Rewinding MP without engaging the 'R' lever

[onehappybunny]

I've come back to using my film Leica MP after a long-ish break and made a rookie error when unloading my first film... I rewinded the film using the rewind knob without first engaging the 'R' lever on the front of the camera 🙄

Is it likely that I have damaged my MP at all? The rewind knob does seem harder to push back down into it's resting position since I made this error but don't know if that's just in my head.

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[santino]

Did the film tear apart? If yes, you probably did not damage the camera. Have you already opened it and watched the shutter etc.?

 

[onehappybunny]

Yes, film tore apart and shutter seems to work. No obvious debris from the torn film in the camera that I can see.

One thing that seems unusual is that both the inner and outer winder knob now turn together, which (in addition to the fact that winder is harder to push down) made me think there could be a problem.

 

[Godfrey]

I wouldn't chance further damage.

I'd send it in for evaluation and service, describing what you did to the service techs. Rewinding without disengaging the film transport mechanism puts a lot of strain on the components. There could be bits of film stuck in difficult to see places, there could be parts now subtly bent from the strain.

G

 

[enasniearth]

It’s likely a chip of the torn film is in the mechanism - I would send it to someone to look at

 

[onehappybunny]

Thanks for the replies - expensive lesson learned. Will get it evaluated and serviced, as suggested.