I love my… I love my MP

[FrozenInTime]

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1 hour ago, 69xchange said:

The scratches on the rewind knob or the scratch along the top plate? Or both?

 

not surprised. My silver M-A rewind knob is scratched like that too brand new out of box and my black chrome M-A has some paint issues.

It is only the scratch on the top plate that bothers me. Yes, I could live with it, but having bought many film and digital Leicas over the years none of which had scratches out of box, quality control needs to follow through. 

My black M-A is perfect - after eight years, none of the bronzing show on the one in the M-A thread.

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[Surge]

Just purchased a new chrome MP (5676xxx) and a 21mm Summilux - it’s great to be back to shooting film after ~20 years (I sold my M6 TTL at that time). 

Honestly, it’s so refreshing to travel and shoot film, I had forgotten how different the experience can be from shooting digital. 

While I have an M10, M10 Monochrom (Leitz Wetzlar Edition) and M240, I think the MP will be getting the most use.

[RayD28]

3 hours ago, Surge said:

Just purchased a new chrome MP (5676xxx) and a 21mm Summilux

 

I'm curious, did you get an external viewfinder, and if so which one?

[Surge]

7 hours ago, RayD28 said:

I'm curious, did you get an external viewfinder, and if so which one?

Yes, the Leica 21mm external viewfinder. It seems to do the job, but I have not yet seen the developed film. One thing I noticed however is that the viewfinder can be at an angle to the camera body, so you have to ensure it slides on correctly. 

[Surge]

Since it’s been ~20 years since I’ve shot film, I have forgotten a few basics.

- is it better to store the camera with the film advanced to the next frame, or leave it on the exposed frame?

- with the first roll the rewind knob did turn after the 5th frame, which I gather is normal. But with the second roll, I’m already on the ~12th frame and the rewind knob has yet to turn when I advance the film. Is this normal or did I load it incorrectly?

- is it best to store unexposed film in the plastic canister it comes in, or can you remove it from the canister and place it in a metal box? I bought one of the Kodak metal boxes that holds a few rolls (but they have to be removed from the plastic canisters).

Thanks!

Edited August 1, 2023 by Surge

[FrozenInTime]

13 minutes ago, Surge said:

Since it’s been ~20 years since I’ve shot film, I have forgotten a few basics.

- is it better to store the camera with the film advanced to the next frame, or leave it on the exposed frame?

- with the first roll the rewind knob did turn after the 5th frame, which I gather is normal. But with the second roll, I’m already on the ~12th frame and the rewind knob has yet to turn when I advance the film. Is this normal or did I load it incorrectly?

- is it best to store unexposed film in the plastic canister it comes in, or can you remove it from the canister and place it in a metal box? I bought one of the Kodak metal boxes that holds a few rolls (but they have to be removed from the plastic canisters).

Thanks!

I instinctively advance after every frame and pretension the rewind so it indicates film movement from the get go.

Interesting to hear what others about tins vs plastic canisters : I would imaging the plastic canister the film ships in is better at preventing moisture and humidity ingress damaging the film, but under archival dry conditions the Kodak tin may be more than the retro styled gimmick it seems.

[Pyrogallol]

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20 minutes ago, Surge said:

Since it’s been ~20 years since I’ve shot film, I have forgotten a few basics.

- is it better to store the camera with the film advanced to the next frame, or leave it on the exposed frame?

- with the first roll the rewind knob did turn after the 5th frame, which I gather is normal. But with the second roll, I’m already on the ~12th frame and the rewind knob has yet to turn when I advance the film. Is this normal or did I load it incorrectly?

- is it best to store unexposed film in the plastic canister it comes in, or can you remove it from the canister and place it in a metal box? I bought one of the Kodak metal boxes that holds a few rolls (but they have to be removed from the plastic canisters).

Thanks!

Nothing much has changed in the past twenty years. Experts say that it doesn’t matter if you leave the camera wound on or not, but I do not leave it wound on to the next frame overnight.

Take up the slack in a new roll of film to be able to see the rewind knob moving when you load a fresh film, but be careful you do not pull the film off the take up spool, though the sprocket wheel should hold the film to stop you rewinding it.

I put the used film back in the original container, though I would develop it as soon as I got home

[Warton]

1 hour ago, Surge said:

Since it’s been ~20 years since I’ve shot film, I have forgotten a few basics.

- is it better to store the camera with the film advanced to the next frame, or leave it on the exposed frame?

- with the first roll the rewind knob did turn after the 5th frame, which I gather is normal. But with the second roll, I’m already on the ~12th frame and the rewind knob has yet to turn when I advance the film. Is this normal or did I load it incorrectly?

- is it best to store unexposed film in the plastic canister it comes in, or can you remove it from the canister and place it in a metal box? I bought one of the Kodak metal boxes that holds a few rolls (but they have to be removed from the plastic canisters).

Thanks!

- I would like to think it doesn't matter you advance the film before or after take the shot. Personally I leave it on the exposed frame, and take the shot immediately after advancing the film. More importantly to keep either way consistent because you don't want to advance twice and waste a frame.

- If the rewind starts to move on or after 12th the take-up is too much. On mine, it moves on 3rd or 4th, never more than 4th. I "waste" first 3 advances to get the count to 0, and on the next or two advance I see the rewind moves.

- I immediately remove the film and put it into the plastic canister and leave it to a cool, dry and dark basement room. However I would like to develop it no more than 1 month later.

Edited August 1, 2023 by Warton

[Surge]

Thanks for the replies. What am I doing wrong by not taking up the slack when loading?

I just rewound the partial roll (and advanced back to where I was at 1/1000 f/16 with the lens cap on), but it’s still the same. 
First roll was fine, the rewind knob moved after the 5th exposure…

EDIT: figured it out. I don’t think the film was pushed in far enough and it wasn’t engaging both sprockets. 

Edited August 1, 2023 by Surge

[LocalHero1953]

If it hasn't started turning after 12 exposures, my guess is it hasn't loaded properly. The key elements in loading a film (IMO) are having just the right amount of leader in the tulip (too little and it might not hold, too much and the end folds over and catches on the tulip when you try to rewind back into the film container), and putting the baseplate on before winding on (this makes sure the film sprocket holes engage with the sprocket).

I see no harm at all in storing your film in whatever container you like, as long as it is cool, dry and dark. I have a small cardboard box I put them in, still in the plastic containers, just so I know where to find them when it comes to developing.

[IkarusJohn]

1 hour ago, Surge said:

Thanks for the replies. What am I doing wrong by not taking up the slack when loading?

I just rewound the partial roll (and advanced back to where I was at 1/1000 f/16 with the lens cap on), but it’s still the same. 
First roll was fine, the rewind knob moved after the 5th exposure…

EDIT: figured it out. I don’t think the film was pushed in far enough and it wasn’t engaging both sprockets. 

This issue was raised when the M-A was released (if I recall correctly).  There are two issues with loading film in an M camera - (1) load the leader into the tulip take-up as shown in the little diagram on the bottom of the camera, and (2) push the film cassette up into the camera so that the sprockets engage with the holes on the top and bottom of the film.

In the early days, I once forgot (2) above and found the wind on rough, the film torn (on the bottom holes) and the film hadn’t advanced at all.

I used to take up the slack when loading film, so I could see the rewind knob turn as I advanced the film, but stopped after concerns over scratched film (it wasn’t scratching).  I’ve found, following (1) & (2) above, winding off the first 2 or three exposures to get to 0 on the counter, the rewind is turning within two or three frames.

[69xchange]

9 hours ago, Surge said:

- is it better to store the camera with the film advanced to the next frame, or leave it on the exposed frame?

Leica stated it doesnt matter whether the camera is stored cocked vs uncocked. There will always be curtain tension regardless of shutter position and that will never exceeds maximum or go below minimum tension values. With that being said, someone did mention that shutter tension uncocked is 50% while cocked is up to 75%. The variation between the two is 25% which has no affect on short/long term storage life of the springs if that is what you are asking. Only "maintenance" of storing the camera is to exercise all moving parts at least once every three months.

Edited August 2, 2023 by 69xchange

[hansvons]

11 hours ago, Surge said:

Thanks for the replies. What am I doing wrong by not taking up the slack when loading?

 

Literally every photographer shooting with an M took great shots on no film because the film wasn’t loaded correctly. It certainly happened to me. 

The trick is to load the film exactly as depicted, taking no longer than 10 seconds. It should be an astonishingly easy procedure. Remove the bottom plate, let down the flap, half-insert the film cassette, pull the leader until it fits just about completely in the tulip/take-up spool, push the cassette and the leader gently down, don't think about sprockets, close the flap, mount the bottom plate, and advance the film twice. 

After the first advance taking up the slack carefully with no force will show you a turning rewind spool with the next advance and you know that all is ok. 

[Surge]

16 minutes ago, hansvons said:

The trick is to load the film exactly as depicted, taking no longer than 10 seconds. It should be an astonishingly easy procedure. Remove the bottom plate, let down the flap, half-insert the film cassette, pull the leader until it fits just about completely in the tulip/take-up spool, push the cassette and the leader gently down, don't think about sprockets, close the flap, mount the bottom plate, and advance the film twice. 

Thanks everyone. I especially like this. 
You see different techniques online. I think I was pulling the film out too far, extending it beyond the tulips. The picture on the baseplate does not show the film extending outside of the tulips. I think this was my mistake. 
The rewind knob doesn’t need to be touched and it’s turning with the second advance. 

[Surge]

What’s the best way to clean the silver chrome finish? I noticed it darkens a bit where you touch it. 

[Paulus]

vor 55 Minuten schrieb Surge:

What’s the best way to clean the silver chrome finish? I noticed it darkens a bit where you touch it. 

Just use water on a cloth. Spitting on a cloth does the trick also.  ☺️Don’t clean ti much, just use it an wipe occasionally of. 

[a.noctilux]

3 hours ago, zwicko said:

Hi everyone, just a quick question: There is a sticker on the outer cardboard box with a barcode and a date: is that the production date? Pictures to follow shortly.

Yes it's the final control date.

You will see the same date on the Control Card with signature inside the box.

Like this for M-A

 

 

Edited August 22, 2023 by a.noctilux

[Jewl]

aesthetically probably the perfect setup for the next decade(s)?

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[zwicko]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb a.noctilux:

Yes it's the final control date.

You will see the same date on the Control Card with signature inside the box.

Like this for M-A

 

 

Thanks a lot. There is no date on the control card though. Date on the box says 09/08/2023 so it‘s basically brand new.

Here it is with the Voigtländer Nokton 1.4/35mm VM ii SC.

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[a.noctilux]

15 minutes ago, zwicko said:

There is no date on the control card though

Strange,

like here as YYYY/MM/DD on the sticker/serial number

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