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I've recently noticed that my M6 shutter seems to be doing something weird while in bulb mode. While in bulb mode, the first shutter curtain seems to stop short and remain 0.5-1mm into the film gate. This only happens in bulb mode, it clears the gate at all other shutter speeds as far as I can tell. Here is a video I recorded demonstrating what I mean: https://imgur.com/a/ENYmR7i You can see that the shutter clears the gate just fine when set to a shutter speed of 1 second, but when I switch it to bulb it seems to stop short and remains visible in the gate until the shutter release is let go and the shutter closes. I asked on Reddit but didn't get much of a response. One user did say that their M6 also does this and has no effect on the images. Can anyone else confirm? I just had my M6 overhauled by Leica NJ earlier this year so would this be something they would cover under some kind of warranty?

I bought my M8 around a half a year ago. It was my second M mount camera (The first one was R-D1s). I enjoyed this camera very much, but several days ago i faced the first problem with this camera. Suddenly, shutter button and on/off lever became a bit off. I mean that on/off lever became much more tight and expousure lock position moved a way futher than it was before. A few dozens of millimeters behind shutter release itself. It became a common situation, when i want to lock my exposure, but because of this problem i occasionally took a photo. i found some old topics on similar issues, but photos with dismount of shutter button were unavalible. Has anyone faced the same or similar problem? What is the key to solve this problem? Can it be done at home by only myself?

My M9 fell to the ground from waist level. When I try to take a photo, the shutter is not working. Battery is full and all menus are working, no issues on the display as well, even the light meter also working. Somebody pls help

So over the weekend a few drops of red bull were spilled on the top plate of my M2 (don't ask) - mainly on the right hand side, so the frame counter and shutter button were hit. The day after I noticed that the aforementioned parts felt sticky - the shutter button particularly was returning to it's normal position more slowy after being depressed. I didn't have any isopropyl alcohol on hand since it seems to be impossible to find in the UK, so I put a drop or two of denatured ethyl alcohol (surgical spirit, as it is called here) into the shutter button, then began to depress it repeatedly. This process was repeated 2 or 3 times. It seems to have worked very well and the camera feels normal again, but I am scared that ethyl alcohol might have adverse effects on the camera. From what I've read, isopropyl alcohol (if anything) is what should be used, and I've even read that ethanol can react with brass to cause oxidation. Is this something that I should be worried about, or am I overreacting?

Hello friends, I seem to have an issue that is not entirely rare. The cloth focal plane shutter curtain seems to stutter, or even bounce. I have searched this issue prior, and I guess "bounce" does seem to be the syntax for this certain phenomenon. I have included a clip of the shutter at 1/500 from a slow-mo video I attempted to take on my phone. I also scrubbed the video and took a screenshot of every frame that contained the movement of the shutter in the video. And to my surprise, by looking at the past two frames, the shutter does indeed appear to "bounce". The shutter seems to travel the full distance, with the second to last frame capturing the almost fully relaxed shutter. But then the last frame shows a larger gap of light appearing again. Not ideal. I noticed on a couple photos I took, a bar of overexposure on the right side of the frame. Since this issue is well documented and the solution known (CLA baby) my purpose for cluttering this forum with a much too common ailment was to possibly learn what could cause this? To make this already long winded post windier; I purchased the camera from Shueido Camera back in March 2022. It was supposedly CLA'd before sending out. The camera did come in, visually, absolute pristine condition. The first test roll I shot didn't seem to have any issues. But then I went on a 10 day trip to Iceland. Almost none of the photos I took in Iceland had the bar, but with overcast, cloudy days, I was most likely shooting at 1/250 and lower. (From what I understand this issue comes alight mostly at 1/500 & 1/1000 (increased tension for high speeds?)) Upon returning to the land of America, I shot some random pictures around me to finish off my last roll from Iceland. Almost all the photos exhibit the nefarious white bar of sadness on the right edge of the photo. Now, this is Florida, during midday, in summer, so one could assume almost every photo I took was at 1/500 and 1/1000. Could the Leica's foray into the land of Fire and Ice been too much for it's old bones? Could the 10 days of constant cold (I camped for the duration of my stay, so my new buddy did not spend much time in a comfy, first class, heated environment) affected this old tools mechanism, summoning the frosty ghost of over exposure? Thanks for even reading this phone typed, mental diarrhea. I know I have to get it CLA'd, but it is just simply a bummer that a camera would need a second CLA in one year. I'm hoping to figure out how this may have been caused so I may avoid bringing this problem back in the future. MOV_HFR_120F_20220723012348~3.mp4

Ich besitze jetzt seit etwas einem halbe Jahr eine Leica MP (Produktion 2021). Mir ist dabei aufgefallen das bei den Zeiten 1/15 und 1/30 nach dem eigentlichen Ablaufen des Verschlusses noch etwas in der Kamera "nachschwinkt", wenn man das denn so nennen kann. In der angehängten Audio-Datei habe ich dies versucht einmal aufzunehmen. leica_mp_shutter_sound.mp3 Ist diese Geräusch normal für die MP und habt ihr das bei eurer MP (oder anderen analoger M) auch? Vielen Dank für eventuelle Hinweise

Hi! I've been noticing uneven exposures, usually on the right side of the photo. Have you guys experienced the same thing? What could be the cause?

Hi guys, so I have been shooting 3 days in a row with my M10-P, and I found this shutter issue once a day for the past 3 days. So basically, I had Live View on, and when I pressed the shutter release, it couldn't go down all the way, like not a full stroke, but only halfway, and of course, the photo wasn't taken. It didn't occur at the start of the camera, nor in hibernation mode or burst shots. Again, it only happened once a day, usually I would suspect it's the shutter that got damaged, but logically, wouldn't this issue be way more often and easy to reproduce if that is the case? Or could it be some systematic or cache bug, where the camera think it's not ready to fire the shutter? Or, just a broken SD card causing trouble? Has anyone experienced same issue? Any thoughts?

Hi, I inherited a R4S and R5. I'm sure they haven't been used in ages. I'm trying to fire the shutter to test them out. They both seem perfectly fine in terms of electronics, metering, battery, etc. I'm also testing using 3-cam and 4-lenses. In both cases: They'll only fire on Bulb. At any other setting they won't shoot unless I retry at bulb. Yes, I make sure they're wound, and there aren't any obstructions in the film area (neither are loaded with film; I don't want to waste it if there's a problem). The self-timer will quickly flash, then slowly, as if it's going to fire, but then... nothing. I've swapped lenses, program modes, speed, aperture... just about everything. Neither is attached to a winder / motor drive. I'm not sure why they're both fine on Bulb but not at any other speed. I read a lot about gunky lubrication over time, but I'm kinda ruling that out since Bulb is fine (fair?). The mirror is fine; it's not locking into an intermediate position.. Do they only work if they're loaded with film? I don't see anything mechanical that would force this, but who knows?

Hi, Found this lovely forum while searching for info on a Leica R4 body described as having a "small problem". It belongs to a friend who gave me the option of buying it off him cheap, in its existing state, and trying to fix it and re-sell to a collector. I have been reading up on this and trying a few things and had a couple observations and questions that I am hoping the experts in this forum can help me with. 1) When I received it, I discovered that the shutter was not just firing with a delay, it was stuck and unusable. The film advance lever was stuck as well, indicating that the shutter probably froze midway through its cycle. The mirror was down, but the DOF preview lever was "loose". 2) The battery LED would light, but there was no activity in the viewfinder, meaning no leds or anything at all. The camera seemed dead. New batteries did not change anything. 3) After a fair bit of research, I found a thread (unsure where) that suggested "smacking" the camera bottom on a bed or similar soft surface. Somewhat frustrated, I did this, and it actually worked. The shutter finished its cycle and the film advance lever was working again, AND the viewfinder leds worked. I checked the meter and it seems fine too. 4) Advance the lever (no film), press the shutter, and same exact problem. But over many tests, I discovered that in B and 100, both mechanical modes, it would sometimes fire with a big delay, and other times get completely stuck. Smacking always releases the shutter. 5) Based on many threads in this forum, I believe this problem is typically related to dirty magnetic dampers. However, I find mixed information on how to reach the magnets. There was one thread that suggested it can be reached from the bottom plate and is easy, while another suggested it is behind the dof preview lever and complicated to reach, requiring some degree of disassembly. Unfortunately, I did not find information on WHAT disassembly is required. 6) In the meantime, I have also found that in all of the electronic modes (manual operation, but shutter speed electronic), the shutter button actually never fully depresses and therefore the shutter never fires at all. It feels like a half-press only in the electronic modes. In the mechanical mode, I can clearly see and feel the shutter go much deeper and actuate something. So my questions: 1) Is the shutter button behaving normally? Is there something else I am missing, as to why the shutter button won't fully depress in electronic mode, but works in mechanical mode? 2) If its the dampers, do I go from the bottom or the top? In any case, how do I get the top plate off and get any sort of serious disassembly done on this camera? I see one screw in the back, by the eye-piece control dial, and know that the top most screw on the mount holds the top plate down. But are those the only two screws? What else do I need to remove to get the top plate off? I am guessing the film rewind lever (on the left side, over the ISO dial) needs to come off, and the entire ISO dial mechanism probably needs to be lifted off too. What about on the right side, how do I get under the film advance lever and the shutter control? 3) Given the fact that the meter seems to work properly, I am guessing the electronics on this sample are okay (its a 156xxxx serial number). But just to be sure, if the electronics are toast, how do I know this? Any help/advice is appreciated, including an opinion on what price its worth buying at and then trying to fix it so I can keep it for myself, OR sell in working condition to a collector. A warning that it might be more valuable sold off to a collector in present condition than executing a botched repair and destroying its value completely is also taken in the right spirit. Thanks, Karthik PS - I literally went thru every single page of the English forum looking for answers. Now after posting, I see threads related to this in the German forum! Is there a way for me to search on the other language forums? Any pointers appreciated, but please understand that I did a pretty comprehensive search and processed what information I already found before making this thread

Has anyone ever experienced an unexplained shadowy gradient area along the edge of the frame as shown in the photos below? I've been shooting with my M10 close to a year now and I mainly use it for weddings and portraits. As a very rough estimate, I have put 15,000 clicks on it in the last year. In recent weeks, I have noticed a strange darkened area appear randomly on the frame in some photos, but not all. It's on the right side when shooting vertically or on the bottom when shooting horizontally. I have so far only noticed it happening with photos shot with the Noctilux .95, and I can't replicate it although it continues to happen randomly. I've uploaded a few files as example, from different days showing both the strange dark area as well as images that don't have it. I understand shooting at .95 I will have vignetting as shown in the second wedding photo, but the shadow area is very different and I don't understand why it's happening.

I lost my cable release which I had used on my M10 since I got the body about two years ago. So I bought a new one (A Leica one) in the Leica Store in Mayfair, London. It worked for the first day, then stopped working. It's odd because you wouldn't think anything could go wrong with something so mechanical and simple. But it has. When I press the shutter release at the end of the cable, the prong at the other end does not stick out (the action what would normally trigger the shutter). I can't see anywhere to screw it tighter etc. All idea welcome as I can't easily get back to the store to return it.

Hi! Newbie Leica owner here. I've been using my Leica Q for a few months on the silent mode (no sound for anything) and suddenly, today, the shutter is making a fairly loud clicking sound when I shoot a picture. I checked my "acoustic signal" settings and everything is set to "off." I changed some settings and returned them to off (hoping it just needed a boost!) and that didn't work. I then reset the camera and that didn't work, either! The shutter makes a click no matter what. I'm worried I have broken my camera somehow -- and hope you all have some ideas for me. Thanks so much! Amy

Hi all, I'm a new Leica owner. Got an R6 off a local photographer who let me use it for a few weeks before purchase. Worked fine; price was right, so I paid him for it. I have put through maybe 5-6 rolls through it successfully over the course of my testing period and then shortly after purchase. Tried loading a fresh roll of film the other day. Put the leader in the spool, pressed the shutter button, but the mirror is not moving after I press on the button. The shutter button seems to press down fine, however. Since the mirror is not moving after I hit the shutter, I am not able to wind forward the film. I have tried: moving all parts individually: the mirror, film spool, winder, shutter, film release/double exposure button all move the way that they should. There are no snags or tension. The mirror in particular moves up and down smoothly and doesn't seem out of alignment. The winder and spool do not seem to be loose or have tension; they feel like they move fine. firing the camera with the back open/closed on different shutter speeds tried pressing shutter button/winding the lever at the same time, tried pressing the rewind button and winding the lever at the same time. Since the moving parts seem to be ok, it leads me to think maybe something needs an oiling? Or maybe a spring rusted or got stretched? Or something got unattached? I want to open the camera up and try and see what's going on when I fire the shutter. However I wanted to come here for some advice guidance first. There just doesn't seem to be much in the way of R6 troubleshooting online. One thing to add: I notice while switching between shutter speeds I do hear a mechanical buzz. Doesn't seem to be on every change of the shutter however. Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks!

Hi guys, After idly wondering for the past few years how to figure out the shutter count on my M Monochrome mk1, I finally did a little research. I found this excellent (i.e. very easy even for me to use) Leica app on the Leica Rumors site - https://leicarumors.com/2010/11/02/free-software-for-viewing-leica-m9-images-and-exif-data.aspx/ Dragged the most recent file I shot onto the app, and found that the shutter actuations on my camera number 36,950. Does anyone think that's a high number? I know that pro Nikon and Canon cameras are over-engineered, and their shutters are designed to exceed 250,000 but the M9/M Monochrom mk 1, I think, is not designed for that kind of high mileage. Leica were kind enough to replace my sensor last year (for free), and I just wonder how many more useful years are left on the shutter of my cherished camera. Anyway, if you've ever wondered about your shutter count, do get the app - it's incredibly simple to use. Best wishes all, Colin

I have a general question, that I guess will apply to CL, TL and others. I know from experience on the CL that the mechanical shutter produces far better images than the elecronic shutter (there is a demonstrable banding issue indoors, and generally mechanical just 'looks' better). This view seems to be supported by many other posts. However, I'd simply welcome an explanation of 'why' this is the case. In a digital camera, what advantage does the mechanical shutter provide? I'm just intrigued. Many thanks.

First sample is at 1/125 ss. Notice the white stripe near the right edge. It looks pretty much the same at 1/250 and 1/500, however, at 1/60 it's gone. I haven't seen the results at 1/60, but that's what I've been told. Last sample is at 1/1000 and things are much worse there. I am going to make more tests, but what do you think it can be? Shutter? A body was stored without lens attached to it and without front cap covering the mount, so shutter was basically uncovered. However, I couldn't find any obvious signs of damage on shutter. And if it's a shutter problem, repair would probably cost more then a camera itself, right?

I have just got my leica m6. part of the shutter curtains got some dots and wonder if it is ok? the light meter works and camera is in good condition. i have not tried to develop any pics yet, so not sure if its leaking any light or working as it should. does anybody know what this dots are and would you return it?

This will be old hat for you, but I can still get carried away by the mechanical wonder of the original curtain shutter and the incremental improvement it underwent. Please be lenient towards a relative newcomer to LTM innards iPhone slow motion of IIIa timing mechanism: http://www.galerie-elsner.de/video/IIIa.MOV [ The video file is 8 MB, so those on a mobile or on a slow internet connection might refrain from clicking the link ] This is from the original German patent published in 1926 (declared valid as of 1924):

Hello there, I have decided to start a topic on jammed shutter issue of Leica film cameras. I experienced this issue while taking photos at the Shard. My camera had been loaded with Adox CMS 20 II, the microfilm had the highest resolving power. The first fifteen frames were beautiful to enjoy the view. Yet after 16th frame, the camera was jammed. Since I tried to force its advance lever, it was totally broken. One wondering what was happened may look at the result here. I sent my camera to Wetzlar via Leica Store Mayfair. After eight weeks, it came back to London in a repaired condition under warranty. Recently, I have heard similar experiences to mine. Some of them is not related to choose Adox's films, since they have occurred while using Ilford's HP5+, and so on. In order to build a guide for one who could experience the same, may you share your experiences on jammed shutter, or advance lever stuck?

Hello- I just got my M4-2 back from a repair service for this light leak/shutter issue - a band across the top. I got my first roll back, and 95% of the frames didn't have it - but the last few frames did. None of the frames with my 35mm Summicron had it, only the last few with a 50mm Canon 1.4 LTM with an adapter. Is there any chance this is a lens/adapter issue, or is the shutter still the culprit? Band happend when shot into the direct sun at 1000th, sun behind be at 100th; and also in muted indoor light around 250th. Cheers

I am very pleased to say that my M9 returned home today after being with Leica since September for the removal of an SD card label (Fuji 16gb card) jammed in the shutter, and for a sensor clean and service. It came as a surprise as they had bot notified me it was on its way, but they appear to have done a great job, and sent it back in its own box by UPS. Now to tackle Fuji about the SD card, who seemed to be pretty disinterested when I spoke to them on phone. Gerry

M10 just a few months old. Shutter suddenly started clipping 70% of image at 1/4000. Also looks like it's not quite getting out of the way at 1/3000, either. Is this common? Back to the factory? Samples attached.