Should I be concerned

[tschweikert]

I just received an M2 that was purchased off of ebay and I now have some concerns. It was not necessarily an overly amazing deal, unless upon receipt it had been as the seller described which was "The view finder is pretty much perfect, no haze or fungus and the rangefinder patch is very very clear. There is a couple of tiny dust flecks visible but barely, and it would take 5 mins to blow them out!".The body is in great shape (near mint), focus is on point and mechanically the camera is beautiful, but the viewfinder has "spots" inside the RF window. Is this fungus and should I be concerned? I do not notice any haze, and focus is not impacted. Infact, while focusing I do not notice the spots, only when shooting with the sun low and to the side did I notice any degradation.

The attachment contains four images. One through the VF where you can see some larger black spots, two through the VF where the image looks pretty clear, then the last image is from the front. The light is overall soft on this image which enhances the "spot" effect.

Any advise or thoughts would be appreciated.

thanks

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

Whenever I see a statement along the lines of "would take 5 minutes to blow them out" I know full well it's a massive, deliberate distraction because if it was so easy why didn't the seller do it?

Same with not film tested, no batteries to test etc.

Raise a case to return it as not as described. The outside view is most un-encouraging.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Well you are concerned. Send it back.

 

[oldwino]

That’s going to cost you +/- $150 to have cleaned.

 

[David Hughes]

Here's an alternative view; the M2 is about 50 years old and seems to score 9½ out of 10 and isn't damaged. I don't know the price and, if I did, I don't know if it was good bad or indifferent.

In your shoes I'd speak to one or two repair people about the black blobs. They might - you never know - just be black paint that has flaked off and harmless. Paint technology in the 50's might not last 50 years...

Then moan about the price and the cost of cleaning, which you can't do without risking damage. Get it cheaper and wait for the next service when the blobs can/should be dealt with. There's going to be a service within the next few years if you intend to use it and undamaged, good looking M2 are getting rarer.

Anyway, that's my 2d worth for you to mull over but do get an expert opinion.


Regards, David

 

[RedSwede]

Here's an alternative view; the M2 is about 50 years old and seems to score 9½ out of 10 and isn't damaged. I don't know the price and, if I did, I don't know if it was good bad or indifferent.

In your shoes I'd speak to one or two repair people about the black blobs. They might - you never know - just be black paint that has flaked off and harmless. Paint technology in the 50's might not last 50 years...

As you'd guess if you saw my other thread, I 100% agree.

I recently bought an M3, which arrived with a broken prism. That is now at Cameraworks in their queue, after working out a fair deal with the seller. The camera was at the low-end of the market price wise (after coming to a discount arrangement, very low end), and after a good chunk of work will be mid field price.

I then bought an M4 as a stop gap, just under mid-field price but looked and sounded great. It arrives and the advance is somewhat stiff and 1/1000 more like 1/300-1/400. That is now going to be sent away, probably for a few months. So much for stop gap - I could return it, but what chance of another very late M4 in that cosmetic condition at that price with no faults - slim, is my guess.

Consider total investment (camera price, discount, cost of work, time without camera, time looking for another camera, etc etc) and what you will have afterwards. Genuinely - my experience from 2 purchases, only made after lots of research, is that stuff at reasonable prices is going to be imperfect. To get a perfect camera from a seller, landed on your doormat in a couple of days, probably means buying from a major dealer at "A" or "A/B" condition grade and paying accordingly.

(And don't get caught up in the last £50 more or less expensive than this or that - just not worth it)

 

[tschweikert]

Thanks all, much appreciated. I agree that in a few years I will need to service the camera and at that point, may be the time to have this cleaned. When viewing through the VF, it is really not a bother, I was more concerned if it was a fungus and if it would spread. After more research, it seems as though it is not a fungus, maybe paint flecks or some other form of debris.

Thanks again

 

[David Hughes]

Good, I meant to say also that you now know the camera and that is worth a lot even though I can't give you a price/value for the knowledge in the balance sheet...


Regards, David

 

[Steve Bellayr]

Years ago I remember Tom writing that when purchasing a vintage camera be prepared to have a CLA.

 

[tschweikert]

Years ago I remember Tom writing that when purchasing a vintage camera be prepared to have a CLA.

Great advice!

 

[David Hughes]

I've been saying that for years but, alas, I use crude expressions like "second hand" instead of "pre-loved" or "vintage"...


As I see it all film cameras these days are second hand and ones sold privately are, um, well, I'll say no more as sensitive people may read this.


Regards, David

 

[M9reno]

That does not look like paint flecks to me. Moisture/condensation/fungus of some kind seems likelier from the way it seems to cover the entire inside of the front glass (flecks or dust might settle at the bottom...). Is there other evidence of moisture - how do the curtains look? The minty appearance of the outside is most likely due to lack of use, which would be explained by long storage somewhere, which might explain fungus...

That said, it doesn’t look like something that would cost more than the quoted $150 to fix. But the "five minutes" thing is most likely grounds to return the camera as "not as described."

Personally, I would keep, but have it looked at now.

 

[Huss]

The last couple of times I bought old Leicas, I had the seller ship them directly to Youxin Ye for a CLA!
I figured, why waste time getting them shipped to me, then me shipping to Youxin..

 

[farlymac]

The last couple of times I bought old Leicas, I had the seller ship them directly to Youxin Ye for a CLA!
I figured, why waste time getting them shipped to me, then me shipping to Youxin..

I should have done that with my IIIf. Then I picked the wrong repairman to top it off.

PF

 

[newsgrunt]

it's hard to tell from the photos (too small) but the one showing the front window looks like fungus to me. I'd send it in for a cla now vs waiting till later. also try and get a price break from the seller. or take it up with eBay as not as described.

 

[View Range]

The inner-condition of the camera is not likely limited to the RF. Any camera of this age that I buy and plan to use, I want a CLA before I proceed. No camera repairman can give an estimate on the CLA until he sees the inside. In December I bought a "excellent" M2 Motor camera from the Leica Store in San Francisco. DAG had to do a 3/4 overhaul to get it to work.

 

[tschweikert]

it's hard to tell from the photos (too small) but the one showing the front window looks like fungus to me. I'd send it in for a cla now vs waiting till later. also try and get a price break from the seller. or take it up with eBay as not as described.

Let me know if you can see this example any better.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B-NwSu2GAW_e3zx-DEzjVpRpzY-3MJ5h/view?usp=sharing

I have looked at examples of fungus and notice that they seem to have characteristics of an amoeba, or roots of a tree etc. The spots in the VF appear to be spots or flecks of some sort. Not saying it is not a fungus, hence why I appreciate all of this feedback on what this could be.

 

[Beemermark]

it's hard to tell from the photos (too small) but the one showing the front window looks like fungus to me. I'd send it in for a cla now vs waiting till later. also try and get a price break from the seller. or take it up with eBay as not as described.

Whatever it is, it's not fungus.

 

[tschweikert]

Whatever it is, it's not fungus.

I can live that! I will still reach out to the seller about condition vs description. I just keep reading how fungus is very bad and was concerned that this could spread to my other bodies/lenses. Not sure how much of the "fungus spread" is real vs hype, but I'd rather not tangle with it if I don't have to. Everything else about the body, mechanically and cosmetically is in really great shape and as mentioned, when looking through the VF it does not distract me.

 

[Bill Blackwell]

I just received an M2 that was purchased off of ebay and I now have some concerns. It was not necessarily an overly amazing deal, unless upon receipt it had been as the seller described which was "The view finder is pretty much perfect, no haze or fungus and the rangefinder patch is very very clear. There is a couple of tiny dust flecks visible but barely, and it would take 5 mins to blow them out!". The body is in great shape (near mint), focus is on point and mechanically the camera is beautiful, but the viewfinder has "spots" inside the RF window. Is this fungus and should I be concerned? I do not notice any haze, and focus is not impacted. In fact, while focusing I do not notice the spots, only when shooting with the sun low and to the side did I notice any degradation.

The attachment contains four images. One through the VF where you can see some larger black spots, two through the VF where the image looks pretty clear, then the last image is from the front. The light is overall soft on this image which enhances the "spot" effect.

Any advise or thoughts would be appreciated.

I downloaded your pics and looked at them closely. It looks to me like fungus, which can be cleaned. However, it could also include balsam separation.

Regardless, it seems to me you have a clear case of misrepresentation (or, in short, a lying seller). Under the circumstances I think I'd send it back!

OTOH, I always purchase a camera on eBay planning on a CLA! I have found virtually 100% of the time the camera does indeed need a CLA regardless of what the seller says.