A bit of play between my M-A and 35 FLE

[Jewl]

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Had the same reported via 

 with the new M6. Sent it back to Wetzlar to let it checked, came back more or less the same. The M6 got replaced by an MP then due to other issues it also had. On the MP, it is better but still not as stiff as it is with the M11 for example. I decided not to bother as it is actually not impacting your images and also not the overall photographic process. 

But with the initial M6 it was so obvious that every time I focused it made the reported sound and it felt as if it has an impact on the focusing! 

[SudaliuS]

Just got silver MP issued by september 2024 (thankfully not paid yet) and it has the same problem (wobbling) with 35mm FLE II. And rangefinder patch on infinity a little bit miss vertical lines. May be it's acceptable for used camera, but not for brand new one

Edited July 17 by SudaliuS

[SudaliuS]

I read quite a lot of information yesterday evening and came to the conclusion that such behavior of lenses on Leica film cameras is quite common. And for some reason there are a lot of cases especially with Summilux 35mm of different versions. Perhaps due to some peculiarity of its design. For the bayonet mount of digital cameras, the tolerances are much stricter due to the presence of an electronic sensor that does not tolerate movement. But for film everything is different. Therefore, all that remains is to accept this situation

[a.noctilux]

1 hour ago, SudaliuS said:

Therefore, all that remains is to accept this situation

Yes, not to overthink.

Just use the device and/or use another device (lens/body ?) if available.

[Crem]

On 7/17/2025 at 8:45 AM, SudaliuS said:

Just got silver MP issued by september 2024 (thankfully not paid yet) and it has the same problem (wobbling) with 35mm FLE II. And rangefinder patch on infinity a little bit miss vertical lines. May be it's acceptable for used camera, but not for brand new one

My 2020 and 2024 MPs both have the problem with a 35 FLE. Once mounted on the body I can grab the lens and ever so slightly move it around on the mount. Vertically, horizontally, and a bit of twisting force can all make it slightly move. I’m talking like a fraction of a millimeter. In practice it means it will sometimes move when I am focusing fast because of the extra force required to move the FLE. I can hear a slight audible click when the lens moves on the mount. No other lens (I’ve tried probably a dozen) has this problem for me. The lens also doesn’t have this problem on digital bodies. As far as I can tell there is no impact to focus accuracy with mine. It’s quite annoying to hear the clicking sound of the lens moving on the mount. I debate sending it in to have the mount flange replaced, but it really seems like a tolerance issue.

 

Edited July 26 by Crem

[jgeenen]

Compare the lens locking mechanism on the camera mount. On my M11 it is a pin moving vertically (through a hole in the bayonet mount), on my film M (M4 and MP) it is a latch directly attached to the push button aligned in a groove on the camera mount. It is mechanically obvious that the pin style lock allows for less play than the latch style lock. Additionally the bayonet springs on the M11 mount seem to be a bit stronger than their film M counterparts.

I would suggest to ignore this behavior unless the play is significant (I can force andfeel it with all of my lenses from the early 80s Summicron 90mm to my 2024 Summilux 35 asph, but I can‘t hear it while operating the focus ring in a normal way). And I haven’t seen any lens mount (Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Contax, Rollei and M42) that was free of play. 

The behavior seems to be a bit pronounced with some lenses. I however couldn’t nail it down to a specific lens (model or age), but bigger lenses seem to help my senses to detect it. 

[SudaliuS]

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I finally bought this wonderful MP. Because when I checked it again I realized that not everything is so bad with the 35mm FLE II lens. To tell the truth, it doesn't even have any play, just a small knock, as if it is not fully fixed in the bayonet. But when I try to turn it, it does not turn even half a millimeter. I even took a special tape measure with me to measure the play, but there is none. The 50mm Summicron fits very tightly. So I just bought this wonderful camera in silver and have already started to enjoy it)

[Crem]

9 hours ago, jgeenen said:

Compare the lens locking mechanism on the camera mount. On my M11 it is a pin moving vertically (through a hole in the bayonet mount), on my film M (M4 and MP) it is a latch directly attached to the push button aligned in a groove on the camera mount. It is mechanically obvious that the pin style lock allows for less play than the latch style lock. Additionally the bayonet springs on the M11 mount seem to be a bit stronger than their film M counterparts.

I would suggest to ignore this behavior unless the play is significant (I can force andfeel it with all of my lenses from the early 80s Summicron 90mm to my 2024 Summilux 35 asph, but I can‘t hear it while operating the focus ring in a normal way). And I haven’t seen any lens mount (Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Contax, Rollei and M42) that was free of play. 

The behavior seems to be a bit pronounced with some lenses. I however couldn’t nail it down to a specific lens (model or age), but bigger lenses seem to help my senses to detect it. 

There are two different types of "play" going on.

One is the twisting motion and I agree it's going to be more pronounced on a film M vs a digital M due to how the locking mechanism works. Digital Ms always seem to hold the lens tighter on the mount due to the explanation you said above.

The other type of play is a vertical or horizontal movement. My 35 FLE v1 can move ever so slightly up/down/left/right when properly locked onto a film M body. My Summicron 28 v2 has absolutely none of this movement. The movement I'm talking about is so small I can't see it, but it will be audible when focusing fast due to the 35 FLE's stiffer focus. I can also feel it in my hands. I would best describe it as the lens flange was machined just a little too much. Probably equivalent to a human hair thickness or less.

I'll probably send it in to DAG to have him replace the lens flange and see if things improve. I tested out my theory with a thin (2mm maybe) piece of scotch tape that I put on the lens flange. It seems to have fixed the vertical movement problem so I'm guessing the flange is out of spec.

I'm curious if anyone else has had the flange replaced to fix this problem?

Edited July 26 by Crem