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shutter unreleased for a long time, what happened to the shutter?


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hey guys,


Recently I got a Leica m6 it's almost like new. the first owner just put a few rolls through it and left it for years. The appearance is like new, but a roll of film had been left in the camera for around 15 years and the shutter has been ready to release since then but it hasn't been released. it has been in unreleased mode for 15 years. I've heard the shutter shouldn't be in this mode for a long time that it can affect the shutter accuracy. 15 years is a long time for spares to be in the pressure. now I don't know if I can trust to this shutter or not. what do you think?


Edited by Soheil
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hey guys,

Recently I got a Leica m6 it's almost like new. the first owner just put a few rolls through it and left it for years. The appearance is like new, but a roll of film had been left in the camera for around 15 years and the shutter has been ready to release since then but it hasn't been released. it has been in unreleased mode for 15 years. I've heard the shutter shouldn't be in this mode for a long time that it can affect the shutter accuracy. 15 years is a long time for spares to be in the pressure. now I don't know if I can trust to this shutter or not. what do you think?

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@ Roger Pellegrini

 

Thank you for replying.  I got the camera today. I'm going to do a complete test. but now I want to know if it's seriously can affect the shutter or not. 

and can it be serviced or not?

actually I can return the camera if I decide soon. 

Edited by Soheil
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hey guys,

Recently I got a Leica m6 it's almost like new. the first owner just put a few rolls through it and left it for years. The appearance is like new, but a roll of film had been left in the camera for around 15 years and the shutter has been ready to release since then but it hasn't been released. it has been in unreleased mode for 15 years. I've heard the shutter shouldn't be in this mode for a long time that it can affect the shutter accuracy. 15 years is a long time for spares to be in the pressure. now I don't know if I can trust to this shutter or not. what do you think?

 

Being released or unreleased shouldn't make much of a difference, but being unused for  all that time nearly certainly will. This camera needs a complete service by one of the specialized repair persons that are often mentioned in this forum. In general film Leicas can be repaired and serviced without  significant problems, even pre-WWII ones.

Do factor in a couple of hundreds of $$ for a CLA, but that goes for any camera of this age.

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Being released or unreleased shouldn't make much of a difference, but being unused for  all that time nearly certainly will. This camera needs a complete service by one of the specialized repair persons that are often mentioned in this forum. In general film Leicas can be repaired and serviced without  significant problems, even pre-WWII ones.

Do factor in a couple of hundreds of $$ for a CLA, but that goes for any camera of this age.

thank you,

I don't know Leica shutter mechanism but I imagine there are some springs that can be damaged if left in pressure for a long time. 

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thank you,

I don't know Leica shutter mechanism but I imagine there are some springs that can be damaged if left in pressure for a long time. 

No, it makes no difference to the Leica shutter if it is cocked or uncocked. As for the doom and gloom prognosis that by default it needs a Clean Lube and Adjustment you may as well use the camera first, it may work perfectly. Fifteen years is nothing to worry about if the camera was working well before it was mothballed, a reasonable period between CLA's would be 20 years and the only consideration might be sticky grease, so stick a new battery in it and try it out.

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The shutter being cocked or un-cocked doesn't make any significant difference to the springs because they are always under tension anyway. When cocked, their tension is just slighty tighter than un-cocked; the tension never gets fully released, not even remotely. But to the shutter curtains, the cocked state is better than the un-cocked state.

 

The other day, a Leica service technician explained to me that sitting idle is really bad for the lubricants. When a camera is unused, one should grab it every couple of weeks and fire the shutter at various speeds, just to keep the juices flowing. A camera that's used on a regular basis can go without any service for many, many years. But if a camera with a mechanically controlled shutter has been sitting idle for significantly longer than, say, half a year or so then it does need to be serviced. Often, a laggy shutter will come back to apparently normal life after firing it a couple of times—but this will do harm to the delicate mechanics in the long run. Once the lubricants have gone stale they will never work again the way they're supposed to. Don't do that! Instead, have it serviced.

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The shutter being cocked or un-cocked doesn't make any significant difference to the springs because they are always under tension anyway. When cocked, their tension is just slighty tighter than un-cocked; the tension never gets fully released, not even remotely. But to the shutter curtains, the cocked state is better than the un-cocked state.

 

The other day, a Leica service technician explained to me that sitting idle is really bad for the lubricants. When a camera is unused, one should grab it every couple of weeks and fire the shutter at various speeds, just to keep the juices flowing. A camera that's used on a regular basis can go without any service for many, many years. But if a camera with a mechanically controlled shutter has been sitting idle for significantly longer than, say, half a year or so then it does need to be serviced. Often, a laggy shutter will come back to apparently normal life after firing it a couple of times—but this will do harm to the delicate mechanics in the long run. Once the lubricants have gone stale they will never work again the way they're supposed to. Don't do that! Instead, have it serviced.

I released the shutter several times to be sure it works well. can it be harmful to the mechanics before CLA? it worked smoothly with normal sound I guess.

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I released the shutter several times to be sure it works well. Can it be harmful to the mechanics before CLA?

 

No. Firing the shutter a couple of times to see if it works properly (more or less) won't do any damage. Also shooting a roll or two won't. But if you keep using it on stale lubricants for an extented amount of time then this may do harm eventually, due to higher-than-normal wear and tear. The damage will build up gradually—for quite some time you'll feel that everything was just fine.

 

But if you send the camera in for CLA some fine day, the cost will be higher than it would have been if you had have service earlier. Certainly you've heard those stories from camera owners who wanted just CLA but unexpectedly got a serious repair bill.

Edited by 01af
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The other day, a Leica service technician explained to me that sitting idle is really bad for the lubricants.

 

Lol, the good old camera technician trick, how do you think they get their business? This may have worked with an M3 but the 'delicate mechanism' was replaced by a set of gears that can cope with motor drives for the M6. Scare mongering among Leica users is just another form of elitism and getting a CLA is a blithe hand wringing response that replaces the common sense of 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'. Any parts that may be affected by old grease are going to show up first in inconsistent shutter speeds or sticky frame lines, and if the camera isn't doing that it doesn't need fixing.

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Check that the last owner removed the battery - it may have leaked!

 

Assuming they did remove it, fit a new one and shoot a test roll, use the fastest speeds and slower speeds.

 

If all is well I personally would not get a CLA - use is the best form of maintenance for a Leica.

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Don't get a CLA if its broken get it fixed put some film in it and just try it, spend a few minutes trying all the shutter speed see if they all sound different. I had a jammed shutter repaired last year and that only cost £130. In my opinion a CLA is a complete waste never had the need had plenty cameras repaired yes.

 

PS

Nikon F and F2 shutters should not be kept in the cocked position for a long time!

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