing!

OK, Leica Lies (I mean Lore)...

The shutter is silent...NOT...it is very quiet but if you shoot it in a truely silent room everyone's head will turn and look at you.

Bottom loading is hard...again, NOT... I actually think it is easier to load a Leica than any back door camera other than a Canon with the QL system, and modern pull the film across to the orange mark cameras.

The knob rewind on an M3, M2 or MP is slow...You Know... I have more trouble hanging onto that little fold out lever. Come on, it is a roll of film, no need to go to the gym and train to rewind it back into the cannister.

 

[ywenz]

Yes, the shutter is definitely not silent. My Electro 35 is SILENT. I hope I don't find much more other such "myths"

 

[zeos 386sx]

Lubricants dry out. I asked Don Goldberg (DAG) how long his lubricants last. His answer was that he was using the very best lubricants that he could find and that he figured they would last at least ten years (probably longer) between CLA's.

1. Ask how old the camera is and how long it has been since it had a CLA. If it is over 10-15 years you might consider having it done.

2. If the camera has been well treated then you don't have to have it CLA'ed as often. However, heavily used cameras and those exposed to the elements get gunked up with dirt. If you camera is used that way then consider having a CLA more often.

 

[DaveSee]

After 12 years, I had my "classic" CLA'd by DAG. Impulse, the less than super clear R/VF and the knowledge that I'd used it in many climates, super humid to super dry.

I know you've already spent some cash to get it, but a CLA will "reset" the clock so you'll know--and you'll just know--when it needs (another) one. Nice pics, nice box too... could mean that it's not dirty, but simply underused... another reason a CLA may be the best thing you can do for both of you 😉

Good catch, enjoy it! Oh, and about the "sounds" eminating from your M6: if you are not familiar with the sounds a properly functioning M6 will make, then do yourself the favor of ignoring written descriptions...

rgds,
Dave

 

[jaapv]

This one looks practically unused, so the main problems, if any, would be with dried lubricants. I would advise: if everything works and the shutterspeeds are stable and correct, just go and use it. I have a M3 which works flawlessly and as far as I am aware its last trip to the service shop was about 25 years ago...The "little sound" is just like a small clockwork running down (which it actually is).

 

[peter_n]

When you've finished your first roll of film and before you put in your next roll, go through all the shutter speeds and fire the shutter about 5-6 times. Repeat this exercise about once a month to keep everything humming nicely. Good luck with your new camera! 🙂

 

[Honu-Hugger]

Beautiful camera, Ywenz. My opinion is if you can tell a camera needs a CLA then it is no longer a CLA and it has become a repair. I am a big believer in preventative maintenance and I send my cameras in on a somewhat regular basis (I don't keep a log but within 5 to 10 years depending upon use). Many will disagree but for me it is money well spent if you have a technician you trust.

 

[dim]

edit: Oh... and here's my new baby:

It's a beauty.

Have great shots with it. 🙂

 

[Graybeard]

I offer my own suggestions on Leica CLA's based on a number of years of experience -

1) If the previous owner of your camera did not have it serviced, or can't tell you very much concerning the service history, assume that a CLA will be required with 12 months for M6 Classics and earlier models. Ask the person who sold you the camera about its service history - you might be surprised (sometimes pleasantly so) at what you will learn. No one wants to spend the money on a CLA for an apparently working camera - view this as insurance. If you must, don't buy the second camera body, have the one you own now made right.

Don't use the camera to photograph anything that matters until you've had a CLA done.

2) All Barnack Leicas need a CLA in the very near future unless the seller was actually a Leica shooter and has had a recent CLA. Many Barnack Leica sellers are finding these jewels in dresser drawers where they've been resting for 40 years. The shutter will fire if you exercise it a bit but the gummy lubricants will make shutter operation erratic in normal operation (I speak from experience). The Barnack Leicas are of a certain age that shutter curtains will be needed about 50% of the time.

3) For any camera, fire the shutter at 1 sec or 1/2 second. If the audible operation of the slow speed gear train does not sound smooth (no hesitation or slight stalling) the camera needs a CLA. It is of no significance that the shutter frees up after firing it a few times - are you going to fire off eight blank shots before getting the important one? Do you know when the important shot is coming so that you'll have time to loosen the shutter?

 

[ywenz]

When I fire the 1 sec speed, the shutter gear runs for 1/2 to 1 sec after the shutter closes, is this normal?

 

[foon]

When I fire the 1 sec speed, the shutter gear runs for 1/2 to 1 sec after the shutter closes, is this normal?

yes,
you should hear that on other slower speeds too

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

OK, Leica Lies (I mean Lore)...

The shutter is silent...NOT...it is very quiet but if you shoot it in a truely silent room everyone's head will turn and look at you.

Bottom loading is hard...again, NOT... I actually think it is easier to load a Leica than any back door camera other than a Canon with the QL system, and modern pull the film across to the orange mark cameras.

The knob rewind on an M3, M2 or MP is slow...You Know... I have more trouble hanging onto that little fold out lever. Come on, it is a roll of film, no need to go to the gym and train to rewind it back into the cannister.

Amen. Well...actually...the Leica M shutter is silent; what's not so silent is the shutter release. In my experience, some Leicas are noisier than others, and my theory is that different CLA technicians are like piano tuners; some have an ear, some don't (before you roll your eyes, some tune with a fork and go from there, others use an electronic tuner that tells them when the pitch is "right"). My M2 is louder than my M6. My M6 is more silent than any single camera I own with the exception of one Yashica Electro 35 (the other is louder), and my Rolleiflex Automat.

Bottom loading is hard?? Who keeps on spreading these lies? 8-track users? Caffeine addicts? Homer Simpson? :bang:

The rewind knob on an M2/M3 is as slow as the mind of the user, really. I think it is the measure of the inner baby by how much somebody complains how "slow" the rewind knob is. 🙄

Ok, way past my bedtime. 😱

 

[foon]

No, the shutter of my m4 is not silent, those in lens shutter would be a lot quiter
since I have ever hold 2 leicas, I am not really an experienced leica person
The sound of those two leicas were pretty much the same

I would call it not obstructive, not like those metal shutter people will know that is the sound of camera, still it has aroused attention once in a very quite shop

I prefer the rewind knob on m2 a lot more than the thing on my m4
the lever is kind of hard to hold firmly compare to the knob on m2
so I wouldn't think that knob of m2 is a disadvantage

I had to return that m2 cause there were pinholes in the shutter 🙁
I really like it more than the m4 I am having now

the film loading on m4, however, is much quicker and easier
I really don't understand why people would say their m7 or mp hard to load

 

[ywenz]

Bottom loading is hard?? Who keeps on spreading these lies? 8-track users? Caffeine addicts? Homer Simpson? :bang:

I believe this forum is also guilty for that.. case n' point, read the stick at the top of this forum.... sigh..

 

[Nikon Bob]

I believe this forum is also guilty for that.. case n' point, read the stick at the top of this forum.... sigh..

The M4 and newer M cameras are a piece of cake to load and are similar to screw mount Lieca loading only in that they too load from the bottom. Trust me I have both and there is a world of difference. Try out a screw mount Leica and you may find out where the "myth" of bottom feeders came from. A very nice M6 BTW.

Bob