New M4 and a question

[Deeetona]

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My M4 arrived and so far it seems to be ok, shutter times sound somewhat plausible, body largely ok and all. First roll of film to be bought and so on.

QUESTION:

The film advance lever behaves erratically. It almost-alternates between butter smooth and showing some resistance. While these qualities might be desirable in a girl, I expect my M4 to be slightly more consistent. It shows the same behaviour with the baseplate removed. Bending the level up or down while moving it also does not make any difference.

I could exercise it over the afternoon and film-transport it back into shape. Or send it for a general CLA and have the pros look at it?

I could also douse it in lots of Ballistol.

Edited January 15 by Deeetona

[espelt]

vor 25 Minuten schrieb Deeetona:

I could also douse it in lots of Ballistol.

Ballistol - not a good idea. CLA, on the other hand, is a very good idea for a camera that is around 60 years old. Of course, I can only speculate where the problem lies. There may still be a piece of film stuck somewhere. Or perhaps a gear in the winding mechanism is worn at an irregular rate. Of course, a CLA costs money. But the M4 will work really well afterwards.

[Deeetona]

The camera magically healed on its own. I drunk the Ballistol. Everyone is a happy (man or camera) this afternoon.

[Ernstk]

44 minutes ago, Deeetona said:

It almost-alternates between butter smooth and showing some resistance. While these qualities might be desirable in a girl, I expect my M4 to be slightly more consistent.

Your casual misogyny is really quite offensive. 

[Frase]

On 1/15/2025 at 3:09 PM, Ernstk said:

Your casual misogyny is really quite offensive. 

+1

[Suede]

On 1/15/2025 at 4:09 PM, Ernstk said:

Your casual misogyny is really quite offensive. 

+1

[Vlad Soare]

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Edited January 30 by Vlad Soare

[_leicaguru]

On 1/15/2025 at 9:20 PM, Deeetona said:

My M4 arrived and so far it seems to be ok, shutter times sound somewhat plausible, body largely ok and all. First roll of film to be bought and so on.

QUESTION:

The film advance lever behaves erratically. It almost-alternates between butter smooth and showing some resistance. While these qualities might be desirable in a girl, I expect my M4 to be slightly more consistent. It shows the same behaviour with the baseplate removed. Bending the level up or down while moving it also does not make any difference.

I could exercise it over the afternoon and film-transport it back into shape. Or send it for a general CLA and have the pros look at it?

I could also douse it in lots of Ballistol.

A lot of people buy used things here. The first rule after you buy something used is the savings go to a service. I wouldn't even use the camera until it came back from service. It's the cost of the initial savings. 

Of course every used car was driven by grandma to go to the supermarket and back. 

Do NOT use Ballistol oil on a Leica M4. The best you can use to oil is a tiny amount of oil used for mechanical watches such as Moebius 9010. But you need to send this to service. Other oils will build residue and make it worse. 

And this is why I avoid buying used things. The used Leica M4 I buy was probably being sprayed with ballistol oil before I bought it. And god knows what else. 

Edited February 6 by _leicaguru

[250swb]

The first thing the OP should do is use it as there's no point in sending it for a CLA without finding all of any potential faults first. Remember a CLA is not Clean Lube and Repair, it's only Clean Lube and Adjust and a camera technician wouldn't necessarily come across things that are annoying when it use such as light leaks.

[F456]

On 2/6/2025 at 2:49 PM, 250swb said:

The first thing the OP should do is use it as there's no point in sending it for a CLA without finding all of any potential faults first. Remember a CLA is not Clean Lube and Repair, it's only Clean Lube and Adjust and a camera technician wouldn't necessarily come across things that are annoying when it use such as light leaks.

This is probably the best mechanical camera advice I have yet read. 

[davidmknoble]

On 2/7/2025 at 5:41 PM, F456 said:

This is probably the best mechanical camera advice I have yet read. 

I disagree just a little bit.  The OP said he had used it and the winding was intermittently different to the point he called it “erratic”.  Not everyone can find every fault. Sure one can look at the shutter as they slowly wind it with the back open and probably see other external issues.  The OP didn’t say the film was overexposed or had evidence of a light leak, so that is not likely an issue for them.

In any event, the OP diagnosed an issue that would require taking the top off the camera and exposing the inside.  The Leica technicians will put it back into tolerance, which means they will look at the internal mechanism in this case and if there are hidden mechanical issues, likely find them.  If the shutter cloth is worn, they will replace it if one asks them to.

The bigger issue right now is that film camera CLA’s are taking up to a year or more through Leica Wetzlar, and one has to be willing to wait or use a third party, which are also available and do great work. IMHO.

[F456]

Yes, of course you are quite right. I think the sense was at least to put the camera to a little bit of use to see as far as possible how it got on — light leaks were an obvious thing to look for that was mentioned — before sending it off for service.

Yes, repairs are taking a long time with Wetzlar; I have been using a very good organization here in England, who also can take time but it is possible to discuss things over the phone with them and I have been very pleased with their work, making an M3 and an M4 feel better than or at least as good as some newer models. They can do everything that is needed with all-mechanical cameras, while they prefer not to work on electronic models for various good reasons that they have explained to me.

 

 

Edited February 13 by F456
ambiguous phrase spotted and changed

[alphonse2501]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistol
 

Quote

Ballistol is fully compatible with all metals including aluminium. However, Ballistol dissolves traces of copper, zinc, lead and tombac and can, therefore, be used to clean brass, bronze and silver.

Cleaning brass parts probably OK, but M6 has zinc top plate. I think experienced or certified Leitz technician knew what kind of cleaner and lubricants works for camera and lens.