Rewinding the M7

[hlockwood]

Over the past 6 months of owning a new M7 (my first Leica), I've come to liking it very much. Soon, however, I'll be sending to NJ for the VF upgrade and then on to Solms for the DX reader upgrade. Luckily, in its absence, I have the Hexar RF as a backup.

I do have a question for you Leicaphiles that I should resolve before sending it away. When i rewind at the end of a roll, the torque required increases steadily, until near the end, it is so large that the tiny rewind knob sometimes slips out of my fingers, requiring a partial restart. 😡

Obvious question: Is this normal, or should I have Leica look into it while it undergoes warranty work?

Harry

 

[nightlight]

I have this on my Bessa. I would think it's just due to the tension accumulated in the roll. But then again I don't have this problem in my M2, which uses a 'knob' rewind.

 

[peter_n]

Harry I think this is pretty normal. I use bulk film and I think this behavior depends on the number of frames on the roll. I was a bit over-enthusiastic rolling some film for a trip a few weeks ago and made some rolls that were quite in excess of 36 exposures. 😱 Those rolls were pretty hard to wind back in at the end. 🙄 Try a 24 exposure roll and see if you get the same behavior.

BTW both of my M7s have the mechanical reader and so far no problems...

 

[hlockwood]

Harry I think this is pretty normal. I use bulk film and I think this behavior depends on the number of frames on the roll. I was a bit over-enthusiastic rolling some film for a trip a few weeks ago and made some rolls that were quite in excess of 36 exposures. 😱 Those rolls were pretty hard to wind back in at the end. 🙄 Try a 24 exposure roll and see if you get the same behavior.

BTW both of my M7s have the mechanical reader and so far no problems...

Thanks, Peter. I would guess that it's the last 12 frames or so that create the problem. Glad to hear it's just more of the quirkiness of the Leica film load-unload scenario.

As for the mechanical vs optical DX reader, i hate having to smack the camera to get the film out. And I just know that after the Passport period I may have to deal with flaky contacts. So, the optical reader seems like a good idea. Umm, maybe.

Harry

 

[sepiareverb]

How long does the optical reader upgrade take? Months? Does Sherry or Don do it faster?

As to the rewinding- I get this too with both my M7's- I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[hlockwood]

How long does the optical reader upgrade take? Months? Does Sherry or Don do it faster?

As to the rewinding- I get this too with both my M7's- I wouldn't worry about it.

My info is that the vf change will take considerable time because of the backlog at the NJ facility. Solms, on the other hand, is said to move more quickly. Months for the former, weeks for the latter. We shall see.

As for doing it privately, well, it is covered by the warranty.

Harry

 

[RichardB]

Rewind is NORMAL-Dick

 

[sepiareverb]

...As for doing it privately, well, it is covered by the warranty.

Harry

Ah, but I'm out of warranty.

 

[peter_n]

I have one in and one out of warranty. I figure why fix it if it's not broke? Is that a mistake?

 

[sepiareverb]

I've not heard much about the upgrade- just curious really. I'd probably go for it if it made taking the film out easier, and wasn't a 2 month wait.

 

[hlockwood]

I've not heard much about the upgrade- just curious really. I'd probably go for it if it made taking the film out easier, and wasn't a 2 month wait.

First, thanks to all who reassured me regarding the rewind torque.

I have in writing from Robert Fisk at Leica USA that both the VF and the DX reader upgrades are covered by Passport.

In another thread here, some time ago, I was told that the NJ backlog was considerable while that at Solms is not. Fisk said that the VF would be done in NJ and the DX reader in Solms. You might call Leica for an estimate of the turnaround time for Solms.

Harry

 

[peter_n]

So Harry, does that mean that the camera would need to be sent to NJ first and they would send it to Solms?

 

[DCourter]

I had to send mine to NJ first - then they forwarded it to Solms. - it's been 5 weeks w/no time or dollar estimate yet.

Dan

 

[hlockwood]

So Harry, does that mean that the camera would need to be sent to NJ first and they would send it to Solms?

Correct.

Harry

 

[MichaelM7]

The spools act as a gear!

The spools act as a gear!

Over the past 6 months of owning a new M7 (my first Leica), I've come to liking it very much. Soon, however, I'll be sending to NJ for the VF upgrade and then on to Solms for the DX reader upgrade. Luckily, in its absence, I have the Hexar RF as a backup.

I do have a question for you Leicaphiles that I should resolve before sending it away. When i rewind at the end of a roll, the torque required increases steadily, until near the end, it is so large that the tiny rewind knob sometimes slips out of my fingers, requiring a partial restart. 😡

Obvious question: Is this normal, or should I have Leica look into it while it undergoes warranty work?

Harry

Hi Harry,

this is entirely normal with about any camera (or should be), since the spools act as a gear:
when the film is wound to the end, the film canister is empty and the spool within it has a smaller diameter than the full one on the other side. This makes it easy to rewind but film rewind speed is slow. Upon winding, the ratio shifts. With a nearly full canister spool, the other spool rotates faster than the crank but this requires more force. Simple mechanics.

With regard to the DX contacts, I had mine replaced and it took about 2 months, but then, my dealer here in Germany sent it directly to Solms.

Greetings,

Michael

 

[hlockwood]

Hi Harry,

this is entirely normal with about any camera (or should be), since the spools act as a gear:
when the film is wound to the end, the film canister is empty and the spool within it has a smaller diameter than the full one on the other side. This makes it easy to rewind but film rewind speed is slow. Upon winding, the ratio shifts. With a nearly full canister spool, the other spool rotates faster than the crank but this requires more force. Simple mechanics.

With regard to the DX contacts, I had mine replaced and it took about 2 months, but then, my dealer here in Germany sent it directly to Solms.

Greetings,

Michael

Michael,

I agree with your explanation, but I would probably word it differently. You assume, correctly I believe, that the torque necessary to turn the ("tulip") spool under the advance crank is constant, independent of whether advancing or rewinding the film. This means that, as one advances to the end of a roll, the torque necessary to advance to the next frame is (essentially) the same as it was when starting out the roll. Experience confirms this.

When rewinding, however, one has to apply an increasing force with the take up knob to a decreasing radius (at the tulip end) to overcome that same fixed torque. I agree, simple mechanics. An alternative design would have been to "unlock" the tulip so that it could rotate freely upon rewinding.

As for the turnaround time at Solms, I'm disappointed in your 2-month figure. I suspect it will take at least that long to get through the VF upgrade at the US facility. I will certainly be an unhappy first-time Leica user if I have to wait 4 to 6 months to get my camera returned.

Thanks for the input.

Harry

 

[peter_n]

See that's why I'm kinda leery of sending it. It may be better to have DAG do it and pay for it.

 

[hlockwood]

See that's why I'm kinda leery of sending it. It may be better to have DAG do it and pay for it.

But then the warranty is shot, no?

harry

 

[peter_n]

I don't think so. Mine is working OK so I don't have a faulty cam. Even if I paid for someone to do the work on the cam I don't think that invalidates the warranty. At least I hope not...