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

[Curt]

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Hello Everyone, my MP from January 2023 is also scratch-er. Currently it's in Leica NJ for repair under warranty. I shoot between 30-40 rolls since and they all bad and also the gaps between frames are uneven.  I'm so disappointed. I will post an update when the camera is back.

 

Cheers.

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[Huss]

3 hours ago, Curt said:

Hello Everyone, my MP from January 2023 is also scratch-er. Currently it's in Leica NJ for repair under warranty. I shoot between 30-40 rolls since and they all bad and also the gaps between frames are uneven.  I'm so disappointed. I will post an update when the camera is back.

 

Cheers.

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Le sigh...

Leica still shipping cr@p product I see...

On the upside - glass half full etc - once it eventually is working properly it will be great.  Make sure to emphasize EVERYTHING that is wrong.  Directly ask 'did you check this? did you verify it was fixed?'  I had to do that w my M6 as they just shipped it back 'fixed' w/o checking.  And of course it was not.

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[69xchange]

I returned my February 2023 M-A film scratcher and picked up a May 2023 M6 reissue with no issues. 

If you don’t want to do a coin toss on a scratcher camera, go with any production date beginning in May 2023 - present.

[69xchange]

10 hours ago, Curt said:

Hello Everyone, my MP from January 2023 is also scratch-er. Currently it's in Leica NJ for repair under warranty. I shoot between 30-40 rolls since and they all bad and also the gaps between frames are uneven.  I'm so disappointed. I will post an update when the camera is back.

 

Cheers.

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Looking forward to your update in 11 months from now.

 

For the uneven framing, have you tried tightening the slack after loading the film?

Edited September 22, 2023 by 69xchange

[Bronco McBeast]

This will never show on a print or scan. It only shows when the emulsion side is scratched.

[Al Brown]

5 hours ago, 69xchange said:

I returned my February 2023 M-A film scratcher and picked up a May 2023 M6 reissue with no issues. 

If you don’t want to do a coin toss on a scratcher camera, go with any production date beginning in May 2023 - present.

That is NOT a guarantee.

[TheEyesHaveIt]

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I just bought a new Leica MP from Tim Lei / Lisse Leica. What's the best way to check if it has this problem? First film camera for me.

[Huss]

3 hours ago, Bronco McBeast said:

This will never show on a print or scan. It only shows when the emulsion side is scratched.

Except you are wrong, again.  Mine was exactly like that, and showed up on the final result.

But I get it, keep pretending it is not an issue.  It is funny how you are maybe the last person on this site who still refuses to acknowledge that this issue is real, even with all the evidence staring you in the face.  And Leica themselves saying it is a real issue.

[Huss]

3 hours ago, Al Brown said:

That is NOT a guarantee.

Yep, there is no guarantee if your camera is a film scratcher based on production build.  You just have to test it.

[madNbad]

18 minutes ago, TheEyesHaveIt said:

I just bought a new Leica MP from Tim Lei / Lisse Leica. What's the best way to check if it has this problem? First film camera for me.

Huss has posted about the best way to check. Take an unexposed, sacrificial roll of film, load the camera. Run the entire roll through, rewind it but leave enough of the leader so you can pull the film out of the cassette. Check the back side of the film, especially towards the end for scratches. Hope this helps.

[Huss]

25 minutes ago, TheEyesHaveIt said:

I just bought a new Leica MP from Tim Lei / Lisse Leica. What's the best way to check if it has this problem? First film camera for me.

The best way to test for scratches, and cheapest, is DO NOT DEVELOP THE FILM!  Just run a roll of the cheapest film you can buy all the way through your camera, rewind, then remove and examine the film.  Undeveloped film is opaque and so really easy to see any scratches.  This also removes the lab as the possible source of scratches.

Important - make sure it is a 36 exp roll.  And check the entire length - mine only showed scratches on the last third of the roll.

[Bronco McBeast]

The only valid test is to print, or scan.

Edited September 22, 2023 by Bronco McBeast

[69xchange]

6 hours ago, Al Brown said:

That is NOT a guarantee.

True, but that’s when they supposedly started using a different batch of pressure plates.

In an email on February 13, leica acknowledges a “small bad batch” of pressure plates. It would be interesting if anyone who has a mid Feb production M-A, MP, M6 reissue that still has a defective pressure plate resulting in film scratches. Chances of it should be smaller until next year or 2 when they get sloppy again. Seems like it happens every 2 years or so (when you least expect it). 

[Curt]

12 hours ago, 69xchange said:

Looking forward to your update in 11 months from now.

 

For the uneven framing, have you tried tightening the slack after loading the film?

I have been told it's 4 weeks for warranty jobs, we will see. I did not try to tightening the slack after loading the film, just did not cross my mind. My M6TTL, FM2 or OM2n have even gaps all the time.

Here is another example, it's darkroom print ( HP5+ in Rodinal printed on ILFORD RC paper ) .

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[Al Brown]

1 hour ago, 69xchange said:

True, but that’s when they supposedly started using a different batch of pressure plates.

In an email on February 13, leica acknowledges a “small bad batch” of pressure plates. It would be interesting if anyone who has a mid Feb production M-A, MP, M6 reissue that still has a defective pressure plate resulting in film scratches. Chances of it should be smaller until next year or 2 when they get sloppy again. Seems like it happens every 2 years or so (when you least expect it). 

The date on the box means nothing regarding the production date of individual parts used internally during the camera assembly.

[TheEyesHaveIt]

3 hours ago, Huss said:

The best way to test for scratches, and cheapest, is DO NOT DEVELOP THE FILM!  Just run a roll of the cheapest film you can buy all the way through your camera, rewind, then remove and examine the film.  Undeveloped film is opaque and so really easy to see any scratches.  This also removes the lab as the possible source of scratches.

Important - make sure it is a 36 exp roll.  And check the entire length - mine only showed scratches on the last third of the roll.

Thanks! I tried a couple of times and looks like my MP copy is clean.

[Huss]

54 minutes ago, TheEyesHaveIt said:

Thanks! I tried a couple of times and looks like my MP copy is clean.

Excellent!  Enjoy your camera!

[poli]

I bought an m-a dated 2021. Also scratches. It is at Leica since beginning of May. Still waiting. Apparently there is shortage of pressure plates. 

[jpattison]

Has anyone opened a new film canister and removed the virgin film intact on its roll and loaded it into the camera to prove that it isn't the film canister's opening that is causing the scratches ? (I'm not defending the camera pressure plate here- just curious). 

John

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[Huss]

3 hours ago, jpattison said:

Has anyone opened a new film canister and removed the virgin film intact on its roll and loaded it into the camera to prove that it isn't the film canister's opening that is causing the scratches ? (I'm not defending the camera pressure plate here- just curious). 

John

I have pulled the film out first to check the film, then used it in the camera. And also checked with multiple rolls.  All showed scratches in the same place.

And of course Leica themselves have said the issue is defective pressure plates.