M10 ISO dial very difficult to raise

[dlaugh]

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New Leica user here; first time post to this very helpful forum.  I just bought a used M10.  Evidence suggests light use; in any event, it would be hard to distinguish the unit from new on observation.  When I tested it out it I didn't have this difficulty, but as I use it I have found the ISO dial very, very difficult to raise.  I cannot raise it with one finger or thumb.  Sometimes I need to sort of grip it with a fabric in two fingers to push it up.  If I can get a fingernail underneath it, I can get it open, but it often closes tight enough to prevent that.  

I have normal size hands and normal dexterity, so this isn't an issue of huge thumbs or a shaky grip.  The rotation is fine; it is otherwise functional (i.e., it changes ISO); it doesn't appear to have substantial lateral play.  I've looked for other complaints here and mainly found issues with the dial not functioning.  (Plus a long thread complaining about the dial in general.).

Anyone have this problem?  Is it simply a matter of the unit being new-ish?  

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[lucerne]

While new(ish), it can be difficult.  My technique does not rely on finger and thumb to pull it up.   I put my nail into the groove at the bottom of the iso switch and lever the device up.  As far as I can see, it’s a complex fitting with components within its structure.  It has some O rings within its construction and they are the reason why it doesn’t raise  easily.   I never apply excessive pressure.  Eventually the switch becomes easier to move.

 

 

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Edited July 9, 2019 by lucerne

[pedaes]

You can use the Menu until you get used to the dial. You can also leave the dial in the 'up' position if you change ISO frequently. It is good to have options!

[pico]

2 hours ago, dlaugh said:

When I tested it out it I didn't have this difficulty, but as I use it I have found the ISO dial very, very difficult to raise.  

My left index fingernail is my friend. 

[Karl Heinz Marschner]

vor 3 Stunden schrieb dlaugh:

I have found the ISO dial very, very difficult to raise.

You are certainly not the only one who has this problem. Leica should think about it. It should be very easy for them, to change the design of the ISO-wheel. They should make it with a cross-knurl (I am not shure, wether this is the correct englisch term, in Germany we say Kreuzraendel or Kordel) like the film-rewind-wheel in the Leica MP.

[Sam]

Yes mine is also quite stubborn, and I'm sure it's by design. I can't seem to lift it with less than two fingers. However, if I anticipate changing ISO very much, I leave it up.
I have also had really good success with auto ISO with the M10 under certain circumstances. I'm not a huge fan of auto-anything, but it seems to work much better than my M240 ever did, and it's quite relaxing just focusing and setting shutter speed and letting the ISO float.

[ChicagoMatthew]

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38 minutes ago, Sam said:

I have also had really good success with auto ISO with the M10 under certain circumstances. I'm not a huge fan of auto-anything, but it seems to work much better than my M240 ever did

+1

[Guest]

mine (late 2018) is easy to lift....just a couple of fingernails underneath the lip and it pops up easily.

[6bit]

I have two M10s. Both dials suck to raise. It’s a feature. 🙄

[dlaugh]

Thanks everyone.  Good to know I'm not alone.  I'll work on my fingernail strength.

[rnz]

i am at three fingers...still not gracefully.   two fingers never worked for me.

[russell]

Sucks to raise. Also dangerous as I have too really force it putting stress on the camera and risk dropping it.

So I've stopped using it too much.  Shame really.  I used the ISO in the menu of the 240 much more often as it was so easy.  Now difficult and risky.

They didn't think this one through.

[redlensandgreenbody]

I think earlier production of M10s have stubborn ISO dial (2017). I have recently purchased M10-P and it is as smooth as butter. 

[pico]

Can the complainers here submit their remedy?

[lykaman]

5 minutes ago, pico said:

Can the complainers here submit their remedy?

I would suggest filing down a plastic spoon handle -

[dlaugh]

The method I'm having the most success with, such as it is, is to stick the fingernail of my left thumb directly into the crack, parallel to the camera, and lever it just slightly.  If I can pop the dial up even barely, it becomes easy to raise.  

My prior efforts involved trying to push or pull the dial up without first popping it; on my camera that approaches impossible.

[250swb]

Leica users are forever looking for special techniques and solutions for achieving simple things. I wouldn't say it was forever thus, but just getting on and doing a job seems to have been replaced with either a Facebook debate or forum discussion on 'the best way' to do it. To give practical help I'd suggest employing a sound psychological principle which in this case would be to stand on your head at the same time as pulling or pushing on the knob. This will effectively make the actual pulling/pushing part seem easy and when you hopefully return to a normal upright position you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

[jaapv]

To be fair, Steve, something like that would annoy me quite a bit.  OTOH, on reflection, it would probably not do so, as I regard the thing as a bit of superfluous retro styling.

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[250swb]

13 hours ago, jaapv said:

To be fair, Steve, something like that would annoy me quite a bit.  OTOH, on reflection, it would probably not do so, as I regard the thing as a bit of superfluous retro styling.

Yes but if it's just 'difficult' that means it's not impossible. It needs to be 'difficult' because whenever you stuff the camera into your bag it shouldn't pull the knob up accidentally and alter the ISO. Yes, it is an affectation by Leica to have the knob work like that, but what isn't an affectation when it comes to Leica trying to hang on to the past? As a purely unbiased 'don't know my own strength so can't compare it to other people' I can push the ISO knob up with the strength of my little finger, which to be honest is pretty weedy.

[Peter Kilmister]

On 7/11/2019 at 10:01 PM, lykaman said:

I would suggest filing down a plastic spoon handle -

... then all the fragments of plastic will end up ultimately in the nearest ocean and kill the indigenous oceanic creatures. Would it not be better for our planet to use filed bamboo?

Bamboo is annoyingly strong, especially if someone has planted it near your garden. It takes a pickaxe to dislodge the roots. It does have benefits because of its strength and rigidity. It is much more environmentally friendly than any plastic.