kelvin_franke

<p>All,<br> I recently bought an SL2 which is nice, though long in the tooth. A 50 Jahre unit to boot, that I got for under $200. However, the light that is supposed to allow better viewing of the internal screen in dim conditions is not working. I have tried the proper battery in the anterior chamber. The activation switch for the light moves freely, but no light goes on inside. The lightmeter works very well. </p> <p>Any ideas of what is up? Do these bulbs go dead (probably the problem) and if so, are they replaceable (by properly trained individuals). I imagine that there could be a short somewhere too, but don't know if this is a common problem. </p> <p>The light is not essential for usage, obviously. The cost of sending it in most likely exceeds the value of the camera, I'm afraid. I'm not really not tempted to take this one apart, given the reputation of complexity inside, but might consider it, if this is a common problem with the SL2s that people have rectified in the past.</p> <p>Thanks!<br> Kelvin</p>

<p>On further thought, I'm willing to bet that the restrictive "nubbin" may have been broken off inside the mechanism, because when I test this on the deconstructted unit above, one still cannot turn the shutter control without be stopped at 360 degrees, in either direction, whereas on my DS M3, I can turn it clockwise indefinitely with no hard stop, though counterclockwise still has a hard stop at the B setting (actually closer to the 1/1000 marking). I'll be interested to see what the person to whom I eventually send it for CLA (and repair) will find. From reviewing the repair manuals, the "nubbin" is actually a screw of sorts, so perhaps they can back out the remaining screw end and replace it with the appropriate part.</p>

<p>I answered my own question. I pulled out my beater project M3 (not the pristine camera discussed here) and disassembled the shutter speed selector. Here, my tweezers are straddling the very small flatspring with a nubbin that contacts the very small grooves on the underside of the speed selector. There is a small "nut" (a small thin washer looking nut tightened with a spanner) which engages the speed selector (part with grooves, held on the left here) with the shaft and flat sping nubbin. So, depending on how tightly it is on, this determines the amount of engagement with the nubbin on the flat sping and thus determines the ease of turning the speed selector and how definite the clicks are for speed selection.<img src="https://s13.postimg.org/aeo3yv09z/Photo_Sep_17_10_18_21_AM.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="800" /><br /> I hope someone can use or enjoys this information. Personally, it is just neat to see how these mechanisms achieve their divine performance. Regarding my pristine DS M3, I won't be messing with it. I will send it off for CLA eventually, but knowing the mechanism of this issue and realizing that it doesn't foretell some deeper problems with the unit leaves me comfortable using it as it is, especially as the shutter speeds are so good. And the L seal . . .</p>

<strong>Strange shutter speed setting phenomena</strong> <hr size="1" /> So, I recently bought a very nice Leica M3 in 709xxx range. It works very nice. Shutter speeds are surprisingly accurate, except 1/1000 which is closer to 1/750, according to my shutter tester (which also measures curtain speeds). I have run a few rolls of film through it and am very satisfied with the results and note that shutter speeds work well for my picture taking and appear to be consistent with the expected values. And the L seal is intact. But . . .<br /> There are no "click stops" (if that is what you call them) between the different shutter speeds. I have had other M3's and they don't do this. I'm not sure what structural feature even creates these click stops when I have reviewed the blueprints from the original Leica M3 service manual. <br /> <br /> Any idea what is going on? I will eventually have this CLA'ed by Gus, but frankly it functions quite nicely except for this anomaly, so I'm not in a huge rush.<br /> <br /> Thanks,

<p>Gus,<br> Thank you very much for this information. It is true, that is the only seal to which I refer. I had been confused by something told to me by a different camera repair person when he worked on a a prior Leica M3 of mine in which he said he replaced a few light seals, or updated "some" seals (it's been a while, so his wording eludes me). When I took my current (more beat up) M3 apart, I couldn't find the many seals to which he seemed to refer. Perhaps he exaggerated to make it seem he did more than he did? Being ignorant at that time, I had no way of knowing. His repair didn't solve the intermittent light leak on that camera which I now believe was do to an aged curtain that didn't lay completely flat at all times when the film was advanced (no holes and no other obvious signs of leakage). On about 2-3 shots of 36 you'd see this graduated light band about 1/2 cm the top of the image. The lens never left the camera and it was independent of the lighting outside. I could make it go away if I put the lens cap on when I advanced the film so hence my theory that it was due to age induced laxity of one of the curtain's edges.</p>

<p>Hello all, again,<br> I am moving forward with my Leica M3 rebuild project. It's been slow, life keeps getting in the way.</p> <p>1) Leica M3 light seal replacement materials: I am curious, is there any consensus on the bet material to get for light seal repairs. I notice that the felt like material is somewhat ragged and would find the best source for comparable material, hopefully. I'd really like this material to be as close as possible to the material that was actually used. I have written Leica as well as Microtools and received no replies as to what material would work best. I see plenty of opinions across the web regarding light seal materials for other cameras but very little coverage on this particular issue. It will probably end up that everyone will tell me that one of the more common materials on microtools will work fine, but I always like the plumb the collective wisdom first. <br> <br />2) If one were to replace the brake material, Are there supplies available from anywhere except Leica?<br> <br />It's very interesting what detailed literature I have found for the Leica IIIf (and prior screwmounts) and yet how little documentation (in book or pamphlet form) is available for repair of the M3. Of course the IIIf and M3 both have Leica service manuals, but for the IIIF there is the "national camera" book by Lyells (78 info packed pages), as well as a dedicated chapter (chapter 12, I think) in that Antique camera repair book that circulates the web as well as at least one dedicated short book on Kindle and the "Amateur Leica Repair" By Phil Nelson that cover the IIIf in repair, including curtain replacement and many other nuances. <br> For M3 we just have The leica service manual and the M2 military repair guide (from the net). This may be because the IIIf is simpler (it is) and the above manuals can be applied to almost all Leicas from the 20's through the 50's. Yet, the M3 and it's descendants are so popular. You'd think that maybe Larry Lyells would have written something (more than just the cameracraft article I think he wrote, albeit excellent) that goes further into the nitty gritty. It's been fun, albeit slow, to gradually build a body of knowledge to better understand these things. I fully realize that there are more mechanically inclined people that would probably jump in to this kind of project without the amount of research I find myself doing. Guess I just like researching this stuff:)<br> <br />Thanks everyone!</p> <p> </p>

<p>Thanks everyone. The auction completed with no bids. I will repost in September as I have been told that sales are poor in August.</p>

<p>Hello all,<br />I am just curious. Where do you all recommend I go to try to sell my Minolta SRM? It's complete and works well and is in unusually good condition. I've been trying to sell on E-bay, but no bids of yet. <br /><br />As many may know, it's quite rare. Just don't know if there any many actual Minolta collectors out there to care. I doubt this would happen if I was trying to sell my Leica gear:)<br> <br />Perhaps there are some active Minolta groups out there that I haven't found in my searches? Most of the old Minolta "fan club" groups appear to be defunct.</p>

<p>Well, it kind of quiet here so I may have exhausted the collective wisdom:) If anyone cares to pursue something similar in the future let me direct them to rangefinder forum where I posted some of the gleaned wisdom from here. Thanks again to Gus! I hope I am at least close to his recommendations in usage here. I contacted Losimol and they offered me 60grams of the heavy grease 1150-A for ~25 dollars + shipping. I'm probably not going to take them up on it, but still thinking. I have the feeling Gus knows what he is talking about, and I'd rather not incur yet another expense. Klueber never responded to my inquiries. I have received several responses at rangefinderforum which may prove useful for future tinkerers.<br> http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=155120</p>

<p>So this is what I have figured out so far. Maybe, if we are lucky, Gus will chime in. I have cross referenced the M3 service manual with various commentary on the web and tried to determine the most analogous agent in the list of modern lubricants Gus provided. I fear I may be oversimplifying so please forgive me. Here is a list of the agents typically used according to the Leica M3 service manual equated to the modern lubricant to the best of my ability to determine.<br> <br /> <strong>Leitz number/description/type</strong> = analog from Gus's list:<br> <br /> <strong>300/Heavy grease/Losimol Magunna type 1150-A</strong><br /> =Valvoline Durablend Blue partial-synthetic grease ? (penetrating constant of 275 implies a heavier consistency, thus the closest match I can find in the list)<br /> <strong>460/Medium Grease/Kluber type VP-2</strong><br /> = This appears to be a most analogous to a teflon based grease like Superlube PTFE<br /> <strong>601/ball bearing OIL.</strong> Used a lot in the M3.<br /> = Full synthetic Valvoline 0W-20 SYNpower (least viscous oil here)<br /> <strong>602/Kluber PDP-38 95%+alugel(5%)</strong><br /> = alugel is an aluminum hydroxide soap based grease. Nothing on Gus's list is really analogous to this so I am not really sure. Thankfully, not used much<br /> <strong>618 Light Grease, Ernst Leitz, GmBH.</strong> Used a lot in the M3.<br /> = Super-white Lithium grease, the grease with the least viscosity and lowest NLGI (~1.5)<br /> <strong>704 Medium Grease Shell #7 (95%)+MoS2 microfine (5%).</strong> Used a lot in the M3.<br /> =Sta-Lube Moly-Graph Extreme Pressure Grease, heavy loading Boundary Lube. <br /> <strong>340 Losimol Magunna type BO-4/4</strong><br /> = Per research, often used for helicoids, so must be at least a little "sticky". I'm guessing durablend might work here<br /> <strong>428 Medium Grease/Kluber type LDS-18 Heavy</strong><br /> = a lithium based grease for bearings and aperture rings, so Sta-Lube super white Lithium grease is the closest analog.</p> <p>My research of the iiif (via the national camera reference I bought) shows that they (Larry Lyell's I presume) only mentions shutter oil for the areas needing oiling (like the bearings and the slow speed escapement) and a moly grease for the heavier duty objects that slide relative to one another. I doubt the lubricant needs had changed all that much between the iiif and the M3 and figure I could probably get away with just and oil like the 0W20 and the moly grease. But for now (unless Gus or others suggest otherwise, will use the list above). <br /> I'm sure I am overthinking this:) Thanks for bearing with me (no pun intended.)</p>

<p>Thanks Richard for your insight. I will look into this further. It might behoove interested parties to look on the Butkus web site to see whether a Leica M3 service manual has been posted there in the next month or so. Just saying.</p>

<p>On another note. Soon, I will be scanning in the M3 service manual into a PDF for personal use. Is anyone aware of any copyright issues that would preclude me making this available (say through the Butkus web site). I imagine there is not, but someone let me know before I step into hot water. I also have Lipinski's "Miniature and Precision Cameras" from 1955 which is a reference unlike all others with great detail given to the workings of similar cameras (although not the M3, really). I have a copy that I intend to unbind and scan in to a PDF for my personal use. I also imagine that this book would help many others and is hard to come by and long out of print. Finally, I have Romney's Leica repair manual, also long out of print, with no surviving copyright holders as far as I can tell. I'd like to put this out there as well. Please provide any input as to the safety, legally, of putting these items out there for common consumption. Note: I will not be sending these out privately, so don't ask. I would only post to a public server of some sort. It is not my intention to make this a profitable arrangement for ANYONE, but rather a public service. Please forgive my naivete.</p>

<p>I am floored. Such generous responses so far! <br /> <strong>Jochen: </strong> This is what I was talking about, pooled experience and insight is what the internet can do so well! Many of us come from different industries and we may at times have practical insights that allow novel solutions when original materials prove unavailable. Technically, I am a physician with prior career in chemistry and undergraduate degrees in physics, chemistry and fine arts (painting). Sadly, these skills have lain dormant, so I am scratching a major itch with this project, obviously, but I am fully aware of the gaps in my knowlege and I expect I will make plenty of mistakes, at some cost. But, perhaps my gradual enlightenment can benefit others. That's my hope. The repaint job is down the road a bit. I will discuss further later. <br /> My brother does professional work on cars primarily (so his equipment is geared more for that arena). However, he has worked as a fine artist with airbrush as well. Needless to say, he won't be taking a spraycan to the beast:) I'd love to get a hold of the "<strong>SENOCRYL®-Lack 05-0945</strong>", by a german company <a href="http://www.weilburger-coatings.de/">WEILBURGER Coatings GmbH</a> mentioned on Nemeng web site/FAQ, but can make no real inroads. Ideally, I'd prefer something more domestic. Perhaps some thoughts from the rest of you on this?<br /> <strong>Gus:</strong> I am so grateful that you chimed in. You are obviously one of the most knowledgeable here and I am honored that you chimed in. You confirmed my suspicions regarding the watch oil. I read about it's usage elsewhere but was not completely convinced it would be appropriate. I feared it would run into the rest of the mechanism (from the say, the slow speed escapement) and soil the curtain or worse. On a side note, I have read that Leica used an agent to diminish lubricant runoff (I forget the name), but that it is quite expensive, and impractical. <br /> Your suggestions for lubricants also appear to have the benefit of being affordable. I am lucky to already being in possession of the Pliobond. <br /> <br />I only mentioned the "locking agent" because the M3 service manual mentions it (with some German name which I forget). This is for use on securing the "pivot screw" for the slow speeds escapement to maintain "proper freedom of the speeds escapement" (quote from the camera craftsman, just do a google search for "Factory tips for the M-Series Leicas")<br> Gratefully, Kelvin</p> <p> </p>

<p>I greatly appreciate Jesse Newcomb's HowTo PDF on the Leica m2/M3/M4 disassembly that he introduced way-back-when through Photo.net and posted on Jumboprawn.net. I am in the midst of a similar project,inspired by him.<br> Note to the more experienced and professional level repair professionals. My post is no way an attempt to offend or infringe. Consider my project as being akin to the person who wants to repair or rebuild their vintage car. Just with a camera instead. This forum appears to be the best watering hole for sharing thoughts and insight so I will forge into the fray.<br> Two questions: would anyone mind sharing thoughts as to the <strong>specific</strong> best lubricants (and glues and locking agents for that matter when appropriate) that you used in your rebuild? My problem is that the number of choices seem infinite as regards viscosities of oils/greases, etc. I want to build on the current knowledge base and accumulated success stories and failures. <br> I'm very torn as to which specific greases and oils will work best for the various components. This information is hard to come by and never fully spelled out. I wrote one camera repair professional who kindly told me he uses synthetic greases and oils, but he was elusive on specific viscosities, types or brands, understandably. Frankly, if this were a make or break camera repair, I'd forward to him or other repair professionals. In this case though, this is a project of self-fulfillment.</p> <p>I can find no postings that get into specifics. Once I find a consensus, I hope to post my experiences for future home CLAers. CLA and camera repair is becoming a lost art and the accumulated wisdom should be brought to the light if possible. </p> <p>FYI, in my case my intention is to CLA a broken double stroke M3 I got at a good low price. I will be replacing the curtains and subsequently, dechroming, denickeling and repainting black. These latter aspects I can handle (I am a chemist, and my brother is a professional airbrush painter) but I want to get the lubrication perfect.</p> <p>All thoughts are appreciated. I am not completely ignorant. I have an original M3 service manual,as well as other guides (Camera Craftsman's treatise as well as the US.Army document on the M2. The M3 service manual and Army document only mention long unavailable, typically organic lubricants. I am hoping for anecdotal solutions to this problem such as those you may have employed. </p> <p>I currently have "watch oil" to consider to use for locations where lower viscosity lubriction is needed. I suspect a lithium base or Moly grease may work as a heavier grade grease substitute. If you review the documents, however, we see that Leica used many grades of oil and grease in different areas. Which substitutes would therefore be best applied for which specific components?<br> If a consensus approach can be arrived at, I will be happy to consolidate this knowledge in a FAQ that I will then post. I am happy to share any insights I glean in the process.<br> <br />So what do you know, Photo. Netters?</p> <p>Kelvin</p> <p>i greatly appreciate your insight,</p>

<p>Thanks Douglas! I hadn't thought of trying to trigger via the DIN. I will dig up the DIN release trigger and try that this weekend. </p>