Help! 28 Summaron and M6 Frameline Preview Lever

[lottic]

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Hi everyone, it's my 2nd week with the new (2022) M6 and I've noticed the Summaron's focus knob just collides with the viewfinder preview lever on the M6 - thus I can only focus up to about 1.5m! I can see that the focus knob is not bent or damaged in anyway. The viewfinder preview lever feels normal; perhaps a bit of wiggle (but it has been this way since day one) and movement when pinched. Any suggestions?

[dpitt]

My solution would be to unscrew the focus knob lock. I do not see much use for locking on a modern camera anyway. You will need a special 'screw driver' bit to do that.
Either make it to measure from an old flat screw driver bit, or buy one from a specialized shop.

And then you can remove the knob and spring inside, leaving the bottom part to use as a tab. Of course you keep the parts carefully to restore the lens to its current state in case you want to sell it later on.

 

[robbie3]

Hi Lottic, 

I've been using my 28 Summaron-M on a digital M and hadn't noticed this problem so I tried it out on both my M10-D and M7.

On the digital M10-D there is ample clearance between the focus tab/lock button and the frame lever. I believe this is because Leica made the M10 body thinner but then had to leave the mount flange proud of the camera body to maintain the sensor to flange distance.

On my M7, moving the focus tab/lock button gently with a finger on the side of the tab, the bottom of the focus tab/lock button just brushes the top of the frame selector but can be pushed past this point fairly easily, slightly rubbing the top of the frame selector pivot. This first pass seems to push the bottom of the lock slightly upwards where it settles so it doesn't rub next time I move it past the frame selector lever in the same careful way.

However in most real use cases I'll be pushing down slightly on the focus tab so the lock mechanism will extend downwards and hits the focus selector and stop.

It might be worth contacting Leica to see if they have a modification as they are both recent & current products.

[spydrxx]

DPITT's answer is a practice I've followed for years with a number of LTM lenses. I bagged the knob and spring and labelled each in case I wanted to reassemble them for sale.

[Pyrogallol]

I much prefer lenses with the infinity lock, I wouldn’t remove it. Maybe it will move a fraction up if you push it up from the bottom?

or don’t look for pictures closer than 1.5 mt.

[lottic]

To update, I've visited my local Leica store and confirmed this to be an issue with an on-display Leica M6 reissue (and my own) with the same summaron lens; albeit - releasing the unlock mechanism on the focus tab just barely helped it brush over the top. 

Also, it seems to have been a recognized problem in the M4-P and M7 as well. 

The solution also seemed to be to custom order and replace the M6's rectangular shaped viewfinder preview lever with that of the MP's - which is a more conical shape and helps clear that tab. 

It's a shame that a lens which is still on Leica's current lineup to date has an incompatibility issue with a current camera body; as well as so many in the past. 

I do enjoy the infinity lock on the lens however - it helps to mount and unmount the lens from the body. 

[250swb]

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Wouldn't adding a thin washer between the arm and the knurled part move the whole mechanism up a fraction to clear the preview lever? 

Edited February 21, 2024 by 250swb

[TomB_tx]

Of course the original Summaron 28 was ltm and didn't have to worry about the preview lever. Interesting that the TTA interpretation of the tiny 28 apparently recognized the issue and used a focusing helicoid that reached the 1m minimum focus before contacting the preview lever. So the 1m stop screw is hit before any interference with the preview lever.\

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[UliWer]

vor 6 Minuten schrieb TomB_tx:

Of course the original Summaron 28 was ltm and didn't have to worry about the preview lever.

Though it was still used with an adapter and the M3 - perhaps more often than on screwmount bodies.

When I push the focus knob's button of my original M39 screwmount version it will collide with the preview lever of my M3 (same with M2).

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When I don't push the button it will slide just above the lever's collar:

[Kl@usW.]

vor 14 Stunden schrieb lottic:

Also, it seems to have been a recognized problem in the M4-P and M7 as well.

Yes, same problem with the M4P. Just checked, If you force the infinity stop a little bit, you can manage to move the stop past the selector, but that doesn't seem to be a solution. It's actually only a fraction of a millimeter, but I would hate to get with a Dremel near the lens....