M6 shutter noise at low speeds

[drums1977]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

First of all, hello to the forum members for the first time!

A week ago I purchased a quite minty M6 from Ebay and it just got to my house. This is my first Leica, so I have no previous experience to compare with. At first I was overwhelmed by the feeling of the body, its weight, size, etc. Then I pressed the shutter release button for the first time and just loved the sound and feeling of it. I was happy. then I started checking the different shutter speeds and noticed something that made me worry, and this is the reason why I'm writing this post. I'll try to explain the issue a clearly as possible:

The shutter noise is clean and short at fast speeds, down to 1/60 s. From that speed on I can hear a mechanism noise that goes on after the "click". After the first crisp shutter sound, there is a second lighter, slightly drawn-out sound, a kind of "zip"; the slower the speed, the longer the sound (I would say it goes on while the shutter is open, actually). I have never owned a Leica M camera before, so I can't really know if this is normal or not. I've already researched the web and this forum about this, and I've read that there is a distinctive sound after the shutter release at 1/15 s which description is similar to what I hear in my camera. The problem here is that I can hear a "post-noise" in all the slow speeds down to 1 second. For those familiar with old Rolleiflex TLR cameras, it is similar to the shutter noise of these cameras at those same speeds (sounds a bit like old mechanical timers, but much more silent).

The camera is in a very good, almos unused condition, so I would be surprised by a mechanical flaw, to be honest.

I hope you can help me, thank you in advance to all of you,

J.

[jaapv]

Welcome! This is totally normal, to hear the mechanism "winding down"after a shutter release. Don't worry and just use your new friend

Edited April 6, 2009 by jaapv

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[wizard]

Welcome to this forum. And don't you worry, what you hear does seem to be perfectly in order, it is the shutter's slow speed mechanism unwinding after every shot taken with a speed slower than 1/50 of a second. You would have a problem if you would NOT hear anything then, so relax .

 

Andy

 

Ha, Jaap beat me to it! His post wasn't there when I wrote my response.

Edited April 6, 2009 by wizard

[drums1977]

Hi!

 

Thanks you, I am SO relieved. I'm now shooting a test film roll to see if they are accurate. As I explained, I had read about the sound after shutter release at 1/15, but not slower speeds.

 

I must say that this camera feels absolutely amazing and rock solid, very similar to my Rolleiflex. Something more like a clock than like a camera! I'm also enjoying the 35mm lens. I used to use 50 and 28 mm, but 35 suddenly feels so natural!

 

Thanks again,

 

J.

 

PS: Any piece of advice for an enthousiastic Leica beginner will be most welcomed!...

[kenneth]

I will not reiterate what others have said. Enjoy the noise and welcome to what I personally regard as the best camera and lenses available bar non.

[cameramen]

Hello everyone,i am new to leica.

Thx learning all these.

Recently i got a classic M6 and find that at shutter speeds 1/15,1/30, there are

ping-pong like bouncing mechanical sounds after the shutter close,which gradually disappeared,:confused:is it normal?

 

Thanks again:)

[jaapv]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Yes, that is totally normal. It sounds like a little clockwork winding down.

[marknorton]

Furthermore, the sound of the buzzing escapement should be even pitched while the shutter remains open, if it sounds as if it iis slowing down or speeding up, might be time for a service. Once the shutter is closed, the buzzing slows down and stops.

 

In the M7, this timing is handled electronically so that the M7 is among the quietest of all M cameras.

[Xmas]

It is the escapment of a little clock work motor winding down, There are two phases

 

- the clock is counting down the interval until the 2nd curtain is released

- when the second curtain is released the clock is mainly free wheeling

 

With an M at 1/50 the second curtain is released by the '1st curtain' when it finishes its run. At 1/30 and slower the clock holds the 2nd curtain until it finishes counting the interval, to provide a longer exposure than 1/50.

 

AT 1/15 the two sounds are almost symmetric, a III series Barnack is similar.

 

Noel

[@bumac]

fast speeds: click

lower speeds: click ...k...k

lowest speeds: click tschhhhhh

[GTM]

I did EXACTLY the same thing.

 

Took a few test shots and it was slowly whirring away.

 

Thought great, a dud.

 

Then looked at the shutter speed.

 

Doh!

[rubenkok]

Hi,

http://kottke.org/plus/misc/leica-shutter.mp3

Sounds likes faster than 1/30 though

maybe this is some help

Kind regards

Ruben

[armanius]

Boy, I am so glad I found this thread. Just got my mint M6 in today. Not a scratch. Looks great. Until I started playing with the shutter speeds and heard that winding sound. Freaked me out! I thought it was broken! Glad to find out that it's normal.

 

One more question from this film noob, is the the shutter speed dial on the M6 normally that stiff? Mine is pretty stiff, and it's much harder to turn the the one on my M9.

 

Thank you!

[adan]

Re shutter knob. yes, the M6 shutter knob is actually turning gears and levers, whereas the M9 shutter knob is just sliding electrical contacts over one another, so the M6 knob will be a bit stiffer.

 

It is also "changing gears" a couple of times between 1/60th sec. and 1/8 second - shifting between the different clockworks for high, medium and low speeds, so it is often stiffer or has a different feel in that region.

 

As mentioned - it is normal that

 

1/30 and 1/15th produce the "bouncing ball bearing" sound - Zzzzpclick-click

Below 1/15th gives the full clockwork sound - Zzzzzzzp-ZZzzzzzzzzz

[armanius]

Thanks for the info Andy! I guess I'll be developing some "tougher" skin on my right index! Wish they would have made the dial bigger.

 

Re shutter knob. yes, the M6 shutter knob is actually turning gears and levers, whereas the M9 shutter knob is just sliding electrical contacts over one another, so the M6 knob will be a bit stiffer.

 

It is also "changing gears" a couple of times between 1/60th sec. and 1/8 second - shifting between the different clockworks for high, medium and low speeds, so it is often stiffer or has a different feel in that region.

 

As mentioned - it is normal that

 

1/30 and 1/15th produce the "bouncing ball bearing" sound - Zzzzpclick-click

Below 1/15th gives the full clockwork sound - Zzzzzzzp-ZZzzzzzzzzz

[ndjambrose]

That's one of the beautiful things about a mechanical camera: you get to hear the mechanism turning, winding and releasing at low speeds. The escapement is clockwork.

[drums1977]

Hehe, it feels good seeing my first thread coming back to life. Yes, as you can see, all that is normal and beautiful. I really miss the sound of my M6 when I shoot with other cameras... Well, except for the Mamiya 7: that amazing piece of japanese plastic is almost completely silent!!

[cheewai_m6]

1/60th is my favourite shutter sound. on my m6, it's the quietest and nicest soft 'thuck'. and without the winding down or 'bouncing' sound.

[mababoonz]

Hi everyone,

 

I've got a mint Leica M6.

 

The first thing I've done is a test of the shutter: surfing the Web all around I landed here.

 

Setting the shutter speed at 1/15 and 1/30 you can hear this:

 

Leica M6 shutter sound

 

I recorder the sound starting from B mode up to 1/1000. Listening carefully at second 0.29 you can hear the strange sound of 1/15: the same happens at 0.35 for 1/30.

 

Is that normal ?

 

Thank you in advance.

Edited January 27, 2016 by mababoonz

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[wizard]

Why do you think the sound is strange? It sounds perfectly normal to me. Nothing to worry about.