RdEoSg
Well-known
So my M4 sucks. When I bought it and got my first roll of film back I discovered that it had some issues. It has uneven exposures and marks.
I sent the camera in to a well known Leica repair specialist and they replaced one of the curtains and did a full CLA to the camera. When I got it back, the exposures were better and the marks were gone, but it was still showing shutter bounce problems, and had developed a strange light leak that would show up on one or two frames of a roll, in the middle of the frame, not on the edging or sprocket holes.
I sent the camera back in again, and they fixed the shutter bounce and thought they fixed the fogging but it persisted. I sent the camera in again (third time) and they once again went through the camera checking light seals etc and said they thought it was good now.
It was not. So I sent it in for the 4th time to them and they spent more time going through it, checking for leaks, adding additional seals to fix the problem. They shot a roll themselves and told me it showed no leaks and they thought it was finally fixed.
This is my first roll after receiving it back. As you can see, it's gone from bad to worse. Not only are the light leaks still there, but they are far worse, now showing up in the sprocket holes and edging of the rolls too. In addition you can see that the bad exposures, shutter bounce etc are all back again as well.
I've used different types of film, I've used different lenses. I've shined light through the shutter curtains, I've shined light through the front and back of the rangefinder windows. I've shined light through the rear door, I've shined it though the bottom with the plate off. I can't find the leak anywhere but obviously there is one and it's not small.
I am currently in discussions for a full refund for the camera repairs. They want another chance at it, I've told them no.
I'm probably going to send it in to Youxin Ye and give him a shot since I'm in the US. I've heard good things and have already spoken to him by email about this.
I'm just scratching my head and hoping by some chance someone else has experienced something similar and has an opinion on how they fixed it!
I'm not new to Leicas or to film cameras and have worked in a camera store for nearly 20 years so I do know my way around cameras, film, processing etc.
HELP!
I sent the camera in to a well known Leica repair specialist and they replaced one of the curtains and did a full CLA to the camera. When I got it back, the exposures were better and the marks were gone, but it was still showing shutter bounce problems, and had developed a strange light leak that would show up on one or two frames of a roll, in the middle of the frame, not on the edging or sprocket holes.
I sent the camera back in again, and they fixed the shutter bounce and thought they fixed the fogging but it persisted. I sent the camera in again (third time) and they once again went through the camera checking light seals etc and said they thought it was good now.
It was not. So I sent it in for the 4th time to them and they spent more time going through it, checking for leaks, adding additional seals to fix the problem. They shot a roll themselves and told me it showed no leaks and they thought it was finally fixed.
This is my first roll after receiving it back. As you can see, it's gone from bad to worse. Not only are the light leaks still there, but they are far worse, now showing up in the sprocket holes and edging of the rolls too. In addition you can see that the bad exposures, shutter bounce etc are all back again as well.
I've used different types of film, I've used different lenses. I've shined light through the shutter curtains, I've shined light through the front and back of the rangefinder windows. I've shined light through the rear door, I've shined it though the bottom with the plate off. I can't find the leak anywhere but obviously there is one and it's not small.
I am currently in discussions for a full refund for the camera repairs. They want another chance at it, I've told them no.
I'm probably going to send it in to Youxin Ye and give him a shot since I'm in the US. I've heard good things and have already spoken to him by email about this.
I'm just scratching my head and hoping by some chance someone else has experienced something similar and has an opinion on how they fixed it!
I'm not new to Leicas or to film cameras and have worked in a camera store for nearly 20 years so I do know my way around cameras, film, processing etc.
HELP!
