Slow speeds and winding the camera...

Helle photo.netters,

 

I was wondering if anyone could help me understand if there is a

problem with winding an M6 at slow shutter speeds (<1/30th) before

the whirr of the gears is finished?

 

I also would like to know if this applies to an old IIIa?

 

Thank you in advance,

Erik.

what would be the problem? I do that all the time with my M6.

I don�t know what the problem would be, but I have often

wondered the same thing. Especially with the much slower

speeds, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 etc.

 

I exercise these slower shutter speeds when I load my film, and I

could wind the film before the gears and noises stop, but I don�t.

 

My question is the same as Erik.

 

Is it okay or not advised?

The whir you hear is the escapement, or timing mechanism for the slow speeds. If the shutter is still open, and you're winding the film (which tensions the shutter), I wouldn't think that would be something you would want to do on a regular basis.

 

If, however, the shutter has closed, and the escapement is simply running off excess time, so to speak, then there shouldn't be any harm in it.

 

At the least, you could be doing nothing out of the ordinary. Or you might be advancing the film before the shutter has fully closed. At worst, you could be fouling the mechanism because you're tensioning the shutter while the camera is attempting to release it, especially at 1/8 to 1 second.

 

That's how I would look at things from a mechanical point of view.

I don't think it is a problem as long as the second shutter curtain has finished

travel across the film plane. Some M cameras release the wind mechanism before

the second shutter curtain has finished. This is what causes so much trouble with the

slow speeds when using a winder/motor.

When you work the advance lever it pulls off the last of the slow speed escapement anyway, so there would be no harm in it.

Perhaps Leicas have better safeguards, but some have reported jamming up their Cosina/Voigtlanders by doing this. Winding too soon seems particularly likely with the trigger winder. On the other hand, I got discoordinated/out of sequence the first time I used the trigger winder on the Bessa-T, and no harm done.

The M7 locks the winder during exposure, even at 38 second (not 32) when loading film forgetting that the camera is in auto with a lens cap on the lens (turning off the camera via shutter lock will close the shutter). So, I wouldn't attempt it on any other cameras. I once jammed a Nikon F2 making that mistake. A DIY (under the baseplate) fixed the problem.

Mike Elek

If, however, the shutter has closed, and the escapement is

simply running off excess time, so to speak, then there shouldn't

be any harm in it.

 

Jay

When you work the advance lever it pulls off the last of the slow

speed escapement anyway, so there would be no harm in it.

 

 

I don�t know if this is what Erik L. was asking, but...

 

This is exactly what I meant.

 

�After� the shutter has �opened and closed�, and the timing is still

making noise. It makes sense that you would be able to wind the

film, but since it is still doing something, waiting seemed better

than winding.

 

Now it seems waiting was all for not.

 

Thanks