Inexplicable body corrosion Leica ME

[thkhor]

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Hi

I had a nasty surprise a few months when I opened my dry cabinet; ,my Leica ME body, which was in a ziplok bag, showed extensive white, crystal deposits along the leatherette edges, and  inside the lens mount. Lines of the same deposit were visible behind the edges od the LCD screen. I cleaned the accessible areas carefully and fetched it to the Leica Service Department here, in Singapore. The technician ecxamined it and said it was salt water corrosion and not seviceable. However, the body was still working and images vcould be captured. I had never had salt spray on the body. It is still working now, a couple of months after the corrosion was first discovered. The dry cabinet holds all my camreras, lenses and Kodachrome slides, none of which showed any signs of this problem.

The sensor was changed at the Leica Service Centre FOC for the well known Schott glass cover corrosion. One set of frame lines failed a few years ago, which was not repaired. Now only one set of frame lines remain visible,irrespective of the lens mounted. 

Has anyone any experience of this occurring with a Leica M body?

Regards

TH

[jaapv]

Not necessarily salt water. If the camera is inside a ziplock bag it is at the peril of condensation, especially if it was sealed in during a period of high humidity. It does not matter if it is in a dry cabinet, there cannot be any moisture exchange through the plastic bag. Varying temperatures will produce condensation, in a place like Singapore there will be salt in the air. Perfect conditions to produce corrosion.   Next time don't seal a camera in a ziplock bag, and if you have to, add a liberal number of Silicagel packets.

A dry cabinet can only work if the dry air can reach the contents.

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[Yugen]

When I lived in South Asia monsoons in particular gave me a lot of anxiety for my lenses, If I used sealed tupperware like containers or ziplock bags, I periodically ensured that I recharged Silica gel packets almost every 2 weeks during monsoon (just takes 2 minutes in a microwave).

[thkhor]

4 hours ago, Yugen said:

When I lived in South Asia monsoons in particular gave me a lot of anxiety for my lenses, If I used sealed tupperware like containers or ziplock bags, I periodically ensured that I recharged Silica gel packets almost every 2 weeks during monsoon (just takes 2 minutes in a microwave).

Hi Yugen

I used to do that, too, but decided to get a large dry cabinet to keep my photographic items dry. The RH is set at 55%, so as not to dry the lubricants in the moving parts of the cameras and lenses.

th

[250swb]

There's also sweat, or maybe some cleaning products that often contain salt, that's previously dried on the camera and finding an environment for crystals to grow inside a sealed container.

[thkhor]

I was hoping for other owners’ who had experienced this problem and whether any solution was found.

th

[thkhor]

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I was hoping for other owners’ who had experienced this problem and whether any solution was found.
 

th

[jaapv]

2 hours ago, thkhor said:

Hi Yugen

I used to do that, too, but decided to get a large dry cabinet to keep my photographic items dry. The RH is set at 55%, so as not to dry the lubricants in the moving parts of the cameras and lenses.

th

That is a good idea but you have to take the gear out of the containers and ziplock bags when storing them in the dry cabinet. 

[jdlaing]

Never ever store a camera in a ziploc bag.

[mujk]

The climate is much drier where I live so I have not experienced the same with my Leicas. I can only give you some advice based on experience with other types of gear.

Corrosion will of course affect mechanical parts of the camera, including some more critical parts such as the actual rangefinder mechanism and the shutter. In addition, corrosion is likely to cause problems in electronics, both on the electronics boards themselves and on connectors.

Now that you know the probable reason for the corrosion (condensation) and is able to stop it from going further, you can either just go on shooting until some critical function possibly stops working or try to investigate the extent of the damage and possibly clean up some more of it. I don't know if you got any more detailed information from your local Leica service regarding which internal parts were corroded, but I understood that you already checked and cleaned those accessible, so you know if there was visible corrosion on/around the front of the shutter, around the sensor (when shutter is open) and in the battery and memory card compartments. If you saw corrosion on the electrical contacts of the battery or memory card, I would say that there is a high risk of corrosion also on other electronic parts.

In any case, if you want to investigate a bit further I would recommend taking off the top plate, which is not not a complex procedure if you have the right tools available (there are several videos on Youtube showing how this is done). The process also involves removing the inner bottom cover. With these covers off you can see parts of the circuit boards, some connectors and also some mechanical parts. If you can clearly see corrosion (white or green) on the boards/connectors, your camera may in fact be unrepairable for a reasonable cost. Another area worth inspecting while the top cover is off is the rangefinder mechanism.

The selector for the framelines is just inside the lens mount on the right hand side (when looking into the mount) and if you had corrosion in the mount this is probably the cause for your frameline problems. The selector is known to sometimes become jammed and need to be exercised and possibly lubricated.

[thkhor]

Many thanks for a most helpful post regarding opening the top and bottom covers.

By the way, I’m not convinced condensation was the cause of the corrosion (all white crystalline material), as one M3 and two M6 bodies lie adjacent to the ME, all in great condition.

The ME is still functioning, excepting for the frame lines. I’ll certainly attempt to examine the”innards” of the ME to see whether it might be salvaged.

Thanks again for your suggestion, offering a ray of hope!

Sincerely

Tong Hong 

 

[jaapv]

The white stuff - it can also be green- is oxides created by electrical currents in digital cameras from copper, magnesium, aluminium, etc.

[charlesphoto99]

I left my passport and some other documents inside a bag inside a small fireproof safe. Lo and behold went to fetch my passport one day and it had totally fallen apart from moisture. How that moisture got in there, I'll never know, but sometimes sealing something up airtight can be more damaging than leaving it exposed. Bummer as I needed to hurry up and get an expedited passport, and lost all the stamps of ten years of travel.