M5 servicing

[Kref]

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I just bought an M5, black, signs of use of course, the zinc has greyed a bit, but that is normal. 

It was sold by a camera store with 1 year of warranty and the store had it  CLAed before shippment since they do not repair it themselves they had the CLA done at Dimas Fototechnik in Freiburg, Germany: https://www.fotomechanik.de

I cannot complain. The rangefinder is accurate, the shutter works at all speeds, film transport is smooth AND they re-calibrated the exposure meter so that it works with modern 1.55 V LR44 batteries. They added a little adaptor ring which you can put on an LR44, so that it fits the battery compartment of the M5 perfectly.

I crosschecked the meter on some evenly lit surfaces with that of my Nikon FM3a, which is damned accurate and I got deviations of less than 1/3 stop, so the meter works perfectly.

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[Matlock]

1 hour ago, Kref said:

I just bought an M5, black, signs of use of course, the zinc has greyed a bit, but that is normal. 

No zinc on an M5, the top and bottom plates are brass.

[TomB_tx]

5 hours ago, Matlock said:

No zinc on an M5, the top and bottom plates are brass.

That’s right - the greying is just where the black infused in the silver chrome finish is worn. It is brass under the chrome.

[Kref]

vor 5 Stunden schrieb Matlock:

No zinc on an M5, the top and bottom plates are brass.

OK, thanks for letting me know.

 

I once had a black M6, which I bought 12 years ago for less than 600 EUR - good old times, sadly I sold it some years ago, thinking I would drop film photography in general. That M6 was VERY grey all over and the M5 also seems to get a bit grey here and there, so I assumed that this was the same thinning black paint under which the silvery zinc would come out.

I actually have never seen a black M5 with real brassing, although I would not mind it at all.

Anyhow, the M5 works like a charm, so Dimas did a good job.

Edited September 29, 2023 by Kref

[Matlock]

9 minutes ago, Kref said:

OK, thanks for letting me know.

I actually have never seen a black M5 with real brassing, although I would not mind it at all.

Anyhow, the M5 works like a charm, so Dimas did a good job.

Great that the M5 is good.

As far as brassing on Black Chrome cameras is concerned, it can happen but you have to get through both the Black Chrome and the Nickel Plate before getting to the brass so quite a lot of wear is needed.

[Huss]

Yeah, black chrome over brass goes silvery first.  It's a very tough finish so I do not see how you could get it to brass!

[Michael Geschlecht]

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Hello Everybody,

The "silvery" or "greying" color that people see as the chrome wears away is the nickel that is plated on the brass before the chrome layer is added. Nickel is not quite as shiny as chrome, which accounts for the "silvery" or "greying" appearance.

Best Regards,

Michael