I was bored and it was cold....

(This was originally posted on Leica-users and copied to this

site and Leica's forum.)

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I have been reading all the posts on the cold and decided to test

my two Leica M cameras in the fairly cold weather we are

experiencing right now. It is not that cold, only about -23 degrees

C (-10 degrees F) but cold enough to see how the cameras

would perform in extreme situations. The cameras are a 1960's

M2 (moderately recent CLA) and a new this spring M6-TTL with

fairly fresh batteries. The cameras were placed outside and

checked at 15 minute intervals.

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15 m: cameras cool to touch, all functions fine and TTL's meter

works normally.

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30m: cameras cold to touch, lenses getting stiff to turn, all

functions fine and TTL's meter works normally.

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45m: cameras very cold to touch, lenses stiff to turn, hurts to

hold camera against forehead, all functions fine and TTL's meter

works normally.

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60m: cameras burn flesh on touch, lenses very stiff to turn, all

functions fine and TTL's meter works normally.

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75m: cameras burn flesh on touch, lenses very stiff to turn, all

functions fine and TTL's meter barely working but still accurate

(diodes pulse dim and bright and go out sooner than normal).

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90m: cameras burn flesh on touch, lenses very stiff to turn, all

functions fine and TTL's meter barely working but still accurate

(diodes pulse on and off and go out quickly).

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Test suspended due to the feeling that the tester was beginning

to look like a silly ass! Tough little cameras though.

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Cheers

and, how does this help improve your photography skills...??

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its a camera, a tool, use it....but dont burn yourself...

Interesting. I would have been more concerned with the electronics

and brittle film before considering the lens lubricant. How was the

aperature? Thanks, John - I'll tuck that little piece of knowledge

away.

All the functions worked though the meter was showing signs of

imminent failure. The aperture ring stiffened slightly but only just.

I performed the test as I had been told that the new cameras had

a different material for shutter curatins and did not perform that

well in the extreme cold. Cold enough for me! Now I know that I

can trust my TTL's shutter in the cold with the usual precautions

to keep the batteries working. I did not use film for three reasons:

first, I tried all the shutter speeds every 15m and would have had

to reload several times; second, I was primarily concerned with

shutter performance; and third, I have shot many rolls in these

conditions and know how to deal with film related problems

already.

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Cheers

Thanks John. Last night here in Florida, it dipped down to 71

degrees F. We were busy bringing in our dogs, making hot chocolate

and putting blankets on the shrubs. I thought of taking some

pictures, but was sure my Leica M6 would die in the extreme weather

that we have in the south.

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Now I know... I need not have worried. Tonight my parka, gloves and

boots are sitting next to the camera. My neighbors will think I am

insane being out in that kind of weather... they don't understand...

I have to shoot!

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Thanks ;-)

Thanks John, that's an interesting test. It's great to know Leica M's

will stand up to such cold conditions and still function. Meanwhile

I'm enjoying summer downunder and the fish are jumping.

I remember reading something about having a Leica winterized. This

is supposed to involve removal of lubricants from the camera. (All?

Or just in certain places? I don't know.) But it is--or was--said

to be necessary for proper functioning. Probably one would not know

whether the shutter is working normally without shooting some film,

to be able to judge the correctness of the exposure. It might click,

but is it accurate? I imagine that stiffening of the mechanism might

slow the shutter down, causing overexposure. But then, I think the

film becomes less sensitive at very cold temperatures. If that's

true, it would cause underexposure. Hmmm . . .

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What are your thoughts?

For thirty years I lived in Fairbanks where it gets down to -50F (and

below; Feb '89 official temp got down to -68F) for weeks on end, and

that's without a wind chill factor because Fairbanks gets very little

wind. I sure know about equipment in cold weather! We plug our cars

in to keep the engine blocks warm. I never had a problem with a

Leica, though. That's probably because I just kept it under a warm

coat.

My M4-P refused to shoot on the Lake of Baikal (Jan �87) when it was �

30 �35 degree C, the shutter curtains moved very slowly. Nikon F

still was working, all functions fine, TTL metering worked normally.

Ten years ago I changed cloth curtains of my M3 and IIIf. I set titan

shutter curtains and use a special antifreeze lubricant. Since both

cameras are working very good on any frost.

Extremely cold weather made my mechanical M shutter run lean or

faster than spec because of disparity between the second and first

curtain speeds. In the extreme heat it runs slow. I lost an old clip

on M meter when the delicate needle spring movement shattered do to

thermal shock in extreme cold. Watch out for condensation on and in

Lenses when you go back and forth between warm and cold spaces.