Leica MP backdoor loose

[howareyoukk]

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Hi guys, my apologies if you have seen my post elsewhere as I am seeking for help with a problem that I am having with my MP that was bought new.

Essentially, I could feel some movements from the backdoor whenever I apply some light pressure on the bottom left of the backdoor, indicated by the attached photo. 
 

I am not sure if it is normal as I expect leica’s craftsmanship to be close to perfect at its price point?

 

thank you all in advance! 

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[Pyrogallol]

I don’t think it is anything to worry about, providing there are no light leaks.

[howareyoukk]

1 hour ago, Pyrogallol said:

I don’t think it is anything to worry about, providing there are no light leaks.

It just gives a cheap feeling that something is no t tightened down. Not sure if it’s a design choice by Leica and that’s why I asked on the forum to see other Leica film body owners are discovering the same thing.

[250swb]

7 minutes ago, howareyoukk said:

It just gives a cheap feeling that something is no t tightened down. Not sure if it’s a design choice by Leica and that’s why I asked on the forum to see other Leica film body owners are discovering the same thing.

You are pushing against the spring of the pressure plate, and for a door to open and close it cannot be a perfect fit or it would technically be described as 'stuck'. 

[LocalHero1953]

My MP and M4 do not have movement as such, but both give out a slight crackle if I press hard in the lower corners. The MP has a film in it at the moment; the M4 light seal is metal to metal (a 'ridge' fits in a 'trench' to create the seal) so one would not expect significant movement caused by a soft light seal.

It is difficult for us to tell if the amount of movement you have is significant or not. If you think it is, or if you see a light leak, or if you see focus variation across the frame, then take it back.

[Mute-on]

A click or crackle noise is not uncommon with M film bodies. Tom Abrahamsson mentioned this ‘feature’ on a number of his Ms from M2 onwards. My M4 has a light click noise when pressing the top corner of the back door, exactly where you rest your thumb when you hold the camera. 

Your MP should have a thin vertical strip of felt on either side of the back door in the light trap channel. My M4 has nothing, but my M2 has two thicker felt strips, presumably not factory, but it makes for a very solid and click free handling experience. I purchased a pair of the thin felt strips from my local Leica repair facility years ago for my M4. Haven’t bothered to fit them since I soon forget about the click noise in use.

 

 

[howareyoukk]

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2 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

My MP and M4 do not have movement as such, but both give out a slight crackle if I press hard in the lower corners. The MP has a film in it at the moment; the M4 light seal is metal to metal (a 'ridge' fits in a 'trench' to create the seal) so one would not expect significant movement caused by a soft light seal.

It is difficult for us to tell if the amount of movement you have is significant or not. If you think it is, or if you see a light leak, or if you see focus variation across the frame, then take it back.

hi thanks for your reply and movement is there but not too a point I think it needs to be fixed immediately. I might probably ask a local Leica technician to examine it when i get back home from overseas. 

[howareyoukk]

51 minutes ago, Mute-on said:

A click or crackle noise is not uncommon with M film bodies. Tom Abrahamsson mentioned this ‘feature’ on a number of his Ms from M2 onwards. My M4 has a light click noise when pressing the top corner of the back door, exactly where you rest your thumb when you hold the camera. 

Your MP should have a thin vertical strip of felt on either side of the back door in the light trap channel. My M4 has nothing, but my M2 has two thicker felt strips, presumably not factory, but it makes for a very solid and click free handling experience. I purchased a pair of the thin felt strips from my local Leica repair facility years ago for my M4. Haven’t bothered to fit them since I soon forget about the click noise in use.

 

 

Hey man it’s such a relief to hear I am not the only person who do not have a solid film door. I thought Leica would somehow come up with a solution to get rid of the problem, considering their cameras are pricy. 

[LocalHero1953]

You have mentioned price three times in your posts in this thread. You are destined for a lifetime of sadness in Leicaland if you start from the expectation that "at that price point it should be perfect". It is not: many Leica products (especially cameras) are assembled by hand, and stuff slips through the QC net (and sometimes through design reviews). Leica's service times are abysmal. When it all comes together, most people find the photographic experience superb. If you buy Leica as a trophy to celebrate your high income, or as an investment, you will be disappointed. Perhaps buy something cheaper to take that issue out of the equation. I don't think many Leica owners here accept faults, bugs and poor design, but most of us (those of us who remain😉) will try to get them fixed, complain to Leica, ignore them, or realise they are unimportant, finding that the benefits of using Leica kit outweigh the glitches (most of the time), and, if you buy new, compensate for the high cost.

Edited June 18 by LocalHero1953

[250swb]

The door on my 22 year old MP moves a bit if I push it, my 38 year old M4-P also moves a bit (even more than the MP), and with 60 years of service between them they have never needed to have the rear door 'fixed'. 

[jakontil]

My m2r got crackle sound too, move a bit under light pressure, so too my MP and the rest, i think it’s true, like tom said, a ‘feature’

[Mute-on]

I suspect this is easily remedied with some strips of felt of the right dimensions. As I said, the strips on my M2 are actually quite deep, and meet the inside surface of the back door so the rim doesn’t actually hit on the camera chassis. If you get felt of the right width (around 2mm) and depth (around 2.5mm) this should be easy to replicate. 

[250swb]

14 minutes ago, Mute-on said:

I suspect this is easily remedied with some strips of felt of the right dimensions. As I said, the strips on my M2 are actually quite deep, and meet the inside surface of the back door so the rim doesn’t actually hit on the camera chassis. If you get felt of the right width (around 2mm) and depth (around 2.5mm) this should be easy to replicate. 

But the OP's MP was bought new and should already have foam dust seals down each side (and across the top).

[howareyoukk]

3 hours ago, Mute-on said:

I suspect this is easily remedied with some strips of felt of the right dimensions. As I said, the strips on my M2 are actually quite deep, and meet the inside surface of the back door so the rim doesn’t actually hit on the camera chassis. If you get felt of the right width (around 2mm) and depth (around 2.5mm) this should be easy to replicate. 

Hi thanks for your input. I have checked countless times and yet found any felt strips on the inside of my mp. I also read online that Leica film bodies don’t come with felt strips installed.

OR perhaps my mp was a covid batch and they ran out of felt strips to be put on my camera? 
 

what’s confusing me is that Leica is often proud of its craftsmanship and somehow they didn’t do anything to lessen or remedy the loose back door.

 

OR perhaps it was a design choice to allow the pressure plate to move freely when the back door is closed? 

[LocalHero1953]

The real question is, what are you going to do about it? Return it to seller, ask Leica to fix it, complain to Leica and see what they say, try and fix it yourself, ask a private repairer to fix it (voiding the warranty), sell it privately, or even take photographs with it? Mulling it over on this forum will not sort out your problem (whatever it might be). 

[TomB_tx]

The original M3 (DS) had a back door that snapped shut with spring detent balls on each side - so it feels solid. That expensive design was eliminated quickly! I have M models made from 1955 to 2008. Some have felt strips in the side channels and some do not, but all have been through CLA at some time through the years, and it was common for a tech to add felt seals as a safeguard against leaks - so no telling now which had seals and which just relied on the channel labyrinth design as a light trap. I'm quite sure the original design relied on the labyrinth design and did not use felt seals. A bit of flex in the back when shut should be expected as a matter of having necessary tolerances in the fit of parts. Should not affect the function, and not a design defect.

[250swb]

1 hour ago, howareyoukk said:

I have checked countless times and yet found any felt strips on the inside of my mp. I also read online that Leica film bodies don’t come with felt strips installed

They are not ‘felt’ they are very thin foam strips either side of the door, they are very easy to miss, and they are not to cushion the door anyway, they are dust seals.

[earleygallery]

I would have thought that introducing felt/foam strips (especially thick ones) where none are intended might lead to creating light leaks as it's pushing the door where it's not meant to. 

It's a moving part, some play is inevitable. I think you need to forget about it and concentrate more on that moving button part on the top of the camera instead. Press it and take photos. 

[adan]

On 6/17/2025 at 8:49 PM, howareyoukk said:

Essentially, I could feel some movements from the backdoor whenever I apply some light pressure on the bottom left of the backdoor, indicated by the attached photo. 

I am not sure if it is normal as I expect leica’s craftsmanship to be close to perfect at its price point?

You are seeing the Leica M back door functioning exactly as (expensively) designed and crafted.

It "floats" a little on the springs of the pressure plate on the inside of the door, to accomodate 35mm films of slightly different thicknesses. Which are "sandwiched" between the pressure plate and the camera's film rails for correct focus positioning.

See the photo about halfway down this web page: https://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/Leica/Leica-M6/htmls/M6TTL-nomenclature.htm

Without that "float" or movement, the pressure plate could not do its job with the necessary precision to ensure that the emulsion on the front of the film is positioned in the correct focal plane (tight against the rails). And you/we would get differently- or sloppily-focused pictures with different film types (thin-emulsion fine-grain microfilms, thicker classic ISO 400 films, thickest multilayer color films, plus various film-base materials (cellulose acetate, or thinner polyester (Estar™).

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[howareyoukk]

54 minutes ago, adan said:

You are seeing the Leica M back door functioning exactly as (expensively) designed and crafted.

It "floats" a little on the springs of the pressure plate on the inside of the door, to accomodate 35mm films of slightly different thicknesses. Which are "sandwiched" between the pressure plate and the camera's film rails for correct focus positioning.

See the photo about halfway down this web page: https://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/Leica/Leica-M6/htmls/M6TTL-nomenclature.htm

Without that "float" or movement, the pressure plate could not do its job with the necessary precision to ensure that the emulsion on the front of the film is positioned in the correct focal plane (tight against the rails). And you/we would get differently- or sloppily-focused pictures with different film types (thin-emulsion fine-grain microfilms, thicker classic ISO 400 films, thickest multilayer color films, plus various film-base materials (cellulose acetate, or thinner polyester (Estar™).

Thanks for the enlightened post!  I feel like I am understanding more about Leica film bodies after reading it. 
 

if I am understanding this correctly, the movement I felt when lightly applying some pressure on the bottom of the back door, even with the base plate attached to the door, is generated from the spring on the pressure plate?