maddoc
... likes film again.
Huub, the glue used for the M4 prism depends on the M4 version, there are at least two. They are distinguishable by the shape of the baffle behind the eye-piece, either barrel-shaped or more rectangular. The older M4s have the baffle shaped like in the M2 and the RF prism is laminated with the same balsam as in the M2, which can deteriorate or the prisms delaminate. I have seen some M4 with starting prism separation and there were also some reports about this over at photo.net.
The hint about the shutter-curtain comes from my camera-tech. He mentioned that it is not a problem with a well-maintained and properly lubricated M4 but when the lubricants dry out or to much dirt accumulates, the shutter-curtains (ribbons) can rip of the shutter-drum.
The M4 is a very camera, for sure and most of them work flawlessly for a long time but they are much older than an M4-P and for everyday shooting (without to much worrying about repair and service) I preferred the M4-P.
About VF flare ... the M6 RF patch is a little more prone to flare compared to the M4-P because the optics had to be slightly changed to allow the integration of the LED indicators in the M6.
The hint about the shutter-curtain comes from my camera-tech. He mentioned that it is not a problem with a well-maintained and properly lubricated M4 but when the lubricants dry out or to much dirt accumulates, the shutter-curtains (ribbons) can rip of the shutter-drum.
The M4 is a very camera, for sure and most of them work flawlessly for a long time but they are much older than an M4-P and for everyday shooting (without to much worrying about repair and service) I preferred the M4-P.
About VF flare ... the M6 RF patch is a little more prone to flare compared to the M4-P because the optics had to be slightly changed to allow the integration of the LED indicators in the M6.
HuubL
hunter-gatherer
Thanks for the update Gabor. My two M4s have the barrel shaped viewfinder (one is from the last batch, within the last 100 or so made in Wetzlar in 1970), the other one is from 1966 and was CLA'd in 2007. Both are extremely smooth cameras, much smoother than my recently CLA'd M2 or the 1986 M6. Agreed that an M4 is best off with a CLA by now, but the same would hold for the almost thirty-year old M4-P.
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