M6 TTL Batteries Drain Fast?

I'm reversing myself. In another thread a few months ago, I said that I did not particularly notice that the M6 TTL ran its batteries down particularly fast.

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It does. I've kept track, and with light enthusiast usage I've been through 6 sets of batteries since February. This is about 3-5 times the rate in my non-TTL.

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What gives?

Try tripping the shutter before you store the camera. This supposedly

cuts off battery drain. This bit of advice comes from the Leica Users

Group (LUG).

That would seem to work, but for me there is nothing more irritating

than trying to photograph the moment with an untensioned

shutter. My habit is to always to wind the shutter after

every shot so that I am always ready for the next shot. I never store

a camera if it has film. When it is not over my shoulder or being

used, I always leave it lying around like car keys or sun glasses,

ready to be immediately grabbed and put into action.<p>

Mani, I think there is a defect in the electrical system for the

battery to run down so fast. This is definitely not normal operation.

I'd get it checked.

Here are a couple of posts off the leica-users you may find

interesting:

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I posted a while back about the problem I was having with the

battery draining on my M6 TTL and I thought I would update you

all on the success ( so far ) that I have had . First off , I sent in my

original TTL after six months or so of repeated battery draining ,

to New Jersey to see what the problem was . They sent

the same camera back two weeks later supposedly fixed but

with no explanation as to the cause of the drainage ( This goes

with out saying, but I was and am storing it in a snug bag and

yes, I am careful to shut it "off" ). That turned out to be a waist of

time since it continued to devour batteries at the same rate!

Back it went again. Two weeks later I received a new camera

with the same problem . I got a hold of "Brenda" in N.J. , who

said that the second camera should have been from the batch

with the" new and improved" metering boards but they really had

no way (even with the serial number) of telling! She had me send

it back again and promised to thoroughly test a third body before

sending one out, well so far so good ! It has been two months

and I am still on the original battery! Could be

a record from what I have read here ! If it is any help , here are

the serial numbers of the three bodies: 1st-2471*** 2nd-2481***

3rd-2495*** (M.P.)

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You could have a problem with the checking circuit of the TTL.

Unscrew the battery compartment lid and take out the batteries.

Then take a pen or pencil and run it over the two silvery dots at

the bottom of the battery chamber. If you can feel that these are

above the level of the base of the battery chamber, lightly push

on them so that they slide below the base. I improved upon that

by taking a small piece of thin, electrical tape and punched out a

small circle and stuck it over the two contacts. They are

part of a circuit that the technicians use a probe on. They have no

function for the metering circuit and if they are too "high" they

draw current from the batteries and will drain them quickly. My

TTL 0,85 used to through a set of batteries every week or so, but

after the 'surgery" they have lasted for several months. I suspect

that these contacts are only a push-fit into the base and

vibrations from air-travel or cars can cause them to shift slightly

and cause the drain. If the problem persists even after the

adjustment it would indicate that there is something else wrong

and the camera should

probably go to an authorised Leica service for checking. There

was a batch of TTL's that had what I suspect was a ground fault

that would drain batteries far to quickly and Leica did fix these as

they came in. (Tom A.)

Here is another post from the Leica-users on battery TTL drain:

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I have read many posts about the voracious battery appetite of

the TTL; and, armed with a Fluke 88 Multimeter.......... I decided to

find out for myself. The hapless victim is a chrome 0.72 M6TTL

serial no. 2472064..............The results are as follows:

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Camera's Observed State // Current Draw.

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Shutter speed dial set to "off", shutter wound or released and

pressure on shutter release or not // 0.00 milli-amperes.

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Shutter speed dial at any position, meter not activated and

shutter wound or released // 0.00 milli-amperes.

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Shutter speed dial at any position other than "B" and "off", meter

activated and shutter wound // 15.68 milliamperes.

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Shutter speed dial at "B" position, meter activated (no display)

and shutter wound // 14.48 milli-amperes.

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Shutter speed dial at any position but "off", shutter wound, and

meter activated but allowed to time out // 0.00 milli-amperes.

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Shutter speed dial at any position but "off", shutter released and

pressure on shutter release // 16.48 milli-amperes.

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Conclusions:

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It is fine to leave the camera "on" as long as there is no pressure

on the shutter release. If there is pressure on the shutter release

and the camera is not "off", the battery will drain down regardless

if the shutter is wound or released. If the camera is being carried

in a case, it would be prudent to switch it to off; other than that, I

would not worry too much. It is very simple to rig up the above

tests and if you are having problems with battery consumption, I

certainly would advise it before sending the camera back. Leica

states that a new battery will give around eight hours of metering

time so it would be easy to drain the battery overnight if there

was pressure on the shutter release and the camera was not

turned off.

Thanks for all the answers, and special thanks to John for the

diligent effort behind his answer(s).

Same happened to me until I realised the shutter was being depressed

in the bag I used to store it. It's those little red LEDs that drain

the batteries. Now I always set my (old non-TTL) M6s to B and the

problem has gone away. Presumably this is the reason for the

introduction of the OFF switch. Apologies if this is old knowledge,

but it has certainly worked for me.

A late update.

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I just noticed that while shooting, I often take up the slack in the

shutter release, the better to react faster to capture the shot, and

to reduce any camera movement due to inadvertant "jabbing". Often, I

noticed this weekend, that means I keep the shutter release down for

even a couple of minutes at a time as I dance around people or a

scene.

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This unconscious little habit probably accounts for battery drain,

though that still does not explain why the new TTL drains much

faster.

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Many thanks again, for the other input.