Leica M2 misfire

<p>My Leica M2 misfire sometimes. The effect emerges when the camera is face up while the shutter is being pressed. Sometimes, regardless its position, the shutter will misfire. It will usually take two press to fire the shutter.</p>

<p>It's summer, and I have my M2 inside a well cooled facility for over 24 hours. Could that affect the grease inside?</p>

<p>Your "well cooled facility" is not for animal carcasses, is it? Ordinary air conditioning should not have this effect. If this is the de-coloured camera, it looks as if you bought it from a seasoned crook.</p>

<p>I didn't buy it from a crook, but it was from a popular camera store. What did you mean "de-coloured camera"?</p>

<p>The Leica is being store inside my well cool home =] haha. I thought that might had caused the grease to become hardened causing the shutter to misfire.</p>

<p>On the side note. It seems like the shutter is as loud as my slr. It sounds like "screech!" instead of "tick". I thought Leica suppose to be quiet camera. I am talking about the M2 by the way. Maybe I did buy the fake one, but than I checked the serial number on cameraquest and its registered.</p>

<p>Did you not buy a black M2 which turned to chrome when cleaned with alcohol?</p>

<p>An M2 should be quiet. All M Leicas for film have essentially the same shutter. An M2 cannot be faked: but certainly it can be worn or damaged or badly maintained.</p>

The screech is at least an indication of a lack of residual lubricant, not just hardened lubricant. A CLA is in order,

except that there might be deeper flaws in this camera and the solid cost of a good CLA might be added to by the cost

of replacement parts and extra time. Best to send it someone good who could quickly determine whether it's worth

working on. I am not sure if there are many M2s not worth working on.

<p>It takes two presses to intentionally fire the shutter, but yet it misfires when not touched at all?<br>

That's really strange failure for a fully mechanical camera.</p>

<p>The adhesive that holds the felt in the film gate baffle unit, is suspect as the M2 & M3 age. (A blast of canned air can break them loose) These strips of felt have been known to travel around inside the various mechanical systems. <strong>I would not continue to fire it.</strong> It may be in an area that is slowly shaving it down, and the debris contamination potentiality gets worse with every click. Major tear-down is necessary.</p>

<p>The image I provided is from a LTM, but is still the same concept used in the M bodies. You can view the felt bars when observing the film gate from the rear while the shutter is kept open using "B".</p>

<p>If one or both are missing, it's time to panic.</p><div></div>

<p>Have it serviced! If this is</p>

<p>Haha. Alright. Overall, everyone sounds reasonable and I think I shouldn't worry much beside giving to the store where I bought it to service it.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>William, I think you guessed the answer to your question in your first post. If the M2 has never been serviced, it's quite reasonable that the grease would congeal in colder temperatures. Not in 1960, when the camera was made, but later on, as the lubricants become too old.<br>

Many of us like to send our cameras to Sherry Krauter or Don Goldberg (DAG) for cleaning, lubrication, and adjustment (CLA). They come back as nearly like-new as possible. An M2 is in certain ways the best of all Leicas. It's worth sending it to the best of all technicians for a new lease on life. Only then will you know what it is really like to use a Leica.</p>

<p>William, did you look for those felt bars just inside the film gate? Are they there & intact?</p>

Gus, if only there was something wrong with one of my cameras: I'd send it to you. Great repair pics you've posted

recently.

<blockquote>

<p>Gus, if only there was something wrong with one of my cameras: I'd send it to you. Great repair pics you've posted recently.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That's what I've been thinking. Gus has a picture ready for every question! :-D<br>

Thanks for your contribution, Gus!</p>

<p>K.</p>

<p>Hey Gus. Actually I recently put in another roll of Tri-x and I can't take it out now because I began the shooting spree. Once I am done I will tell you what it looks like. Give me like a month. Thanks.</p>

<p>My Leica M2 is back and fire smoothly it was serviced by PANORAMA CAMERAS.</p>

<p>Let me tell you the whole story. I went back to Adorama to tell them what's wrong with my M2 and this guy who has most experiences with Leicas took a look and told me there was nothing even though I saw him misfired with my Leica but he denied the existence of defects. That guy was trying to leave me by helping someone else. I stood infront of his counter until sometime he called in another guy to take a look at he was more honest and straightforward and told me my Leica M2 have a gooey shutter because it was heavily used and its old. So he sent me to Panorama Cameras for Service.</p>

<p>I went to Panorama and gave in my camera for service and got it back after five days and it is working brilliantly. The guy who serviced my camera but I don't know how to spell his name but it sounds like "Fema". I was surprised that he did everything on my Leica M2 from cleaning my viewfinder, regreasing the shutter to realigning the rangefinder. I highly recommend this guy who serviced my camera.</p>

<p>As noted above, about this guy who tried to fool me by saying that my Leica M2 is working alright so they don't have to pay my service bill. Because Adorama tried to fool me for a 600 dollars used DEFECTED Leica, I will go to BH to buy anything that is valuable next time. Atleast they got a better customer service. I heard the service bill is roughly 250 dollars and I felt that Adorama deserved to pay that much for being dishonest. I mean, I was a customer with Adorama since 2006, and now they are turning their backs on me. Come on, you failed Adorama.</p>

<p>Tough luck, William. Feel sorry for you. Other than the apparent employment by it of one louse, it seems that the seller is not reliable where second hand equipment is concerned. If it's any consolation, I once bought an M2 from a man said to sell reconditioned M3 and M2 cameras. It came with one bad shutter curtain. The seller agreed to replace it at no cost -- and put in another bad one.</p>