edwardfill Posted October 15, 2019 Share #1 Posted October 15, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi. I’m relatively new to film photography and Leica M7. This morning I loaded a non-DX roll of film (Silbersalz35 500T) thinking that I could choose a manual ISO setting. The camera though shows ISO 5000 that blinks for a couple of seconds on switching it on and obviously the shutter speeds are unusable at this ISO setting (too fast in the daylight). Manually changing ISO on the back of the camera doesn’t make any difference - I still have ISO 5000 displayed in the viewfinder. Is there any way around this with the non-DX film already loaded and advanced to the first frame? Can this ISO reading be overridden or If not, should I try and shoot relying on external light meter? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 15, 2019 Posted October 15, 2019 Hi edwardfill, Take a look here Is it possible to override DX ISO on M7?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Michael Geschlecht Posted October 25, 2019 Share #2 Posted October 25, 2019 (edited) Hello Edward, Welcome to the Forum. The camera's "reader" is reading the ISO that is written on the film cartridge that you have. ISO 5000 is the film speed when all of the indicating "boxes" being read by the camera's "reader" are bare metal. Which is the same as their being "silver". When DX coding was invented in the 1980's there were 2 sets of 6 boxes printed on the film cartridge, 1 over the other. Your reader in the camera assumes that they are there. If the cartridge is bare metal where it contacts the sensors, optical or electrical: The sensors "read" the bare metal accordingly. An all white/silver surface where that first line of boxes would be: Is read the same as an appropriately configured set of boxes indicating an ISO of 5000. You can mark the cartridge appropriately for the correct film speed if you look for a model of the layout. This question came up a number of years ago & Michael Hiles put a copy of the diagram on this Forum that I had sent to him. So that people could deal with this & some other problems that have arisen as a factor of people using unmarked cartridges in cameras with ISO, etc readers. Best Regards, Michael Edited October 25, 2019 by Michael Geschlecht Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Verrips Posted October 25, 2019 Share #3 Posted October 25, 2019 Here you can download the instruction manual ---> https://en.leica-camera.com/Corposite/Service-Support/Support/Downloads?category=93710&subcategory=93717&type=&language=93871 On page 79 ---> Setting the film speed The dial (29) is used to select the desired type of film speed setting – automatically in the DX position or manually by setting one of the values on the scale between ISO 6/9° and 6400/39°. In the DX position, the film speed is automatically scanned from the film cartridge in the range ISO 25/15° to 5000/38°. (ISO is the international designation for film speeds). To set the speed, the locking dial is turned so that the desired setting – DX or the desired value – is opposite the white index dot on the exposure compensation dial (28). Film speed displays in the viewfinder Depending on the film loaded, the film speed set- ting and the exposure correction setting, different displays light up or flash in the viewfinder for 2s each time the camera is turned on with the main switch, before the normal exposure meter dis- plays then appear. If the camera electronics detect an incorrect set- ting, the following display flashes to warn you: For example, if the dial is set to "DX” but no DX-coded film is loaded or a film with damaged or unreadable identification, "100” flashes as an indication that the exposure control is assuming a film speed of ISO 100/21°. By contrast, if the dial is set to an invalid position between "DX” and the manual values, "ASA” flashes for the entire display duration of 16 s, i.e. the exposure metering is not displayed. In this case, exposure is once again as for ISO 100/21° Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Verrips Posted October 25, 2019 Share #4 Posted October 25, 2019 When you have a DX film loaded and the film speed setting is not equal to the DX value, the DX value flashes for a while, but the value used for metering is the manual value and not the DX value. A manual override should be possible. If no one can solve the problem, than this can do the trick ---> https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-film-DX-code-labels/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted October 25, 2019 Share #5 Posted October 25, 2019 The manual override is built right into the dial on the camera back. Rotate the dial approximately 180 degrees so that an ISO value aligns with the "0" mark on the scale on the right, instead of DX. See fifth image here (and surrounding comments): https://www.35mmc.com/13/04/2014/leica-m7-review/ If you tried that and it is not overriding the DX system - your camera needs repair. Probably a worn-out electrical contact in the ISO dial or circuitry. It is, of course, possible that the paint Silbersalz uses on their cassettes is either 1) a poor insulator and leaks electrical current (thus being detected as bare metal - which will register as "ISO 5000") or 2) is itself electrically conductive (the paint contains metal-based pigments). Have you tried other brands of film? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwardfill Posted October 26, 2019 Author Share #6 Posted October 26, 2019 Guys, many thanks for your detailed suggestions on this topic! As mentioned by Paul there is apparently a way to override DX-coded reading prior to loading the film, though it may not be the most elegant and straightforward process and will require some DIY skills. It seems that the manual override is the best solution when the film is already in. Initially, I was puzzled by the flashing ISO reading of 5000 and couldn’t find the solution to the problem either in the M7 manual or on previous forum discussions. The very stiff rear ISO dial on my M7 wasn’t helping me either as I only used the DX-code film cartridges in the past. I wasn’t aware that the poor dial quality is a major gripe among M7 camera users, but managed to figure it out and now have the desired ISO setting manually set. Once again thank you for your support. Best regards. Ed. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedirektor Posted April 26, 2022 Share #7 Posted April 26, 2022 Advertisement (gone after registration) On 10/26/2019 at 6:35 PM, edwardfill said: Guys, many thanks for your detailed suggestions on this topic! As mentioned by Paul there is apparently a way to override DX-coded reading prior to loading the film, though it may not be the most elegant and straightforward process and will require some DIY skills. It seems that the manual override is the best solution when the film is already in. Initially, I was puzzled by the flashing ISO reading of 5000 and couldn’t find the solution to the problem either in the M7 manual or on previous forum discussions. The very stiff rear ISO dial on my M7 wasn’t helping me either as I only used the DX-code film cartridges in the past. I wasn’t aware that the poor dial quality is a major gripe among M7 camera users, but managed to figure it out and now have the desired ISO setting manually set. Once again thank you for your support. Best regards. Ed. I have just found this thread...which answers my questions about the flashing 5000 and the manual ISO not showing on switch on. Did you find that the AP setting worked for the ISO you manually set ? I've got a roll of Rollei Night Bird (Redbird?) in and I'm mid roll. I've checked with another light meter and the AP does seem to be giving the correct speed for the 640 ISO set. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted April 27, 2022 Share #8 Posted April 27, 2022 Hello thedirector, Welcome to the Forum. When you take the film out of the camera after it is finished & you have rewound the film into the cartridge. And you are holding the cartridge with the little "nubbin" to your left & the 2 rows of 6 square boxes in front of you. The top row should read, left to right: white, black black, white white, white. Please let us know what the boxes are in the row below. Going from left to right. Best Regards, Michael 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmknoble Posted April 28, 2022 Share #9 Posted April 28, 2022 I use reloadable black and white film canisters and you can still get high quality metal stickers to put on those cartridges to make them DX readable. Not all ISO’s, but I have 125 and 400. It makes using in an R8 / R9 / M7 pretty nice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erl Posted April 30, 2022 Share #10 Posted April 30, 2022 Just as a comment, not as any solution, I always use reloadable unmarked cassettes, mainly because I bulk load and often 'push' film in processing and so always manually set the ISO on my M7 & R8. Never had any issues. It's simply a question of adapting ones habits to ones desired shooting method. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmknoble Posted April 30, 2022 Share #11 Posted April 30, 2022 9 hours ago, erl said: Just as a comment, not as any solution, I always use reloadable unmarked cassettes, mainly because I bulk load and often 'push' film in processing and so always manually set the ISO on my M7 & R8. Never had any issues. It's simply a question of adapting ones habits to ones desired shooting method. I do the same thing, but I also have.a group of reloadable cassettes with 125 and 400 DX coded stickers that I use when I’m not pushing film. I have a bunch of older black and white colored reloadable cartridges (125) and some yellow reloadable cartridges (400). I also use the IXMOO (brass Leica reloadable cartridges) but the M3 doesn’t have a DX code reader, so it doesn’t matter (ha ha). It is fun to push and pull, but I normally roll 12 exposures for that, because I’m not typically in a position to take 36 when I do that. Agreed, not a solution, but fun to think of ways to manage it with different bodies. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted May 1, 2022 Share #12 Posted May 1, 2022 13 hours ago, davidmknoble said: I do the same thing, but I also have.a group of reloadable cassettes with 125 and 400 DX coded stickers that I use when I’m not pushing film. I have a bunch of older black and white colored reloadable cartridges (125) and some yellow reloadable cartridges (400). I also use the IXMOO (brass Leica reloadable cartridges) but the M3 doesn’t have a DX code reader, so it doesn’t matter (ha ha). It is fun to push and pull, but I normally roll 12 exposures for that, because I’m not typically in a position to take 36 when I do that. Agreed, not a solution, but fun to think of ways to manage it with different bodies. Hello David, Did you know that back in the 20th Century it was possible to buy 35mm film in 12 exposure cartridges? Among other lengths. Best Regards, Michael 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedirektor Posted May 10, 2022 Share #13 Posted May 10, 2022 On 4/27/2022 at 2:30 AM, Michael Geschlecht said: Hello thedirector, Welcome to the Forum. When you take the film out of the camera after it is finished & you have rewound the film into the cartridge. And you are holding the cartridge with the little "nubbin" to your left & the 2 rows of 6 square boxes in front of you. The top row should read, left to right: white, black black, white white, white. Please let us know what the boxes are in the row below. Going from left to right. Best Regards, Michael Will do Michael, as soon as I've finished the film. Might be some time !! On 4/27/2022 at 2:30 AM, Michael Geschlecht said: Hello thedirector, Welcome to the Forum. When you take the film out of the camera after it is finished & you have rewound the film into the cartridge. And you are holding the cartridge with the little "nubbin" to your left & the 2 rows of 6 square boxes in front of you. The top row should read, left to right: white, black black, white white, white. Please let us know what the boxes are in the row below. Going from left to right. Best Regards, Michael Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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