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Anatomy of the Leica M8 Framelines


marknorton

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Two questions?:...

1.) Do you have a whole picture of the whole viewfinder mechanism on the camera without the top plate?

 

2.) I would never be as brave as the OP... But I would like to remove the shutter speed dial & on/off switch to clean the grung that has built up around/under it... Do they just pop off with a little upward pressure?... What is the trick to getting them off?.. and more importantly ho do you get it back on to stay! :rolleyes:

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I wouldn't advise dismantling the top plate just to clean around the shutter speed dial; it's secured from the inside and there are some tiny springs and ball bearings which are free to get lost when you release it. Similarly, you can remove the finger rest with a flex-clamp but again, there's a tiny, almost invisible plastic pad waiting to get lost.

 

These threads are to satisfy your curiosity, not to encourage you to do the same!

 

I would just clean around with a Q-Tip moistened with alcohol and draw a Pec-Pad underneath the shutter dial.

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I wouldn't advise dismantling the top plate just to clean around the shutter speed dial; it's secured from the inside and there are some tiny springs and ball bearings which are free to get lost when you release it. Similarly, you can remove the finger rest with a flex-clamp but again, there's a tiny, almost invisible plastic pad waiting to get lost.

 

These threads are to satisfy your curiosity, not to encourage you to do the same!

 

I would just clean around with a Q-Tip moistened with alcohol and draw a Pec-Pad underneath the shutter dial.

 

Yeah... After I posted I searched and found your previous anatomy threads... Definitely not a DIY job... I'm on the NJ frameline/shutter swap wait list... hopefully they will do a cleanup for me too! :D

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Another fascinating lesson in Leica M forensics! Thank you, Mark.

 

One thought - I'm curious as to how much this design has changed since the M3 was developed. Aside from the increase in number of framelines available, of course. Do you suppose the concept has remained virtually unchanged since the 1950's? If so, that is quite a testament to the ingenuity of the original designers.

 

Doug

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Another fascinating lesson in Leica M forensics! Thank you, Mark.

 

One thought - I'm curious as to how much this design has changed since the M3 was developed. Aside from the increase in number of framelines available, of course. Do you suppose the concept has remained virtually unchanged since the 1950's? If so, that is quite a testament to the ingenuity of the original designers.

 

Doug

 

Very little since the M3 and even less from the M2 on.

The M3 had the fixed 50mm lines etched/imprinted on one of the glass plates. I think the M2 on did away with that.

 

I had my Leica CL apart last night to clean the inside of the glass windows and the glass pieces that make up the RF and that use basically the same system, although the RF itself is very cut down compared to a real M.

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Mark--thanks for posting. Riveting photos and commentary, as always! Thanks. --Will

 

Agreed: absolutely fascinating. And what a relief that in this digital age such fine mechanics are still made. Plus appreciated by someone like Mark. Where would this Forum be without his regular injections of down-to-earth commentary and technical explanations!

 

Question: how would an item as this have been designed? Certainly not be a project team in the modern sense, but rather by totally dedicated individuals?

 

The well know metaphor of the animal designed by a committee comes to mind. This viewfinder certainly is not one of those!

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Question: how would an item as this have been designed? Certainly not be a project team in the modern sense, but rather by totally dedicated individuals?

 

 

 

Actually these frame masks were designed in the late 40's or early 50's and have just been expanded on and slightly redesigned over the years.

Just think about the person that did the original design, and the people casting and milling of the parts, way before a personal or even small corporate computer was even known about.

Now that's craftsmanship.

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Before this micro-analysis, I had not noticed the gradual erasing of the frame lines for one size and appearance of the next, and certainly not the little click. In my M2, the framelines are changed in exactly the same way, but there are only three of them. However, there is no little click. So there have been changes in 50 years.

 

scott

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My frameline selector stuck on my M8 almost out of the box, but Leica fixed it a year ago when I visited Solms for a visit for a few hours. I sent it in a month ago and they replaced the sensor, but the frame lines are back to sticking. I wonder if I can open it up myself and release the tension on whatever is making it stick and while I'm at it I think to fill in the 24, 75, & 90 frame lines. Can I do this without having to wreck the adjustment of the cams and how does the top come off? It's coming out of waranty in six weeks, so I'm not worried about the warranty becoming void and I don't want to send it in again having just gotten it back. Advice please.

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Hold the press and a thousand appologies from me to Leica service who returned my camera perfect--it is my first verision MATE that is making the frame selector stick when moving from the 35 setting to the 50 setting. Moving beween any of the other settings does not require a nudge from me other than when moving the selection from the 35 to the 50 setting and not vice versa. It seems the spring in the frame selector set up in the camera is vying for authority with the spring in the MATE when moving from the 35 setting to the 50 setting and at the moment the MATE spring is winning the tug-o-war. I wonder if the spring that is aparent when looking at the tri elmar from the barrel end is in need of adjustment. Or, perhaps the MATE and camera will eventually decide to start dancing together. Does anyone else have any experience with this?

 

My frameline selector stuck on my M8 almost out of the box, but Leica fixed it a year ago when I visited Solms for a visit for a few hours. I sent it in a month ago and they replaced the sensor, but the frame lines are back to sticking. I wonder if I can open it up myself and release the tension on whatever is making it stick and while I'm at it I think to fill in the 24, 75, & 90 frame lines. Can I do this without having to wreck the adjustment of the cams and how does the top come off? It's coming out of waranty in six weeks, so I'm not worried about the warranty becoming void and I don't want to send it in again having just gotten it back. Advice please.
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