Changing ISO Dial On MP

[S.Rolf]

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I'm still breaking in my new MP and want to understand the ISO dial on the back.

First, I'm having a hard time in changing/turning it.  I don't want to force anything.

I'm assuming that I just place my finger or thumb on the star wheel and turn?

However, it doesn't want to do that very easily.  

Do I push and turn?

 

Secondly, what is this changing internally?  Being on the back and not on the top seems a bit odd to me.

 

Thanks,

[NB23]

Mine was stuck like it was glued. A drop of oil was all it took

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[S.Rolf]

Mine was stuck like it was glued. A drop of oil was all it took

 

Well that doesn't sound good.  Having to use oil I mean.

It was set at 100 from the factory and that's pretty much all I shoot so I guess I'll leave well enough alone until such time I need to change it I guess.

 

Thanks,

[jaapv]

You ned to  push fairly firmly to be able to turn it.

[wattsy]

Yes, the rear ISO dial on the MP is very poor quality and usually quite difficult to change (requiring an absurd amount of pressure to push in).

[250swb]

When the MP used the M6 style dials they were better. I think I could guess why they made it stiffer, but oiling it doesn't sound like a very good idea because there are electrical contacts underneath the dial. And to answer the question 'why on the back', it's because the ISO dial has always been on the back door of Leica M's even when it was only a spring loaded reminder dial, so tradition.

[Keith (M)]

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Yes, the rear ISO dial on the MP is very poor quality and usually quite difficult to change (requiring an absurd amount of pressure to push in).

Can only agree!  My MP ALC bought new in 2012 has required very firm thumb pressure indeed right from day 1, so much so that it falls into what I classify as a 'three Weetabix' problem.  On the other hand, turning the dial on my M7 is smooth & easy.

[sarav]

Press slightly with the whole thumb over it and rotate....don't press too much in the centre with your thumb. it rotates with light clicks and fast. It doesn't require any strength.

[gberger]

I sent my MP alc back to have the dial replaced, as it was almost impossible to turn. 

It came back just as hard to turn. Obviously a design flaw that Leica doesn't want to take the trouble to fix.

 

I gave my MP to my grandson a couple of months ago. He's griping about the difficulty in changing ISO speeds. 

Edited March 29, 2016 by gberger

[Matlock]

Press slightly with the whole thumb over it and rotate....don't press too much in the centre with your thumb. it rotates with light clicks and fast. It doesn't require any strength.

 

Exactly. I found the dial a little difficult at first but then adopted that method, no problem at all.

[wattsy]

It's still a really crappy part unbefitting of a camera that costs £3,500 new.

[Matlock]

It's still a really crappy part unbefitting of a camera that costs £3,500 new.

 

Fully agree when compared to M6 and M7, but it does work OK if handled correctly. I would just question why Leica chose such a shoddy item?

[semi-ambivalent]

Fully agree when compared to M6 and M7, but it does work OK if handled correctly. I would just question why Leica chose such a shoddy item?

Shoddy? The plastic dial on the M7 looks almost identical to the dial on the MP except for the visual compensation marks, which are there within the MP's dial itself. (I've leave the M6 out of this since I can't buy one new, I'm sure they're nice.) Isn't this just a case of hating on the MP, or are people upset at the way the used market depreciates M7s? It is pretty brutal.

 

s-a

[earleygallery]

I think Leica addressed the problem with the M-A

[wattsy]

Isn't this just a case of hating on the MP, or are people upset at the way the used market depreciates M7s? It is pretty brutal.

 

 

I don't think so. I've always thought (and said so here many times) that the MP and M7 ISO dials are made of very poor quality materials that do not match up to the standard of the rest of the camera. That didn't stop me buying each camera more than once. In all other respects, both cameras are excellent.

 

Incidentally, I agree that the depreciation on an M7 is "brutal" but one person's monetary loss is another person's bargain and, at around £1200, a fine condition used M7 is IMO the best value Leica at present.

[Bill Livingston]

I would agree.

 

If I were ever to consider buying a Leica film camera, my heart would say buy a black paint M4... but my head would say, buy a used M7... no question it would be the more sensible and practical solution - and it would compliment my M240P perfectly.

 

Hmmm.. I can see that yet again I have ignored the original question and been sidetracked by the train of this thread... (There's a mixed metaphor there somewhere...well, semi- mixed)

[animalhairs]

Wow! I have never had this issue with any of my MP bodies. Simply weight the pressure from your thumb toward the left side of the dial while looking at the back of the camera and twist.

Edited March 30, 2016 by animalhairs

[semi-ambivalent]

I don't think so. I've always thought (and said so here many times) that the MP and M7 ISO dials are made of very poor quality materials that do not match up to the standard of the rest of the camera. That didn't stop me buying each camera more than once. In all other respects, both cameras are excellent.

 

Incidentally, I agree that the depreciation on an M7 is "brutal" but one person's monetary loss is another person's bargain and, at around £1200, a fine condition used M7 is IMO the best value Leica at present.

No, you were 'fair and balanced' in your dislike of the two ISO dials. I was replying to Matlock in #12, who seemed to make a distinction between the M7's ISO dial and the MP's. There is none, other than the camera they're attached to.

 

FWIW, my MP's dial is stubborn to change but it's only three years old. In time it will be loose but have two ruts, like an asphalt secondary road, at 250 and 400, so things will still be fine by me.

 

s-a

[Matlock]

No, you were 'fair and balanced' in your dislike of the two ISO dials. I was replying to Matlock in #12, who seemed to make a distinction between the M7's ISO dial and the MP's. There is none, other than the camera they're attached to.

 

FWIW, my MP's dial is stubborn to change but it's only three years old. In time it will be loose but have two ruts, like an asphalt secondary road, at 250 and 400, so things will still be fine by me.

 

s-a

 

The dials are very different and, as for as your first reply to my post, I do not hate the MP. If your dial hasn't freed in three years, oh dear .

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[Keith (M)]

Press slightly with the whole thumb over it and rotate....don't press too much in the centre with your thumb. it rotates with light clicks and fast. It doesn't require any strength.

That does seem to be the answer.  Up until now I had always used the tip of the thumb on the 'star' lines in the centre of the wheel, on the basis that that is where the best friction can be achieved - and always had difficulties.  Using your method does result in easier adjustments - so thanks!