Leica M6 flash issue

[George Stoichev]

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Hi,

I have Leica M6 classic in perfect condition bought from Leica Shop Austria.

For flash photography I use Contax TLA140 flash and I use it in manual mode.

Usual I set the shutter at 1/60 (the flash sign) and I got nice photos.

In last two films I got from developing there are empty space from the left side of the frame on some (not all) pictures shot with flash.Please, note, two different films in two different places and some of them are perfect, some with missing (white) left side.

Please, help.

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[a.noctilux]

Are you certain to set the shutter at flash symbol ?

Between 30 and 60 !

So about 1/50s since M3, slow moving clothe blinds.

 

This is when the shutter speed is too short (not good at 1/60 playing with fire ?), your M6 might be not consistent in this 'flash speed'.

Some times, the opening is full, and other time the opening not full when flash sends lighting.

Edited January 8, 2022 by a.noctilux

[250swb]

Download the manual for the M6 Classic.

[George Stoichev]

4 minutes ago, 250swb said:

Download the manual for the M6 Classic.

I have it.Why?

What I don’t do properly?

[Danner]

It looks like the flash is not properly synchronized with the shutter movement.  Try a shot at 1/30 second and see how it looks.

[250swb]

2 hours ago, George Stoichev said:

I have it.Why?

What I don’t do properly?

Because you said you set the flash to 1/60th, that isn't the flash speed, the flash symbol points to 1/50th, it's an intermediate speed between 1/30th and 1/60th. Now do you understand why you should read the manual 😉

Edited January 8, 2022 by 250swb

[Fotoklaus]

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vor 9 Stunden schrieb George Stoichev:

I have it.Why?

What I don’t do properly?

Because you shot wonderful pictures of your shutter curtain.

[Gadfly21]

Hi,

I had this same issue with my Leica M6 a while ago. Only half the frame was exposed at the shutter sync speed or slower. So 1/45, 1/30, 1/15, and so on had this same issue.

You can test this by removing the lens and opening the back of the camera and looking through when operating the flash and shutter. Point the camera at a white wall if the room is bright. The light of the flash should appear in the shape of the front baffle. In my M6, the light pattern was half of the frame.

I took it to the Leica LA where it was sent off to New Jersey or Germany with a description. They sent it back with a full CLA, but the issue was not fixed. They told me the same thing everyone here is echoing: "Make sure to set the correct shutter speeds, yada, yada...". Of course, this advice makes sense, but it was not applicable to my issue.

Anyway, the camera was sent back, they did understand and fix the issue, and now I have a perfect M6.

Try to reach out to a technician, preferably from Leica, and try to demonstrate it in the store with the above method if you can. The rep at the Leica store, Michael, did a great job of communicating with the techs in NJ/Germany.

Edited January 14, 2022 by Gadfly21