This camera needs CLA right?

[cubastreet]

I just received my M2 in the post.
It was described as a great user which won't need any service for quite a while.

The film advance isn't smooth, it's verging on grinding. The roughest advance of any of my cameras.

On the 1s setting I can hear the slow speed mechanism accelerate from the start of the shot to the end. This suggests to me that it needs to be cleaned and relubed.

There is a black plug in the screwhole in the top of the lens mount. Does that mean this camera has never been serviced?

The seller was a camera shop in Idaho if I remember rightly. This guy knew the camera needs a CLA but didn't say so. Any suggestions on what I should do about it? I'm guessing it's going to cost me $200 or so to get it right.

 

[aizan]

return the lemon and thank him for wasting your time and the cost of shipping. 😉

 

[payasam]

You have to decide whether price paid plus cost of CLA comes to a reasonable figure.

 

[Ronald_H]

I'd shoot a roll of slides first. If they come out ok, I wouldn't bother really.

My own M2 needed a CLA, although everything seemed to work ok. It cost 200 Euros.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,
I'll go along with running a film through it. Make a point of focusing at all distances, especially close ones at wide apertures, and also run through all the speeds, especially the slow ones. As for winding on, it ought to be smooth.

In my little world a "user" works OK but doesn't look so good. Incidentally, bouncing it back and getting it sorted out might be the best bet but don't pay for it to be sorted out. And as for the missing screw, well, that won't break the bank for the dealer and whoever repairs it ought to be able to fit a new one.

Regards, David

 

[SolaresLarrave]

The plug in the lens mount is actually wax, and it protects a screw. It's normal.

As for the advance feeling like grinding... play with it, use the camera. If it was described as user, it may need a CLA in case some things are out of whack. As the previous posters said, run a roll of film through it and check negatives and prints and slides carefully, looking for curtain problems and leaks. The camera will probably be fine and sound, but then, a bit of TLC never hurts.

As for CLAs, you have a variety of places to send it to. Contact the store you bought it from, but keep in mind that if you paid below market price, a CLA is pretty much called for. Check with them, however, and find out all you can.

But first and foremost, use it. My own M4-2 benefitted from a few days of constant use. Of course, I got a lot of bad photos (in terms of composition), but at least found out that the camera was in decent shape. Have fun! 🙂

 

[robin a]

Send it to Youxin Ye,reasonable fixer of old cameras...................Robin

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

The film advance may be a taste thing, as well. I just got an M2, and the advance is less "smooth" than either my Bessa or Pentax ME Super, in that it feels more mechanical, offers more resistance. But it also feels more solid, more reliable, more tactile. The newer cameras, it's easier to advance, but it feels almost as though it's electronically assisted. The M2, you really know you're moving the film with your thumb, though it is consistent throughout its travel.

I don't know if this is normal behavior, but it works flawlessly and feels great. Your camera probably could use a CLA, but it could just be that it has a different feel from your other cameras.

 

[cubastreet]

The full range of answers from "ditch it" to "that's normal".

After a bit of working with no film it's a bit less rough, but definitely not leica smooth. I don't think that running those gears dry will be doing them much good even if not much harm.

The slow speed escapement gives faster exposures if I fire several shots in close sequence so there's a definite need for CLA there.

Now that I have a lens for it, it's apparent that the rangefinder needs adjustment too as it is out at infinity.

On the plus side, the curtain is ok, and internally it's clean and not heavily worn. I'll contact the seller and see what he has to say. I bought this camera off ebay (2000+ feedback, 99.4% pos) just before leaving to return to New Zealand, I'm currently in Japan. I paid 525 for a fairly rough user as the guy specifically said it wouldn't need any service in a long while.

 

[aizan]

ask for a refund to cover the cla. if he doesn't want to do that, return it altogether.

i wouldn't have bid $525 if it needed a cla, either.