Leicaflex SL Meter Issue

[leicaphilia]

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Greetings everyone.

 

I've taken possession of a beautiful SL that looks and works like new, with one issue: the meter doesn't work.

 

Upon inspecting the battery compartment it seems that the connector prong that the battery sits on top of, that little strip of metal that protrudes from the compartment floor, is missing.

 

Given the excellent condition of the camera itself (apparently it sat in its box in a camera store since 1968) I assume its absence explains why the camera isn't metering and its not some internal issue caused by mishandling etc.

 

My assumption as well is that a simple soldering of a connection will suffice and my local vintage camera store should be up to the task. For those who know better than I, is this something that can be rectified easily, or am I looking at a "New" SL that won't meter?

 

Thanks for your input.

 

And if you have a chance, feel free to peruse my website below. Warm Regards.

[wildlightphoto]

My assumption as well is that a simple soldering of a connection will suffice and my local vintage camera store should be up to the task.

 

That's a reasonable assumption. I expect that if you want the meter to be accurate you'll need to re-calibrate the light meter for 1.5-volt silver-oxide cells (vs. the original 1.35-volt mercury cells which are no longer available).

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[Hugh 38]

It should be fairly straight forward to repair the batery contact and put a new strip in.

The camera was made to work with the 1.35V (PX 625 ) batery which you can not get any more , other than some substitutes which I believe give mixed results , though no personal experience.

 

As mentioned it would be very usefull if the repair shop could also calibrate the camera to work on the 1.5V batery which is available . Well worth getting done.

 

However it is possible , that the meter could have failed. My father bought an SL new in 1969 and the meter failed in 1986 , and it was repaired. I think it unlikely the meter would have failed sitting in the box .

 

Certainly get the batery strip repaire and you should have a wonderfull camera .

[TomB_tx]

Most SL meter problems are degradation of the CdS cell cause by moisture penetration. It happens as readily in storage as when in use. This causes the meter response to go non-linear, so that it can be adjusted fine for bright light, but will underexpose in dim light. I don't believe cells are available from Leica anymore.

[SteveYork]

I don't know about Leica, but repair techs still have new meter cells. I just got a new one installed in an SL (about $125 US).

[gbealnz]

Me too, I got a new cell replacement for my chrome SL recently, my local repair man had one. Beautiful camera.

Gary

[Toby Madrigal]

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I’ve heard that bending up the contact in the bottom of the battery chamber causes it to snap off. I have two SL chrome bodies (1970/71) that have dud meters. The first one has the contact missing. I simply use a handheld meter, a Gossen Multisix that takes the readily available PP3 9v battery. A spare takes very little room in a Billingham 335 bag. These are the most beautiful cameras I have ever owned. I am quite accustomed to using handheld meters as my first SLR, a Pentax S1a had no meter, the second was a Nikorrmat FT with a dud meter.

Of all the workaround suggestions to the problem of the PX 625 mercury oxide cell (a magic cell) I feel that my solution is the most practical. A handheld meter allows for reflective and incident metering and for portraits I also use a Sekonic L - 428 that takes four S76 cells, also readily available. I bought this meter a dozen years ago and replaced the cells last month for the first time.