M3 shutter exposes unevenly left-to-right

[qqphot]

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I realize this is due to a discrepancy between the speeds of the opening and closing curtains. But i know it can't be perfect, and at some point it has to be just "good enough." Every leica film body I've used has had this problem to some extent, but I feel like if I have to avoid skies or expect to always have to burn in half the frame, it's too much.  Should I be able to expect it to be within half a stop across the frame?

On my M3 (photographing a light box), 1/125 is fine, 1/250 and 1/500 are probably half a stop different between left and right, and 1/1000 is perfectly even but a stop slow.

On my IIIf, 1/100 is fine, 1/200 is not great, at 1/500 one edge is at least a full stop more exposed than the other, and 1/1000 is really 1/500 anyway so I don't use it. This is after being back to YYe twice for shutter issues. He said 1/1000 can't be fixed, and didn't mention the unevenness.

I don't want to spend $4-500 and be without the camera for months if this is the best I can realistically hope for anyway.

[Pintpot]

Sorry to hear this, I'm beginning so suspect my 111 is doing the same. It was my intention to have it CLA'd anyway as I only bought it some 2 months ago on a whim _ I'll run a roll of film through it and report back. I'm in the fortunate position of having other, digital & film, Leica cameras to play with while 111 is away.   But one question if I may - when were your M3 or 111f last serviced? Other, more knowledgeable members, may be able to give information on ideal service times/periods. And I, for one, would like to know.

Thanks for posting, and I wish you every success.  

[105012]

I have not noticed any issue like this on the three M3's that I have. All serviced in the last 5 years or so.

[qqphot]

8 hours ago, Pintpot said:

Sorry to hear this, I'm beginning so suspect my 111 is doing the same. It was my intention to have it CLA'd anyway as I only bought it some 2 months ago on a whim _ I'll run a roll of film through it and report back. I'm in the fortunate position of having other, digital & film, Leica cameras to play with while 111 is away.   But one question if I may - when were your M3 or 111f last serviced? Other, more knowledgeable members, may be able to give information on ideal service times/periods. And I, for one, would like to know.

Thanks for posting, and I wish you every success.  

My IIIf was in YYe's hands a few months ago.  The M3 is anybody's guess, I know already it needs to get taken apart and cleaned/lubed but for now it's at least mostly usable.  My concern is that exposure issues like this are nitpicky and something that could be overlooked depending on subject matter and getting the shutter action exactly right instead of "looks ok" is maybe not a priority for servicepeople unless you explicitly ask for it to be done thoroughly.

What I'd like to understand from people who've been in the guts of these cameras is how good can I realistically expect it to get?  I don't want to be the jerk demanding that DAG get my shutter absolutely uniform edge to edge with dead-on accurate speeds if that's just not physically possible,  but I also don't want to live with having to dodge and burn skies and never shooting slide film if it could be made much better.

[Pintpot]

9 minutes ago, qqphot said:

 but I also don't want to live with having to dodge and burn skies and never shooting slide film if it could be made much better.

I understand your concern, having had an M2 for a number of years I can safely say that there should be no problem with speeds or accuracy once the M3 has been CLA'd there should be no exposure difference - edge to edge - on the camera. My M2 never needed a service in the 7 to 8 years I had  it. During all the time I used it all the exposures were perfect except the ones where my blundering assessments were off, but that was my fault!

Regards 

[Huss]

31 minutes ago, qqphot said:

My IIIf was in YYe's hands a few months ago.  The M3 is anybody's guess, I know already it needs to get taken apart and cleaned/lubed but for now it's at least mostly usable.  My concern is that exposure issues like this are nitpicky and something that could be overlooked depending on subject matter and getting the shutter action exactly right instead of "looks ok" is maybe not a priority for servicepeople unless you explicitly ask for it to be done thoroughly.

What I'd like to understand from people who've been in the guts of these cameras is how good can I realistically expect it to get?  I don't want to be the jerk demanding that DAG get my shutter absolutely uniform edge to edge with dead-on accurate speeds if that's just not physically possible,  but I also don't want to live with having to dodge and burn skies and never shooting slide film if it could be made much better.

If adjusted properly the exposure should be even across the entire frame, no matter which Leica you are using.  It's why you pay for that service.

Edited June 7, 2022 by Huss

[qqphot]

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I'd be happy to pay someone to

38 minutes ago, Huss said:

If adjusted properly the exposure should be even across the entire frame, no matter which Leica you are using.  It's why you pay for that service.

I'd be thrilled to pay for that service and have done so, but for instance sending it to YYe twice didn't achieve that, which is why I'm asking what level of performance is actually practically achievable.

Edited June 7, 2022 by qqphot