Canon LTM Mysterious secret compartment in camera case?

Canon M39 M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
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Bart-K

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Hello fellow forum members,

In the back of my IV-Sb camera case is a thin compartment which currently holds a plain brown carton card. The card has some stains on it, which look like stains similar to those from battery corrosion. Does anybody know what the purpose of the card or the compartment is?

Kind regards,

Bart
 

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I think I know ...

I have a case for a Leica II with a similar compartment. My theery is that the card is to help you load 35mm film without having to use an ABLON or otherwise cut the film by hand.

Does this sound plausible?

Sean in Tipperary (Ireland)
 
It could be replaced by a paper based exposure guide. Sunny 16 and a few more for darker areas. Just as guess.

B2 (;->
 
I have had a number of the Canon cards in the past. While they started out red, I think that they tend to turn brown in time due to contact with the case. I see that yours has a ring mark from contact with the brass snap- I have several with similar marks . The ones I have had that stayed red were found tucked into the camera manual or other papers.
 
They have them in late 40s and 50s Kiev cases, too - in this case with a blank card, on which I would guess you would write your own exposure informaiton. I'd therefore guess that 1930s Contax cases had the same compartment.

Soon, if our government has its way, you will be able to use it for one simple card that will work as your passport, your credit card, will give you access to health services and will consistently update Big Brother on your whereabouts.
 
On the Leica LTM cases for II/IIIF's it was for a card with the flash sync settings for different flash types
 
I'd say you're right, Sean. I once came across the five-letter Leitz code for the card, but I didn't write it down and now I cannot find it despite searching. My IIIc's case had a similar slot with a white (off-white) celluloid card in it. The camera was made in 1946-47, when nothing existed -- barring very soft pencils whose writing would be easily rubbed off -- which could write on such a smooth, shiny surface. This is why I think the card was meant to help in loading and not, as some suggest, for taking notes. Besides, it was too small for taking notes.
 
Thanks everyone for their answers. And, yes, I should have used the forums 'search' function. Shame on me for not trying that one first. I tend to agree with other posters that the red card was not intended to facilitate film loading, since there is no mention of it in the manual. The thread in batterytypehah!'s post shows a picture of a Leica certificate and the text on the certificate tells the user to store the certificate in the camera case compartment. But nobody has mentioned the existence of a Canon certificate.... I also find the idea of storing the Canon Flash sync table plausible, but I have only seen scans of these tables. I get the impression they are too large to fit in the compartment?
I was thinking of another explanation I have not read anywhere: could it be that the compartment were used to store the certificate on Leica's and that Canon simply copied the compartment, even though they no idea what its purpose was? Or would such an explanation be considered blasphemy... ;)
 
"There's another thing I found odd about the IVsb. In the leather case, there's a red card inserted in a hidden pocket. I'm assuming this is to aid in film loading as well as testing the shutter. Bottom-loading Leica-clones are a bit difficult to load since the film gets caught in the sprockets and film gate. A card inserted in front of the film gate helps. Also, Leica shutters are difficult to test because you can't look through the film gate to see if the shutter is capping, like with back-loading cameras. A red-card inserted behind the gate makes it easier to see if the shutter is working properly at high-speeds."

Karen Nakamura at Photoethnography

I've tried using the red card for loading and find it causes more problems than it solves so the shutter test theory is intriguing.
 
Hi,

What I have been told that it was a stiffener to protect the back of the camera when pressing or closing the camera case so as the press latch doesn't leave an impression or dent on the back of the camera. It is one of the surprises when I check my cases to find what has been placed in there. Generally people place flash info on small cards or paper but the best find was in a Leica Standard or Model E case where I found a Railway ticket with Russian Cyrillic writing on it, never found out what it said but the camera dated from 1936 and could tell a tale or two. Peter
 
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