Jessestr Posted March 31, 2014 Share #1 Posted March 31, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Just wondering.. I got my M6 from Leica shop, it had a Leica service seal. But after how many weeks/months/years do you service your film Leica (maybe M6 in particular?) Many thanks Jesse Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 31, 2014 Posted March 31, 2014 Hi Jessestr, Take a look here Service interval. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
TomB_tx Posted March 31, 2014 Share #2 Posted March 31, 2014 My M6 needed service after about 25 years. The fast speeds were too fast (common when lubricants dry out of ball bearings), and the curtain brake wasn't functioning properly, allowing a bit of a light leak at the closed edge of the shutter. The repair tech indicated the brake problem was due to leaving an old battery in place and it leaked and damaged the mechanism. On the other hand my M4 developed a similar brake issue (without batteries) - after about 40 years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kivis Posted March 31, 2014 Share #3 Posted March 31, 2014 Recently Solms did a CLA on my M3. Repairman put a post it on the bill stating, "You should be good for another 50 years." Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessestr Posted April 1, 2014 Author Share #4 Posted April 1, 2014 Well that kind of enlightens me.. I'm not even as old as my Leica's lifetime. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalArts 99 Posted April 1, 2014 Share #5 Posted April 1, 2014 If the camera is new to you, and you're unsure of its history then you could consider getting a service done. That way you know for sure the state of its current condition and you should then be good for several decades (depending on your own use and abuse.) The other approach is to wait until something seems amiss and then send it in for service. That would save you from spending any money on it until it's really necessary. The only drawback to that is risking having the camera fail at an inopportune time. Although a camera can fail at anytime even if it has been recently serviced. Either approach is valid. But the point is (and I think what's the gist of your question) that the cameras don't need 'regular servicing' like an automobile. Unless perhaps you're using them on a regular professional basis; e.g., a newspaper normally would have their cameras serviced on a regular schedule as preventive maintenance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo63 Posted April 1, 2014 Share #6 Posted April 1, 2014 Unless perhaps you're using them on a regular professional basis; e.g., a newspaper normally would have their cameras serviced on a regular schedule as preventive maintenance. You would think that, but the paper i work for, and as far as i know, the other local papers dont do preventative maintenance. We have spare gear, which is issued when our gear has to be fixed, it only gets attention when its got a problem. We are issued two camera bodies though, and have access to lenses from 14 to 600mm as needed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth3kpl Posted April 1, 2014 Share #7 Posted April 1, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) If it's Keith's M7, by return of post Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalArts 99 Posted April 1, 2014 Share #8 Posted April 1, 2014 You would think that, but the paper i work for, and as far as i know, the other local papers dont do preventative maintenance. With digital, things are no doubt very different now. And it's lucky that there are even photographers themselves still working. In the analog days, the LA Times used to have a contract for regular services for their equipment. The major film studios also used to have equipment in-house with repair services, but that's all been contracted out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mr. B Posted April 2, 2014 Share #9 Posted April 2, 2014 My M6 TTL was purchased new in 2002 and it has never been serviced. It still works just like it did the first day I used it. I will probably send it in for servicing in a few more years. Mr. B Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo63 Posted April 2, 2014 Share #10 Posted April 2, 2014 With digital, things are no doubt very different now. And it's lucky that there are even photographers themselves still working. In the analog days, the LA Times used to have a contract for regular services for their equipment. The major film studios also used to have equipment in-house with repair services, but that's all been contracted out. Yes, the photographers still working are very lucky. Our photographic staff has almost halved since i started (6yrs ago) Back in the film days we did have a much bigger staff, and had techs onsite, who would not only repair broken gear, but build or modify specialised equipment when needed too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herr Barnack Posted April 2, 2014 Share #11 Posted April 2, 2014 I asked Sherry Krauter about this; she said that when she overhauls a film M camera, it is good to go for ten years, barring any drops, damage, mishaps, dunkings in water, baking in a hot car during the summer, etc. If a film M has traveled to a location where it is subjected to alot of airborne dust and dirt or sand, it should be CLA'ed after returning home. It's probably the same thing if your M has been to an environment that is high in humidity such as Panama, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc., although you could probably dry it out on your own by putting the camera and lens(es) in a ziplock freezer bag for a few days with a good sized silica dryer pack. Sherry also told me that when traveling by air, get a sheet of 1/2" thick open cell foam. Make wraps for your M bodies and lenses, wrap them and secure the wraps with rubber bands, then put your gear in your camera bag. Why? Ultrasonic vibrations caused by jet engines (the 9 stage axial high pressure compressor turns at over 10,800 RPM) [ TURBOKART ] for hours on end will loosen tiny internal screws in the camera. This happened to one of my M bodies and the film advance locked up due to a screw backing out in the rewind mechanism. My lenses that were on the same flights have not shown any ill effect, though. After this experience, I remembered reading comments to the same effect in an article written about 20 years ago by Galen Rowell. If my memory had been better, I could have saved myself the cost of the overhaul of my M body. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted April 3, 2014 Share #12 Posted April 3, 2014 I just had my M4 serviced for the first time since I got it in 1967. It will certainly see me out now. It will be running long after my M8/9/240 are land fill. A fully working M8 is going to become a real rarity within a few years. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted April 3, 2014 Share #13 Posted April 3, 2014 I bought my lllf in 1982 (I think, might have been '81) and shortly afterwards I went to a Leica dealer event where a technician was giving free checkups - he tested all the speeds and said it was more accurate than most of the M models he'd checked that day! I've not had anything done to it since and everything still appears to be fine. I'll service it when/if there's any need to. My s/h M2 arrived with a faulty shutter, so that was serviced immediately. Fine since. I've owned an R3 since new and that's never been serviced and has given faultless service. Leica don't make them like they used to! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianUK Posted April 3, 2014 Share #14 Posted April 3, 2014 Jessestr, Tempting fate, I know, but my M6 TTL was 14 years-old this year, and has been used pretty much every week, and at times sometimes every day. It has never let me down. Used sensibly (Leicas are tougher than many give them credit for, being used in war zones for instance, but remember, they are precision instruments that don’t take kindly to being treated badly especially by being violently knocked about or dropped), they just go on for ever. However, depending on how they are treated and the conditions of their use, over time lubricants dry out, rangefinders go out of whack and shutters might require adjustment in the same manner, say, a mechanical watch would. The main thing is: use them and use them regularly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessestr Posted April 4, 2014 Author Share #15 Posted April 4, 2014 Jessestr, Tempting fate, I know, but my M6 TTL was 14 years-old this year, and has been used pretty much every week, and at times sometimes every day. It has never let me down. Used sensibly (Leicas are tougher than many give them credit for, being used in war zones for instance, but remember, they are precision instruments that don’t take kindly to being treated badly especially by being violently knocked about or dropped), they just go on for ever. However, depending on how they are treated and the conditions of their use, over time lubricants dry out, rangefinders go out of whack and shutters might require adjustment in the same manner, say, a mechanical watch would. The main thing is: use them and use them regularly. Thanks man:) I got my M6 sinds January, 2014.. Been shooting with it every week, it's in mint condition, so I will really take care for the precious! Thanks for the advice on this topic. Strengthens my feel about film over digital too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
budrichard Posted April 12, 2014 Share #16 Posted April 12, 2014 When it breaks.-Dick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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