LTM adapter - advice needed

[Florian1234]

So I bought a user M4 from a forum member here and from the *bay an original Leica LTM/M39 to M adapter for 50mm lenses.

There's an - let me call it - issue with the lens release catch of the M4. The seller or his repairman (no clue yet) replaced it for a kind of home made part.
I thought it should work, but here's the problem:


The adapter is stuck and did not go into the mount all the way. Now it is maybe 3mm away from being in the right position. Thus it also does not let show up the 50mm framelines. But the rangefinder works with screwed in lens (Industar 26M at the moment).
And I also can not get the adapter unmounted somehow, since the release catch knob does not move at all. :bang:😕🙁


Any advisory tips for me poor student who's just got his first Leica and is so eager to use it - also with other than 50mm lenses. Thanks in advance.

[edit: I don't want to blame the seller, that's what I just wanted to express in addition. But please give me some help with it.]

 

[ferider]

Hard to say what is going on without seeing pictures of the "home made part" or the current situation. Don't force it. At the earliest opportunity replace
the release catch with an original. DAG might have a spare part.

Roland.

 

[Florian1234]

Here's a photo of the mentioned part:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=55213&d=1201763278

 

[ferider]

Sieht nicht so schlecht aus. Release-catch abschrauben, nach links herausziehen, Adapter runternehmen. Release-catch tiefer feilen
oder mit Original (sollte nicht zu teuer sein) ersetzen.

Gruss,

Roland.

 

[Florian1234]

Okay, super, danke. Werde ich probieren.

Thank you very much, I will try it that way.

 

[Florian1234]

Sorry to have maybe caused a bit of trouble. It worked now. The adapter ring was veeery tight.
Only problem then would be to get it off then, but as long as I don't use other lenses than 50mm it is all cool.

*sigh* that's a big relieve now. :angel:

 

[Limpovitj]

The release catch/button is a finicky part on M-Leicas. It has to be set to the exact height for it to both release and catch smoothly. If it sits too deep or too high it can be very tight, or even lock the lens (or adapter, as it may be) in the mount. Under your homemade button/catch is the springloaded button (the homemade part, or the original piece, is just a cover and catch, really), and that button underneath is what determines the height of the arrangement. Unless someone fiddled with the height of it (with shims or something), I think it would be pretty straightforward to exchange it for the original piece (the procedure would be; remove screw, replace homemade part with factory original, replace screw, and it should work). DAG can probably sell you the original cover/locking piece for a decent price. (Should it need adjustment to work with the new part, then I would recommend you handing it over to a repairman - shouldn't be too expensive.)

Still, it is nothing to really worry about, but you might want to consider replacing it sometime in the future anyway (as you get more lenses, adapters, and if it doesn't work smoothly with these). For now, congrats on the new camera!

(Edit: hope I didn't worry you with the it-can-lock-the-lens-in-the-mount-part, if it should happen, then it's not a problem to get it loose again. Again, congratulations! Great camera!)

 

[former member]

I have also had this problem with an original Leitz adapter on an M3, and it had nothing to do with the release catch. One of the bayonet flanges of the Adapter had been bent in its almost 50 year history. Took a bit of a grip to get it off the camera, I used a rubber cork to get a grip on it. Once off, I found the bent flange by comparing it carefully with a second adapter made for 50mm lenses.


Edit- read you post that it came off. Good! Still leaving the advice in as it worked once for me.

If the part works fine with regular lenses, it is possible that it is still the hold up. But if the mount is not all the way in place, it can only be pressing on the part and not locked into it. I would try pressing the release to get tension off the adpater, and using something with a good grip to get the adapter off. Failing that, off to a repair shop.