M6 light leak

[Toni Nikkanen]

I seem to have a contagious case of light leaks. This time it's my M6 which is doing these kind of effects on some pics when shooting at slow shutter speeds:

Either that or then it's a really bad case of flare, but I doubt it, since I have the beautiful original lens hood on my Canon 50/1.2.

I'm in Berlin, is Meister Kamera the best place to go for getting a M Leica fixed?

 

[Nokton48]

My M4-2 had light leaks, it turns out the curtains were the cause of the leak. Sherry Krauter (former Leitz employee) removed the curtains, and reglued them to their central spindle/shaft. That solved the light leak. She said it was caused by aging.

A good Leica technician can fix this problem. Also, she said there are internal light shields, that can leak light. You cannot see them from the outside of the camera. That is another possibility.

 

[ItsReallyDarren]

Early M6's had a different type of light shields, sometimes they get worn with age and let light through. A technician can replace them, I had Dag fix this problem when I sent in my M6.
Before getting it fixed mine would show something similar if I kept a fast lens wide open too long or if I unmounted a lens and let strong light hit the shutter.

From a conversation with Don about the light shields;
"Leica M6 camera- early version w/the early light shields. Leica redesigned the main light shields & the only way to get the camera from leaking is to install the new type shields"

 

[Toni Nikkanen]

This is indeed an older M6 model so could well have it's light seals worn out. Made in Wetzlar with the older metering circuit type.

 

[brbo]

Old thread, I know...

I have an early Wetzlar M6 and got a sporadic light leak on some recent film rolls. I tested with film and confirmed that I get a leak when changing lenses with sun shining directly into the mount or with fast lens wide open turned into the sun.

Reading this thread there seems to be a problem with early M6s. Can the early M6 take the new redesigned light shields which are better/will last longer? Or can they only be replaced with the shields of the same design?

Which is the best place to have this done in EU? Any guesstimate on the costs?

Thanks!

 

[brbo]

Got a response from one (out of four) repair shops I contacted through email.

His cost estimate is at least 400 EUR + shipping + VAT. So I'm looking at a 500+ EUR at least. My god, what would Leica charge me then? 1000 EUR? More? Gulp...

 

[k__43]

Leica does complete overhaul only AFAIK which might be pricier than going to another repair man.
Toni, when you go to Meister they will send it to Leica. They do not do repairs.
I've yet to find the best solution for Leica repairs in town.
I would ask Mr. Prügel at Kameraservice Ostkreuz.

 

[k__43]

I tested with film and confirmed that I get a leak when changing lenses with sun shining directly into the mount or with fast lens wide open turned into the sun.

then just don't do it 😀 ... sorry

 

[brbo]

then just don't do it 😀 ... sorry

Sure. But I can see a situation when I'll get a light leak just shooting a backlit scene...

 

[brbo]

I would ask Mr. Prügel at Kameraservice Ostkreuz.

I did (to info@kameraservice-ostkreuz.de). He is yet to respond.

Maybe I'll have to try a different email address (anyone have a direct email?) and/or try to write the inquiry in German...?

 

[k__43]

I did (to info@kameraservice-ostkreuz.de). He is yet to respond.

Maybe I'll have to try a different email address (anyone have a direct email?) and/or try to write the inquiry in German...?

I never emailed them .. they are old school. I go there and they call me when it's done. I'd say you should be a bit patient for them to reply.
He fixed a Praktica BC1 and a Elmarit 90 for me a couple of years ago.

A friend of mine had a M4-2 with damaged winding mechanism and he repaired the camera for 239€

 

[brbo]

I never emailed them .. they are old school. I go there and they call me when it's done. I'd say you should be a bit patient for them to reply.
He fixed a Praktica BC1 and a Elmarit 90 for me a couple of years ago.

A friend of mine had a M4-2 with damaged winding mechanism and he repaired the camera for 239€

Thanks! I'll wait. Unfortunately, going there in person is not an option for me.

 

[NandoTheNinja]

Hey guys, i know this is an old thread but i've been having this type of leaks on my m2, and i just wanted to compare the cases. I have already sent it to repair and when it came back, it still had the same problems. The thing is, i'm using a cheap chinese adapter, and with a flash light i have notice that there is some light peaking through the lens mount. Did you use a cheap adapter with your lenses as well or you have repaired your camera already and that wasn't the problem? I'm waiting for a nice voigtlander adapter to arrive so i can test my hypotesis, but i think a cheap adapter might be the problem....

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Basically the light leak in the original post is light getting over and under the curtains because the light baffle material have degraded. In early versions it's some sort of velvet-like material along the upper and lower edge of the film frame.