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

[Huss]

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1 hour ago, logan2z said:

I think he's gone bye-bye.

It's a shame, he had such valuable input.

[Lakeviewman]

Oh, the irony…. Bought myself a Leica MP the other day, wanted one for some time and finally I gave in and bought one. Shoot a couple of rolls of Porta 400 over the weekend. And having not shot any analog film for many years, it was a bit strange at first - not being able to “Chimp” on the back screen. But I soon forgot about that - and I also thought to myself - at least I don’t have to worry about the issues some has had with their M11s….. and then I found this thread … oh dear… 

How visible is this on an undeveloped roll? I sacrificed one roll of some b&w film this afternoon and just shot it and wind the film back and took it out to examine it. My wife, with 13 years younger eyes than me think she can see some scratches,  they are not continuous she says. Just on some spots. Me, I am not so sure that I see them. I could be in denial of course.. hehe. But looking at it again I think I maybe see some after all, But then I start to think maybe I am over nervous about it. And then I think maybe  the light in this room I checked isn good enough, maybe I don’t find right angle to look and so on. 
 

will I have to wait until I get my films developed and scanned before I know for sure? 
 

I have read through this thread, still not sure what to think. 

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[Emtsoh]

1 hour ago, Lakeviewman said:

Oh, the irony…. Bought myself a Leica MP the other day, wanted one for some time and finally I gave in and bought one. Shoot a couple of rolls of Porta 400 over the weekend. And having not shot any analog film for many years, it was a bit strange at first - not being able to “Chimp” on the back screen. But I soon forgot about that - and I also thought to myself - at least I don’t have to worry about the issues some has had with their M11s….. and then I found this thread … oh dear… 

How visible is this on an undeveloped roll? I sacrificed one roll of some b&w film this afternoon and just shot it and wind the film back and took it out to examine it. My wife, with 13 years younger eyes than me think she can see some scratches,  they are not continuous she says. Just on some spots. Me, I am not so sure that I see them. I could be in denial of course.. hehe. But looking at it again I think I maybe see some after all, But then I start to think maybe I am over nervous about it. And then I think maybe  the light in this room I checked isn good enough, maybe I don’t find right angle to look and so on. 
 

will I have to wait until I get my films developed and scanned before I know for sure? 
 

I have read through this thread, still not sure what to think. 

Congrats on the new MP of yours.

Got a new M-A too (had one M-A black chrome in 2016 or so, sold it years later, missed it and got one brand new from a boutique in Europe just a week ago).

Shot already a couple of films and nothing is wrong with the film (scratch-wise). Now the funny thing is that if you thoroughly observe the negatives under a strong light, you will see ''straight scratch patterns''. As far as I could understand, all that is just a light reflection/illusion. Most importantly is to see no scratches on the scanned picture and so far, the images are clean from real scratches. 

@Leica CEO: We love your film cameras, but we just do not like their price tags.Please. Do whatever you wish on the digital cameras market, but film bodies.. ? Please keep the prices normal (if that is possible anyway..). Thanks. PS: please bring back the super compact Lux 35 1.4 pre-asph (in black)  Thanks!

[hdmesa]

2 hours ago, Lakeviewman said:

Oh, the irony…. Bought myself a Leica MP the other day, wanted one for some time and finally I gave in and bought one. Shoot a couple of rolls of Porta 400 over the weekend. And having not shot any analog film for many years, it was a bit strange at first - not being able to “Chimp” on the back screen. But I soon forgot about that - and I also thought to myself - at least I don’t have to worry about the issues some has had with their M11s….. and then I found this thread … oh dear… 

How visible is this on an undeveloped roll? I sacrificed one roll of some b&w film this afternoon and just shot it and wind the film back and took it out to examine it. My wife, with 13 years younger eyes than me think she can see some scratches,  they are not continuous she says. Just on some spots. Me, I am not so sure that I see them. I could be in denial of course.. hehe. But looking at it again I think I maybe see some after all, But then I start to think maybe I am over nervous about it. And then I think maybe  the light in this room I checked isn good enough, maybe I don’t find right angle to look and so on. 
 

will I have to wait until I get my films developed and scanned before I know for sure? 
 

I have read through this thread, still not sure what to think. 

Can you see well at close distances? If not, buy a pair of reading glasses and re-examine the film. 

Also, you didn’t pull out the film from the cassette by the leader did you? Pulling the film back out at an odd angle can scratch it — the felt on the cartridge opening is only designed to protect the film from a single angle. Make sure the film was rewound all the way and crack the cartridge open with a can opener.

The scratches will be quite visible when looking at the film, but your have to get a light source to reflect off the surface at the right angle to see them.

[Mikep996]

Ahhh..I thought it was getting to quiet around here... 😱

[Lakeviewman]

33 minutes ago, hdmesa said:

Can you see well at close distances? If not, buy a pair of reading glasses and re-examine the film. 

Also, you didn’t pull out the film from the cassette by the leader did you? Pulling the film back out at an odd angle can scratch it — the felt on the cartridge opening is only designed to protect the film from a single angle. Make sure the film was rewound all the way and crack the cartridge open with a can opener.

The scratches will be quite visible when looking at the film, but your have to get a light source to reflect off the surface at the right angle to see them.

I was wearing my reading glasses   Ah, and yes, unfortunately that’s what I did - pulled the film straight out by the leader. I did not open the cartridge. Didn’t think about that. 
 

I was holding the film towards the light, looking at it from at different angles, not being sure what I really saw… so maybe that is a good sign since I also took the film out the wrong way from the cartridge, maybe making some marks/scratches in the process. Not sure if I should waste another film doing the experiment once more and open the cartridge the way you said - or just go out shooting and enjoying myself. All these decisions…. Hehe.. Still, film isn’t cheap here and it would be a bummer if my pictures came back with visible scratches. Also, it takes a long time (2-3 weeks I was told in the shop) to get my pictures back from the developer!  Guess it isn’t a big marked for this here in Norway…   I haven’t had the time deliver in my first two rolls of Portra 400 yet either since everything was closed today. So getting a “final” result will take some time.

Got 3 more rolls of Portra 400 here, maybe just keep on shooting and hoping for the best… 

[Lakeviewman]

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1 hour ago, Emtsoh said:

Congrats on the new MP of yours.

Got a new M-A too (had one M-A black chrome in 2016 or so, sold it years later, missed it and got one brand new from a boutique in Europe just a week ago).

Shot already a couple of films and nothing is wrong with the film (scratch-wise). Now the funny thing is that if you thoroughly observe the negatives under a strong light, you will see ''straight scratch patterns''. As far as I could understand, all that is just a light reflection/illusion. Most importantly is to see no scratches on the scanned picture and so far, the images are clean from real scratches. 

@Leica CEO: We love your film cameras, but we just do not like their price tags.Please. Do whatever you wish on the digital cameras market, but film bodies.. ? Please keep the prices normal (if that is possible anyway..). Thanks. PS: please bring back the super compact Lux 35 1.4 pre-asph (in black)  Thanks!

Thanks !

Maybe I have to wait until I see the scanned results then  

[hdmesa]

31 minutes ago, Lakeviewman said:

I was wearing my reading glasses   Ah, and yes, unfortunately that’s what I did - pulled the film straight out by the leader. I did not open the cartridge. Didn’t think about that. 
 

I was holding the film towards the light, looking at it from at different angles, not being sure what I really saw… so maybe that is a good sign since I also took the film out the wrong way from the cartridge, maybe making some marks/scratches in the process. Not sure if I should waste another film doing the experiment once more and open the cartridge the way you said - or just go out shooting and enjoying myself. All these decisions…. Hehe.. Still, film isn’t cheap here and it would be a bummer if my pictures came back with visible scratches. Also, it takes a long time (2-3 weeks I was told in the shop) to get my pictures back from the developer!  Guess it isn’t a big marked for this here in Norway…   I haven’t had the time deliver in my first two rolls of Portra 400 yet either since everything was closed today. So getting a “final” result will take some time.

Got 3 more rolls of Portra 400 here, maybe just keep on shooting and hoping for the best… 

I think you’re fine. The scratches are pretty obvious on undeveloped film. Enjoy!

[69xchange]

11 hours ago, Lakeviewman said:

Thanks !

Maybe I have to wait until I see the scanned results then  

Some scanners will automatically remove dust and scratches. 

[Lakeviewman]

31 minutes ago, 69xchange said:

Some scanners will automatically remove dust and scratches. 

That’s right.
I have a decent flatbed scanner from Epson, V850, so maybe I can check out the negatives myself later on. 

[Huss]

The scratches are easiest to see on undeveloped film.  No need to waste time developing and scanning film.  The opaque undeveloped film makes them easy to spot.

Just use the cheapest film you can find, not a roll of Portra!  The scratches are film apathetic!

[Lakeviewman]

1 hour ago, Huss said:

The scratches are easiest to see on undeveloped film.  No need to waste time developing and scanning film.  The opaque undeveloped film makes them easy to spot.

Just use the cheapest film you can find, not a roll of Portra!  The scratches are film apathetic!

Thanks! Good advice!

[Marckyokay]

I’m waiting for my M to come back from service (god knows how many months I’ll still take).

So in the meantime I’m curious… And SORRY, I know one should read the thread first but I’m not sure how to use the search-function for this kind of question and there are 54 pages so far… 

My question to those unlucky with scratched film: Does the pressure plate show any signs that it may scratch the film? After you discovered the film got scratches…. then inspected the pressure plate closely…. sports or lines or such… 
I’m curious if one can see the desaster before it happens when examining the pressure plate closely…

Thanks!

[Huss]

1 hour ago, Marckyokay said:

..

My question to those unlucky with scratched film: Does the pressure plate show any signs that it may scratch the film? After you discovered the film got scratches…. then inspected the pressure plate closely…. sports or lines or such… 
I’m curious if one can see the desaster before it happens when examining the pressure plate closely…

Thanks!

Unfortunately no which made this so frustrating.  You need to test it w film.

[Marckyokay]

1 hour ago, Huss said:

Unfortunately no which made this so frustrating.  You need to test it w film.

Oh well... Thank you for the insight, spared me some further transpiration reading through this creepy thread 😅 

[Huss]

7 hours ago, Marckyokay said:

Oh well... Thank you for the insight, spared me some further transpiration reading through this creepy thread 😅 

Hopefully yours is ok.  If not, it can be fixed - just it is a too long and painful process.  But if it does not scratch film, or if it was fixed, it is a fantastic camera to use.

I love mine now that it is working properly.

[Marckyokay]

4 hours ago, Huss said:

Hopefully yours is ok.  If not, it can be fixed - just it is a too long and painful process.  But if it does not scratch film, or if it was fixed, it is a fantastic camera to use.

I love mine now that it is working properly.

It will be a couple heart-pounding tests when it returns, but hopefully the pressure plate will be okay 🙂 

Edited May 3, 2023 by Marckyokay

[Huss]

Officially acknowledged by Leica. 

 

https://www.35mmc.com/05/06/2023/psa-leica-acknowledges-batch-of-faulty-pressure-plates-in-new-leica-m6-rangefinder/

[Al Brown]

Pretty sure they did not reach out to the people who bought & registered their cameras within the affected batch(es) and offered replacement. If you notice you notice 😑...

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Hallo,

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[Huss]

12 hours ago, Al Brown said:

Pretty sure they did not reach out to the people who bought & registered their cameras within the affected batch(es) and offered replacement. If you notice you notice 😑...

Of course they wouldn't.  And why would they when there are many people - including some on this thread - who think scratched film is acceptable. Part of the "film experience".

🙄

Leica loves customers like that.