Fixing pinholes in a shutter curtain

My M3 has a couple of pinholes in the shutter curtain. I'm pretty sure that it is the result of setting down the camera on its back with a lens on and no lens cap. Lesson learned.

 

I have read a couple of earlier threads on how to repair this, either by sending the camera to a Leica repair person or doing it oneself.

 

I am inclined to send the camera to a Leica technician to replace the curtain. I'd appreciate suggestions on who to send it to, and any comments on what it is likely to cost.

 

Thanks to John Kelly for pinpointing the problem in an earlier thread. You were right, as became apparent when I developed a few rolls at a different lab.

 

Cheers

If you're in the USA send it to DAG or Sherry Krauter.

Since you said "inclined to send ... ," RJ, I thought I'd point out the d.i.y. advice given on <a href=http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00G2Fk>this thread</a>, just in case it wasn't one of the threads you saw.<p>

 

I don't have a pinhole problem, but if I did, and if it were my <i>only</i> significant problem, I might be tempted to try a d.i.y. repair. But I'm saying this from a comfortable distance. :)<p>

 

The two technicians mentioned by Stephen are both well known and enjoy fine reputations.

Best to replace, but even though it technically can alter the shutter speed (which isn't that accurate on most M's anyways) you can always use a little dab of black electrical tape, CAREFULLY placed, supporting gently the curtain on the other side. This needs to be a real gentle placement. But my M6 has been humming along for a few years with a pin hole in it.

Barry, two points: I think you mean a little dab of Liquid electrical tape, don't you?

 

Also, if most M's don't have accurate shutter speeds, how come my Velvia transparencies are better exposed with my M2, M3, M6 Classic, M6TTL, and MP, than with my R5, FE2, and F3, all of which have electronic shutter timing?

Liquid "electrical tape" is available in the US from Home Depot. It works well but you need to be very careful with it, just a tiny (no more than 1mm) touch...let it dry...maybe add more. A sharpened match stick might be a good applicator. I've done this. If it works, it works. If it doesn't work you can still have Sherry or Dag replace the shutter.

Nah, none of that liquid stuff, I'm talking right off the roll, traditional style. Use a real sharp exacto or some such, and really put it on carefully. Kidding aside, liquid sounds to be a better solution, but I got a roll of film back with the same white spot on each pic and figured out what happened and well the tape was right there so WTF. It just happened to work.

Who knows Rob bout the exposure. There's stuff published around measuring the shutters. I think the most accurate of the m's turned out to be the M7, which makes sense if you think about it. I get piss cutter results with that. I never shot slide in my M3, I'm sure it would work pretty good. I think they get the most inaccurate at 1/1000th, and we usually don't shoot there too much anyways. Or maybe you do.

Also other factors such as servicing etc.

The shutter I repaired with liquid electrical tape had previously been patched with 3/16" bit of what appeared to be actual shutter cloth and adhesive. It was peeling off (which is why I think a fabric patch is an inherent mistake...it'd jammed the shutter), so peeled it the rest of the way and replaced with the liquid. It worked perfectly for a year, then I sold the camera. Never heard more :-)

I think it's worth trying the Liquid Electrical Tape first considering a shutter curtain replacement will run about $275-400 depending on who does it and how much disassembly required. Expect Leica USA to charge $400. Don Goldberg says it can work if the holes aren't too large, Sherry frowns on the idea.

With camras that have been stored the cloth often can "marry/stick/bond/glue" to the layer below or above itself on the shutters spool that holds the cloth shutter. This causes a vertical thin zone that leaks light. With a liquid electrical patch; you are adding a stiffer area that can "tend" to effect the shutters action. Its worth a try for small areas; and is abit of a less than perfect solution for a large area. <BR><BR>Here is a 35mm Kodak rangefinder with a liquid electrical tape patch: Its the vertical area below the round eyepiece.<BR><BR><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y148/ektar/EKTRA/tripods-471.jpg?t=1187882399"><BR><BR><BR><BR><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y148/ektar/EKTRA/tripods-470.jpg?t=1187882792"><BR><BR>

The blue dental floss adds some grip to a semi stripped out hole. This screw holds the spring that goes in the crossed shafts that are wound up to adjust the shutter tension. One rotates the head 90 degrees; and places the spring wire in place. A large screwdriver here is used to wind the shutter up. The wind knob is on the back of the Ektra. The back is removeable; it mechanically references to the four tooling points/pads seen in the two images; the four non=black areas that are rectangles.

<< ... figured out what happened and well the tape was right there so WTF. It just happened to work. ... >>

 

Ha ! Barry -- my kind of "technician." :-)

 

As John, Kelly, Alan (and even Barry) point out, seems as though the liquid has the better chance of working.

 

Kelly -- good illustrations w/ your post.

Thanks everyone for the responses.<P>

 

I'm pretty sure that this happened because I had the camera lying on its back in the sun without a cap on the lens.<P>

 

There are a few earlier threads about this, but they don't include photographs of what the problem looks like.<P>

 

When I first raised this, I included a photo, but the moderator promptly sent the entire thread off to Casual Conversations on the ground that is was irrelevant. Luckily, John Kelly responded before that happened.<br>

<i>[Moderator's note: it was moved because it was question about film processing errors; it was not a question about repairing M3 shutter curtains.]</i><P>

 

For people who want to see the effect of pinholes in a shutter, see: http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00MIWv<P>

 

I've now looked at eight rolls that are affected by this, used in a range of very bright to very low light, and with slow and fast advances between frames. The pinholes range from very small to quite large, and in my case, there are frames, especially in low light, where only one pinhole is evident. Luckily, they are on the sides of the frame, and even more luckily, I have medium format versions of most of the photographs that are affected.<P>

 

Cheers.

Here's an example where the pinholes are essentially invisible because the photograph was taken at night under very low light. On most of the frames, they are fairly obvious, as in the photograph in the other thread:

 

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<img src=http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/6340662-md.jpg>

</center>

For those who are interested, that is the Cape Breton musician Ashley MacIsaac, playing an open air concert in my neighbourhood on Saturday night. That's a basic scan, but I figure that I may be able to make something of the photograph, and that I'm lucky that the pinholes are unnoticeable. Even luckier that I have some photos taken at the same time with a Mamiya 7. He put on a great show.

Here's another example, where one of the pinholes is present:

 

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<img src=http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/6340709-md.jpg>

</center>

Sorry for the large size of that last photo, I'm still getting a handle on how to post here.

That last photo is a very good one, RJ ... pinholes and all. :)

Michael S,

 

Thanks for your comment about the second photograph. I'm relatively new to photography, and the views of people who know what they are talking about (as you do), whether positive or negative, are greatly appreciated.