New Leica M-A Shutter Curtain Malfunction

[Amateur Flâneur]

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Hello, I'm new to the forum.  I purchased a new Leica M-A this year and I've been have really enjoying the camera.  However the last couple of rolls has shown signs of a shutter curtain malfunction. Is this usual?  Or am I extremely unlucky? Given that this was a new camera.  Example included.

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[andybarton]

This is not normal, so you should return it to your dealer to have Leica fix it for you. It will still be under warranty. 

You might need to be patient…

[FrozenInTime]

Could it be CT / X-ray damage ?

What do the negatives look like including the rebate 

https://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/tib/tib5201.shtml shows linear striping when in one  orientation and waves in others.

[250swb]

A couple more photos and one showing the film edge as @FrozenInTime says would be more informative but there being two areas of fairly sharp edged banding does make it curious.

[LocalHero1953]

I agree with other suggestions. And perhaps getting film processed by another lab as a comparison - assuming it's not you doing the processing. How were they scanned? It's a question of pinning down the fault to one of several causes.

Edited December 2, 2024 by LocalHero1953

[Amateur Flâneur]

I did think perhaps it was a airport scanner, but the hard edges works against that theory from what I can see.  I took the body back to Leica with the negs and the care team there seemed to think it was the shutter from first look.  They are sending it back to Germany and lending me a body. Still think it's strange that this would happen.  Maybe I should have run few tests but I didn't want the warranty to run out.  Another example:

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[250swb]

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We're still not seeing the important film edge and sprocket holes.

Edited December 3, 2024 by 250swb

[Helge]

vor 22 Stunden schrieb Amateur Flâneur:

I did think perhaps it was a airport scanner, but the hard edges works against that theory from what I can see.  I took the body back to Leica with the negs and the care team there seemed to think it was the shutter from first look.  They are sending it back to Germany and lending me a body. Still think it's strange that this would happen.  Maybe I should have run few tests but I didn't want the warranty to run out.  Another example:

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What film did you use?

It might be a shutter issue, however the picture here does not look to my eyes like an uneven shutter run. It looks rather like been exposed twice, either due to light in the lab, light through the canister‘s opening or by x-ray.

[LocalHero1953]

Too many questions. Is this caused by:

• Camera
• Defective film
• Film processing
• Scanning
• X-rays

Is it every roll or just a couple? Is it repeatable with a new roll? Is it repeatable with a different processor? Does it affect the image only, or the edges? How does it vary along the roll?

The OP asked us for advice - we can't give sensible advice without some answers.

Unfortunately we have seen plenty of new posters arrive in the forum with a thread title complaining about a camera or lens then disappear.

[jgeenen]

As others posted - there is not enough material to clearly point to a shutter fault. On the other hand, some of my films had been x-rayed three times in two weeks recently without showing any sign of fogging, so I personally don‘t want to put the blame on airport scanners either. So let‘s see what happens with your Leica. Luckily you got a replacement so you are able to continue your M journey.

one more general remark to your samples. They seem to be scans from color negatives. If so, they seem to be heavily underexposed (probably 1-2 stops). You should review your exposure strategy and - if in doubt - prefer richer exposure. Colors and grain will benefit. If you based your exposure on something like „sunny 16“, you should take (relevant) shadows into account as well and adjust your guesstimate accordingly.

[Amateur Flâneur]

Thank you all for the response.  The film was Portra 400.

For a lot of the questions I can’t an answer unfortunately as Leica has the body and the negatives.  It was predominantly on this roll.  I was trusting the care team to make a good assessment, but perhaps I could have run some more tests.

My M journey has been brilliant so far, and thank you for the exposure advice, I have been practicing with Sunny 16, but I’ll make some adjustments for sure. 

I certainly don’t want to be a poster that posts and disappears and I’m sorry to hear that happens.  Im just new to the whole community, so bare with me, & I hope to be have more positive posts in the future and share more of the journey
 

Thanks again, and I will post again once I hear from Leica, in the mean time I will be cracking on with the MP Leica has lent to me, with a light meter, I hope I don’t get used to it!