Leica RF flair.

T

Todd.Hanz

Guest
My M6 "classic" suffers from the dreaded RF patch flair on occasion, makes it tough to focus quickly due to the flair. I have seen some fixes like 3M window tint and such on other forums, I was wondering if anyone here has ever tried/heard of a different fix.

Todd
 
I just tilted the camera to a 45 when it was bad. It took about 4 rolls of film before I figured I was completely past it.

Amazing something like that slipped by the engineers for so long, and at the price.

Here's the best thing I figured out about the patch flare- the instruction manual is right about holding the camera against one's forehead to take a picture with framing going up-and-down (camera tilted to the left 90 degrees) as the rangefinder spot flare doens't have more light than the scene at which you are looking. I'm lazy and happy to hold the camera tilted RIGHT end down, putting the "zone of suceptibility" of the flare patch pointed at the BRIGHT SKY. Atsa nono.
 
The Lutz shade looks like a good option when you compare it to swapping out the RF top.
I never can get the right angle when I tilt the camera, it doesn't happen too often so maybe I'll just live with it.

Todd
 
"Amazing something like that slipped by the engineers for so long, and at the price."

ain't it the truth!!

that's one of my pet peeves with leica, so much money and silly little things that somebody should have known better about.
 
Actually I think the flair was engineered into the M6 to prevent the photographer from taking photographs of ugly people. Everytime I get the flair I am photographing someone/something that isn't vey attractive anyway, it must be the meter that sends an "ugly" signal to the RF patch to flair. Those crazy Leica engineers, what'll they think of next? 😀 😀 😉

Todd
 
Love the flair! 🙂 Hate the flare! 😡

As for me... I learned to live with it. However, if I go silly one day, I'll send one of my bodies to DAG. Don will fix it in exchange for $150 (I think), by placing a small translucent window somewhere in the path of the light in the rangefinder.

That little screen is still in the M3, M2, M4 (and some sisters) and M5. Why didn't they keep it? Apparently because of budget cuts... and the even more maligned M4P, which, coming after the M5, was the subjecty of some "cost cutting" by accountants at Leitz.
 
I'll probably just live with it and squint, like this guy ( 😉 ).

Todd
 
Well, as a user of the M3 and M2: The only reason that you mess with perfection is to make something cheaper. And rewind cranks are responsible for static marks on negatives caused by winding to fast in the cold! At least Leica corrected two of their errant ways on the MP; now if they would come out with a 0.91x finder...
 
Well, if they had talked to me, I would have advised to add a proviso in the manual: "do not rewind film with excessive force or speed."

I like the tilted rewind crank. I tried to "play" with the rewind of an M3 one day... and it was a bit too difficult to handle; and if it slips off your fingers it tends to yield to the film and you lose the rewound film. I've heard that the MP has a mechanism that prevents, at least partially, this problem, as it blocks the rewind knob so it doesn't unwind the film.

I don't know if I'm being clear here... But I hope you'll catch my drift. 🙂
 
Caught it! I have seen an aftermarket handle that mounts on the M3 rewind knob that makes the process a little easier, I am sure a leicanut would scoff at the idea though.

Todd
 
The M3 rewind Knob? Simply pull it up, and continuing to grasp firmly, twirl the camera like a noisemaker on New Years, with vigor.

Do it the right direction (counter-clockwise as viewed from the top) or the film might get scratched with the increased resistance of twising the film the wrong way on the take-up spool.

(not liable for any damage YOU do to YOUR camera. Seemed like a good idea to my sleep deprived mind)
 
I got a shade, hoping it would cure this problem. But I was disappointed in the loss of frame brightness against bright objects, e.g. the sky. I compared two M6TTLs side by side, one with and one without the shade while making this observation. On the one with the shade, I couldn't see the frame line against the sky, while I still could with the other one. IMHO, it's better to put up with the flare and work around it, or do the MP rangefinder upgrade.
 
Does the MP add the condensor lens that was taken out with the M4-2? Or is it more than that? According to Erwin Puts site, only the M3 is truly "immune" to the flare problem. If I see it in the M2, I will let people know. Whatever the issue, it cannot be as bad as the flare on the Nikon S3. The SP and S2 do not have this problem.

Also, my m2 is a first-production run version. I note on Stephen Gandy's site that the next run is listed with "small RF window". Does anyone know about this variation, and did it continue for the rest of the production?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The flare problem was the reason I passed on an M6 Classic in favour of an M2 about a month ago. This was my first contact with Leicas - in the used camera store I visited they had an M6 Classic, an M2 and an early M3 DS. I intend to do use 35mm lens later (actually, one is on its way), and was worried about M3 finder size - and I hate aux. external finders. I also wear glasses, and can see the 50mm frames in the M2 finder with my glasses on. So I went with the M2.
I must say that the flare on the M6 which I tried was absolutely horrible 🙁
I find the M2 much better in that respect.

Denis
 
I've had an M6TTL for a little over a year. Not a trace of flare until about 3 weeks ago, when I was shooting a concert late in the afternoon in a room with a west-facing window. The flare was unbelievable!

I'm going to get the MP fix installed as I love the camera. DAG will do it for ~$160.
 
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