Brand new MP/M-A/M6 film scratches [Merged]

[VanDooglz]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

12 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

I bought my MP in the UK last January. It never scratched film.

Are you locking it in a gun safe overnight? I do and never had any problems!

My theory is that people foolishly leave their Leicas roam free around the house during the night. Of course they eventually discover where your film stash is hidden and scratch the hell out of it. Those pesky Leicas...

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Radost]

As somebody who lived in Germany in the mid 80s and travels through Germany twice a year for the last 25 years I must say Germany is not what it use to be. Technologically or  logistically. 

Maybe something happened to their schools and discipline after the wall fell.

[Fotoklaus]

vor einer Stunde schrieb Radost:

As somebody who lived in Germany in the mid 80s and travels through Germany twice a year for the last 25 years I must say Germany is not what it use to be. Technologically or  logistically. 

Maybe something happened to their schools and discipline after the wall fell.

I think there might be other reasons than that, but it's hard to find the right words...

[anstigmat]

Are M6's safe to buy new yet?  I would think by now they'd have worked through the bad pressure plates.

I'd kind of like to pull the trigger on an M6 but I'd like to use it on an upcoming trip and I don't want to have to deal with Leica warranty wait-times.  

[69xchange]

I have no issues with my M6 from July 2023

[Mikep996]

No issues with my M6 either...2nd batch, 1984!  

Sorry, couldn't resist!  Glad to hear the new M6s are sorted out.  I had thought about buying one when the new ones were released - to have that "New Leica" experience but since my old M6 was (is) working perfectly, I just couldn't come up with a good reason to spend the money.  

Over the years I've  had 7 Leica M cameras (film and digital) and a Q2 but all were bought used.  It would be fun to get a brand new Leica (as long is it didn't scratch film/had some other defect)!  I looked at a Q3 in London and if it had internal memory I would have ordered one...

Edited March 7, 2024 by Mikep996

[yuan6072223]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I bought a brand new leica MA at March 2024. The film has same scratches

[Mahesh]

Hi did we identify around when this might have been fixed? I might buy an MP with October 2023 date. 

[Borna]

On 7/11/2024 at 3:49 PM, yuan6072223 said:

I bought a brand new leica MA at March 2024. The film has same scratches

This is weird, as I thought this was identified and fixed from Leica. How many rolls and does all rolls have scratches in same area of the film? 

[a.noctilux]

Leica may fix the problem, but new buyers not yet. 

New buyers don't want to bother searching other causes, but easy way (helping by internet rumours) is human behavior.

I checked old slides and negatives, scratches are common, with many bodies.

Well this was time-before-internet .

...

See post # 1186 above.

 

Edited August 19, 2024 by a.noctilux

[delta100]

Well its happened again, brand new MA purchased in May this year scratching my neg on the cell side. On close inspection the pressure plate is covered in scratches and to cap it all shutter curtain metal strip showing up right side of film gate, is this normal? Camera now on way to Germany.

[Roy Bigsby]

16 hours ago, delta100 said:

Well its happened again, brand new MA purchased in May this year scratching my neg on the cell side. On close inspection the pressure plate is covered in scratches and to cap it all shutter curtain metal strip showing up right side of film gate, is this normal? Camera now on way to Germany.

I have an M-A, MP, M6 (2022) and M4 and all have fine scratches across on their pressure plates. With each of these cameras there's been multiple instances where the negatives and corresponding scans showed scratches. In all cases, these scratches turned out to be a the fault of developing/scanning/processing/film canister, etc., rather than the camera.

Did you run a fresh roll through your M-A and then open the film canister and inspect the film? If possible would you be able to share some pics of the scratched negatives. It would be helpful for this thread. 

I hope you get your camera back soon. 

[Smudgerer]

1 hour ago, Roy Bigsby said:

..........Did you run a fresh roll through your M-A and then open the film canister and inspect the film?

Yes, this is one of the the best ways to test for scratches..........In fact I would go a little further and NOT rewind the test film, open the camera, cut the film then carefully pull it off of the take-up spool.........Examine the back side of the film with a loupe with side lighting on the film that would more readily show scratches, hopefully they will not be there. A faulty pressure plate would scratch the back side of the film, if there's scratches on the emulsion side then you would have to look at that film path too.

With a new M6 I bought last year I found some scratched negatives and I did suspect the camera being at fault, but on testing like this I found out it was due to errors by a lab, ( a "Pro' Lab" at that !), during process. I had them process a fresh unused roll through their machine and that confirmed where the scratches came from.

Cassettes can also be a source of scratches, especially if you do bulk re-loads with previously used cassettes, care must be taken when using bulk re-loading.

[delta100]

I have two cameras, a new MA on its way back to Germany and a fourteen year old MP with a screw less pressure plate. Four rolls of film went into the same Lab, the MA rolls came back scratched and the MP rolls were perfect. I also think I have an issue with the MA film camera gate, looking into the MA film gate a black metal strip ( this is not present on my MP) connected to a shutter curtain can be seen on the right hand side of the aperture, also a gap can be seen between the first and second curtains, this is not present on my MP.  Any body with an MA care to check the aperture for a visible metal strip on the right side and looking at the MA screw pressure plate you can see it covered in scratches and then buffed up in production. For me the pressure plate should be spotless.

Edited August 23, 2024 by delta100
spelling

[delta100]

I  am truly amazed how Leica Germany can keep me waiting for two months and more for a repair to my brand new MA £5K camera and its not my fault! After two weeks in transit to Germany, the camera as not even landed in Germany yet, may be its being held up in customs. What is going on with customs, is this over BREXIT? This will be my last and final Leica camera or lens.

[delta100]

Update on my MA film camera, Leica Germany are replacing the pressure plate that was badly scratched from new and FYI Leica no longer produce screw less pressure plates. Visible black metal stripe in lens chamber ( part of the overlapping curtain edges ) is normal, it is not a fault. Well if you don't ask you never find out. So it did have a problem on the pressure plate! Now I just have too wait for the cameras return.

[delta100]

Yes! my MA is now back with me from Germany. This time round with a spotless pressure plate, it should have never left the factory in the first place - it was well worth sending back. No screw less plates any more and Leica said that not me. Not sure about me and the future with Leica. I just need a 35 lens none APO and then that's me. Fin! 

[username]

Would somebody be able to tell me whether there's any consensus regarding this "scratchgate" issue, please?

As in: is it clear by now what the actual issue was, has it been resolved by now, is there a certain range of serial numbers that is to be avoided?

The only "official statement" from Leica regarding this I've found is this (as posted on macfilos.com in July 2023) -

Quote

 

“Shortly after the start of production of the Leica M6 last year, 2022, a faulty batch of pressure plates was identified, which in rare cases can lead to scratches on the film.

“As a result, Leica Camera AG immediately and carefully analysed the production processes and adjusted them where necessary. Should the case nevertheless occur, Leica will, of course, and without any doubt carry out the appropriate repairs.

“As ever, the company’s primary goal is to provide a first-class customer experience through products that are superior in both design and performance.

 

That last line actually made me chuckle, frankly, but jokes aside -

If I were to buy a used M6 (or M-A or MP, for that matter) from 2022 / 23 /24, is there any way to tell beforehand (by the serial #) if that unit has one of the "bad" pressure plates, and likely will scratch the film?
Or would one need to buy it to find out (and then send it to Wetzlar for 6-12 months, for them to fix it), if there's a problem?

Also: Is Leica is indeed fixing the affected cameras (do they actually do this, for free, warranty or not?) then there must be a certain range of serial numbers that are affected, right?

 

Thanks in advance, and happy shooting everybody!

 

Edited December 18, 2024 by username

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[SJH]

On 12/18/2024 at 10:08 AM, username said:

Would somebody be able to tell me whether there's any consensus regarding this "scratchgate" issue, please?

As in: is it clear by now what the actual issue was, has it been resolved by now, is there a certain range of serial numbers that is to be avoided?

The only "official statement" from Leica regarding this I've found is this (as posted on macfilos.com in July 2023) -

That last line actually made me chuckle, frankly, but jokes aside -

If I were to buy a used M6 (or M-A or MP, for that matter) from 2022 / 23 /24, is there any way to tell beforehand (by the serial #) if that unit has one of the "bad" pressure plates, and likely will scratch the film?
Or would one need to buy it to find out (and then send it to Wetzlar for 6-12 months, for them to fix it), if there's a problem?

Also: Is Leica is indeed fixing the affected cameras (do they actually do this, for free, warranty or not?) then there must be a certain range of serial numbers that are affected, right?

 

Thanks in advance, and happy shooting everybody!

 

Put simply Leica know the batch by serial number that were ‘scratchgate’.

[oldwino]

On 12/18/2024 at 2:08 AM, username said:

 

If I were to buy a used M6 (or M-A or MP, for that matter) from 2022 / 23 /24, is there any way to tell beforehand (by the serial #) if that unit has one of the "bad" pressure plates, and likely will scratch the film?
Or would one need to buy it to find out (and then send it to Wetzlar for 6-12 months, for them to fix it), if there's a problem?

 

If I were interested in purchasing a used copy of one of these cameras, I would first contact Leica Customer service via email and ask for the service record of that serial number. 
 

I’m sure Leica has a pretty good idea of serial number ranges that could have bad pressure plates, but there’s no way to tell if the plate has been replaced with a good one other than asking Leica themselves.