bruce.wilcox
Member
Seeking advice on an M3 that's showing shutter problems even after multiple repairs.
Last summer I bought my first Leica: an M3 DS that I found for a reasonable price on eBay. I knew I was taking a risk buying from the 'Bay, but I factored in the price of a CLA and possibly some other repairs and took the plunge. (I also found a 50mm Summicron in wonderful cosmetic and optical shape.)
The M3 had a rather dim viewfinder (as I expected), and the initial roll of film displayed some shutter capping. I sent the body off to Youxin Ye and, as others have experienced, was impressed with his short turnaround time, reasonable fees and excellent communication. The viewfinder came back in glorious condition - Youxin had to remove and clean the elements and replace the adhesive, and the view through the finder blew me away. The rangefinder spot was spot-on, so to speak.
I noticed, however, that the shutter capping problem was still seen, and was actually a bit worse - it was now seen in varying degrees on almost all shutter speeds. I sent the body back to Youxin and he said that it was unusual to see this issue at that wide a range of speeds, and that he'd need to replace the body's chassis. This he did, and the camera made it back to me by the fall of last year.
Then things got busy for me, and the usual nine months of rain here in the Pacific Northwest settled in. I found myself shooting very little over the winter, but I did take out the M3 out of its bag (it was being stored in a warm and dry place) at least monthly to fire the shutter a few times at each speed. Last week I finally pulled out the body to do some serious testing with a new (for me) film.
Last fall a test roll after the second repair showed no shutter capping, but now I'm seeing the problem again. Not at all speeds, but at least from 1/250th through 1/25th, the speeds I use most often. After a couple of rolls showed the characteristic unexposed strip on the trailing edge of the frames I spent a few days "exercising" the shutter by firing it dozens of times at all speeds over the course of each day. I just looked at another test roll with frames shot all all speeds (except B) and I'm still seeing the underexposed strip on the frames shot at 1/250th through 1/25th.
I'm not sure what to do at this point and I'm seeking advice from forum members. I don't blame Youxin, and I'm inclined to think that this particular body (even with a new chassis, apparently) has issues that might make it not worth further repair. The initial purchase was lowish for that model, but that plus what I've put into it for repairs is up near the high end of what M3s are going for. I'm tempted to write it off as a lost gamble and sell the body as-is.
(I also have a used Bessa R3a on it's way. I'm crossing my fingers on that body's rangefinder.)
Thoughts?
Thanks,
Bruce
Last summer I bought my first Leica: an M3 DS that I found for a reasonable price on eBay. I knew I was taking a risk buying from the 'Bay, but I factored in the price of a CLA and possibly some other repairs and took the plunge. (I also found a 50mm Summicron in wonderful cosmetic and optical shape.)
The M3 had a rather dim viewfinder (as I expected), and the initial roll of film displayed some shutter capping. I sent the body off to Youxin Ye and, as others have experienced, was impressed with his short turnaround time, reasonable fees and excellent communication. The viewfinder came back in glorious condition - Youxin had to remove and clean the elements and replace the adhesive, and the view through the finder blew me away. The rangefinder spot was spot-on, so to speak.
I noticed, however, that the shutter capping problem was still seen, and was actually a bit worse - it was now seen in varying degrees on almost all shutter speeds. I sent the body back to Youxin and he said that it was unusual to see this issue at that wide a range of speeds, and that he'd need to replace the body's chassis. This he did, and the camera made it back to me by the fall of last year.
Then things got busy for me, and the usual nine months of rain here in the Pacific Northwest settled in. I found myself shooting very little over the winter, but I did take out the M3 out of its bag (it was being stored in a warm and dry place) at least monthly to fire the shutter a few times at each speed. Last week I finally pulled out the body to do some serious testing with a new (for me) film.
Last fall a test roll after the second repair showed no shutter capping, but now I'm seeing the problem again. Not at all speeds, but at least from 1/250th through 1/25th, the speeds I use most often. After a couple of rolls showed the characteristic unexposed strip on the trailing edge of the frames I spent a few days "exercising" the shutter by firing it dozens of times at all speeds over the course of each day. I just looked at another test roll with frames shot all all speeds (except B) and I'm still seeing the underexposed strip on the frames shot at 1/250th through 1/25th.
I'm not sure what to do at this point and I'm seeking advice from forum members. I don't blame Youxin, and I'm inclined to think that this particular body (even with a new chassis, apparently) has issues that might make it not worth further repair. The initial purchase was lowish for that model, but that plus what I've put into it for repairs is up near the high end of what M3s are going for. I'm tempted to write it off as a lost gamble and sell the body as-is.
(I also have a used Bessa R3a on it's way. I'm crossing my fingers on that body's rangefinder.)
Thoughts?
Thanks,
Bruce
