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MP shutter speed accuracy


Gentleman Villain

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IMO. the M7 does have one advantage - - you can set the shutter speed, knowing it will be accurate, use a incident light meter to calculate exposure, set the f stop and expect decently-exposed chromes.

 

Thanks, that's similar to what I'm thinking too. Most of my work is going to be done on slide film so I'm really wondering if the smartest route is to just get an M7 and play it safe. But the MP has a great romance about it....it's the kind of camera that is inspiring to own even if there are some quirks. Not sure what to do yet :)

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I took my MP to a Leica event at a local store about a year ago. They did a free test. Here are the results:

 

1/1000 was 1.38/1000

1/500 was 2.05/1000

1/250 was 4.21/1000

1/125 was 7.92/1000

1/60 was 15.55/1000

1/30 was 30.27/1000

1/15 was 59.43/1000

1/8 was 146.11/1000

1/4 was 248.93/1000

1/2 was 485.03/1000

1 was 954.43/1000

 

No, they're definitely not perfect, but all were within the acceptable range except the 1/1000, which was just slightly outside on the slow side. I was told by the rep that exercising would be good and probably bring the 1/1000 within the acceptable range.

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Thanks, that's similar to what I'm thinking too. Most of my work is going to be done on slide film so I'm really wondering if the smartest route is to just get an M7 and play it safe. But the MP has a great romance about it....it's the kind of camera that is inspiring to own even if there are some quirks. Not sure what to do yet :)

 

The most frequent failure mode of the cloth focal plane shutter is uneven exposure across the frame as in post #9 to this thread - the electronic timing wont necessarily help that. The electronic control was not introduced to make the shutter work, but to allow new modes.

 

If a M is set up reasonably and used regular it should be pretty good. You may want to test it frequently e.g. with a CRT or multiple photo cell tester.

 

You need to look after the M e.g. If you tear a sprocket hole or snap a film then you need to clean out any shards immediately, if they get in to the blind channels, they can damage the light traps, and cause significant exposure/service problems.

 

You could do with an incident meter if you cannot keep zones in your head. Using a M6/7/MP style meter would/does slow me down.

 

The slow speeds 1/15 and slower should be more accurate with electronic timing, but you can hear these when they go wrong, the mechanical timer needs exercise.

 

The electronic control can fail, in different ways from the mechanical timing.

 

Noel

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