ywenz
Veteran
I've just noticed that my M6 meter is under exposing close 2 stops. It's been well over a year since I've changed the battery, would an older battery affect meter performance?
M6 meter affected by battery level?
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thirteen
Established
I use the recommended DL 1/3N batteries in my M7. These lithium batteries are noted for their long shelf life (95% over 5 years at room temp.). I have noted with my camera they supply a long stable current then suddenly (not gradually) drop off. At worst use your spare battery (or buy one) and see if the camera is still underexposing. Maybe the contacts in the camera need cleaning if it hasn't been used regularly.
ywenz
Veteran
You won't believe it! I put in a new battery and it still underexposes. Then I readjusted the ISO dial in the back and now it's metering correctly!! WOW I sure hope my rolls from yesterday were not underexposed!!
Is this ISO dial issue common?
Is this ISO dial issue common?
thafred
silver addict
hi ywenz,
never heard of a ISO dial issue, maybe yours is broken thou but common I can´t say.
on the battery issue, the M6 manual states that battery level is not effecting meter readings but only led brightness, they say you can change batteries when the leds become too dim.
all the best
fred
never heard of a ISO dial issue, maybe yours is broken thou but common I can´t say.
on the battery issue, the M6 manual states that battery level is not effecting meter readings but only led brightness, they say you can change batteries when the leds become too dim.
all the best
fred
Michiel Fokkema
Michiel Fokkema
ywenz said:
Hi,
I had this once a few moths ago. But I had over exposure. After some fiddling with the iso dial it was oke again. Scary!
Cheers,
Michiel Fokkema
ferider
Veteran
One of my M6 bodies had the same problem in the beginning.
But it disappeared after some usage.
Roland.
But it disappeared after some usage.
Roland.
dll927
Well-known
This is not unique to Leicas. After the enviros killed the 1.35v 'button' batteries, my Gossen N-100 meter was left without proper sustenance. When I went on the Gossen site and asked if the current replacements (slightly different voltage) would work, their answer was yes, they would work but might cause a slight variance in the readings. Since I was at the time basically a color-slide person, that could have mattered.
As for the level of charge in the batteries, Ni-Cad batteries suffered from that problem, too. But somehow we managed to live through all that and wait for a better idea to come along.
As for the level of charge in the batteries, Ni-Cad batteries suffered from that problem, too. But somehow we managed to live through all that and wait for a better idea to come along.
ywenz
Veteran
Michiel Fokkema said:
Yesterday, my Neopan 100 roll came out extremely over exposed.. then I began to test its meter against my DSLR and incident meter and that's when I discovered the underexposed reading(which doesn't explain my roll though...with except maybe the meter was overexposing earlier in the day!) arggh.. I might get rid of this M6 after all! POS Leica.
Joop van Heijgen
Established
ywenz said:
The battery level affects the metering!
Under exposure is mostly a sign that the battery has reached its end!
Batteries gives often troubles with changes climate circumstances!
Chaser
Well-known
This is the $5 question. It is probably worth the trip to the corner store to pick up a few batteries for a few dollars each. You also may not want to check your meter readings against a canon digital, as they are generally a bit more sensitive than their iso settings would have you believe. This sensitivity makes them amazing cameras to shoot photos with but bad cameras to use as a meter guide. Can't be that hard to change the M6's batteries every 6 months or so.
Talus
pan sin sal
Chaser said:
exactly. I checked my M6TTL against my DSLR when I first got it and I found that the DSLR had better metering under just about every situation. I notcied that my M6 generally tends to overexpose a little so I compensate for that when I'm adjusting the aperture/shutter speed. At night it's off too, often overexposing quite a bit, so I adjust for that too. It also depends on what kind of lens you are using, where the diameter of the metering area changes from lens to lens. At night I'll meter a better lit area next to what I'm actually shooting to get a more accurate reading. More work than a DSLR but definitely worth it.
N
Nick R.
Guest
If the metering started working correctly after fiddling with the iso setting then I'd say that the iso pot is dirty. Moving the pot back and forth through its range should help clean it.
Mark Wood
Well-known
My M6 (pre-TTL, 1995 vintage) had a similar problem last summer. With the shutter speed dial set at 1/125th second only, the meter was giving readings that would have been about 3 stops overexposed. Turning the speed dial backwards and forwards through 1/125th a few times cured it, so I put it down to dirty contacts. I guess the film speed dial could have a similar problem.
I can confirm from experience that the meter readings stay accurate but the leds just dim as the batteries fade (I've seen it with my own eyes and a hand held meter!) as the instruction book says. I guess the meter must work on a bridge circuit that's independent of battery voltage.
I can confirm from experience that the meter readings stay accurate but the leds just dim as the batteries fade (I've seen it with my own eyes and a hand held meter!) as the instruction book says. I guess the meter must work on a bridge circuit that's independent of battery voltage.
MichaelW
Established
I've been having exactly the same problem recently, except my problem shutter speed seems to be 1/250.Mark Wood said:
eg I take a light reading at 1/125 & get f/8 and that makes sense as a correct reading. Then I change the shutter to 1/250 & aperture to f/5.6, check the meter & it is asking for more light. Half a stop more I would find within tolerance but it will try to get me to add 3 stops. Bizarre. It's had me scratching my head for a few weeks. I'm planning to take it for a CLA soon & in the meantime just keep an eye on the meter readings & check against sunny 16. At least i know it's not just happening to me. Anyone have suggestions for a good Leica CLA facility in Sydney?
