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R3 MOT problem


Torquinian

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I have just bought a secondhand R3, [very cheap] , The meter seems to be working OK and the shutter speeds sound right, without scientific testing. However when set to automatic the shutter seems very erratic sometimes giving a short exposure and sometimes a long one. Has anyone out there met this problem before?

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  • 2 weeks later...
I have just bought a secondhand R3, [very cheap] , The meter seems to be working OK and the shutter speeds sound right, without scientific testing. However when set to automatic the shutter seems very erratic sometimes giving a short exposure and sometimes a long one. Has anyone out there met this problem before?

 

I have a repair man looking at it but he says Leica don't supply spare parts.

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Just a guess. but it sounds as if it's a meter problem. If the shutter is doing the right thing on manual, I would guess that the meter is telling the shutter all sorts of different and not consistent things to do.

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Without film in the camera, operate the film advance lever partway and release tension. The shutter should stay capped. If it doesn't the anti-return mechanism is out of adjustment. One possible cause may be the plastic adjustment cam used in some SL bodies. The plastic cam may deform under the pressure of its locking screw and fail. The replacement cam is metal.

 

Listen to the 1/4-sec and 1/8-sec shutter speeds. 1/4-sec should sound twice as long as 1/8-sec; if not, the slow speed gear train or the shutter curtain tension needs adjusting.

 

Red plastic lens release tabs will eventually break, making it very difficult to remove the lens. The replacement part is metal.

 

Remove the lens, open the back and hold the camera up to a light source. Operate the shutter at all speeds while looking through the film gate. You should be able to see light across the entire film gate. If not the shutter needs adjustment, or possibly just needs excersize.

 

Check that the shutter speed dial is parallel to the top deck and does not wobble up/down on any side. The inner ring of the dial engages with the shutter speed shaft with four (aluminum?) tabs which can deform or fail if the shutter speed dial is struck.

 

With film in the camera, expose the back to sunlight and develop the film. Two possible sources of light leaks are the packing in the light baffles around the back and a light baffle in the viewfinder eyepiece. If the packing is compressed you may get a light leak through the eyepiece grub screw access holes in the back's light baffle. If the eyepiece light baffle is missing or out of place you can get light leaks through the eyepiece.

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Without film in the camera, operate the film advance lever partway and release tension. The shutter should stay capped. If it doesn't the anti-return mechanism is out of adjustment. One possible cause may be the plastic adjustment cam used in some SL bodies. The plastic cam may deform under the pressure of its locking screw and fail. The replacement cam is metal.

 

Listen to the 1/4-sec and 1/8-sec shutter speeds. 1/4-sec should sound twice as long as 1/8-sec; if not, the slow speed gear train or the shutter curtain tension needs adjusting.

 

Red plastic lens release tabs will eventually break, making it very difficult to remove the lens. The replacement part is metal.

 

Remove the lens, open the back and hold the camera up to a light source. Operate the shutter at all speeds while looking through the film gate. You should be able to see light across the entire film gate. If not the shutter needs adjustment, or possibly just needs excersize.

 

Check that the shutter speed dial is parallel to the top deck and does not wobble up/down on any side. The inner ring of the dial engages with the shutter speed shaft with four (aluminum?) tabs which can deform or fail if the shutter speed dial is struck.

 

With film in the camera, expose the back to sunlight and develop the film. Two possible sources of light leaks are the packing in the light baffles around the back and a light baffle in the viewfinder eyepiece. If the packing is compressed you may get a light leak through the eyepiece grub screw access holes in the back's light baffle. If the eyepiece light baffle is missing or out of place you can get light leaks through the eyepiece.

 

Thanks Doug. I've checked the camera, especially the shutter speed dial and the shutter itself. Everything seems fine. Also, the camera feels very smooth in operation as a whole, so I hope no repairs in the foreseeable future.

 

To the moderators: I have first read Doug's answer in my thread http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-r-leica-flex/265129-leicaflex-viefinder-shutter-speed-scale.html but the answer mysteriously moved to this one a few moments later :confused:

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