Alright, please explain this to me

[chuck a]

There was a recent thread on RFF about turning an M6TTL to off to prevent

battery drain. Well, I am stupid and can't seem to do this. I have had the

camera a few weeks and am on my third battery. All it takes is forgetting once

and voila, dead battery. Especially if you have a soft release.

 

Last nights battery drain happened even though the shutter was not cocked. The

meter doesn't turn on if the shutter isn't cocked so why did my battery drain?

Can anyone tell me why this happens?

 

I read something about someone making modifications to the battery cap by

adding a switch. Allowing power from the battery to be controlled without

having to rotate the shutter dial to off. Does anybody have any info on this?

 

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love this camera. I am just trying to find a

power drain workaround. The Bessas have it correct with a collar switch on the

shutter release to control power.

 

Thanks

[35mmdelux]

The M7 got it right too. on/off switch -

[vinay_patel]

The main drain on the battery is the light meter. It can't operate if the shutter isn't armed. Except at "off" the TTL-flash circuit has a continuous but very tiny drain. If your camera drains batteries overnight with the shutter disarmed, there is a fault in the electronics.

[chuck a]

From what I have discovered the battery will drain with the shutter cocked or uncocked if the shutter release is pressed. I had the camera in my bag with a soft release on it and the shutter was uncocked. The soft release was probably being pressed in the bag. I thought that there would be no battery drain as the meter doesn't come on if the shutter is not cocked. But the battery will drain if the shutter release is pressed unless the camera is in the OFF position.

[vinay_patel]

It shouldn't drain if the shutter isn't armed, if it does it means a problem needs fixing. Call Leica or Sherry or DAG and ask, maybe you'll believe them.

[alan_miller10]

this may seem the stupidest thing to say ever, but on my ttl, i turn it round past B and it

turns off. i've had to change the batteries once since buying it over 6 months ago and i think

the batteries were on their last legs then... ( leds were flickering, change of battery later all is

fine). I know on teh m6 classic there is no off position so this was more of a problem.. hence

the workaraound you described. Also try not to use the 2no. lr44 IIRC as they don't last

anywhere near as long as the single 3v battery, can't remember the designation i'm afraid.

those are my experiences though for what it's worth.

[alan_miller10]

sorry, turn the shutter speed dial CCW until it hits teh stop is what i meant. may have been a

bit ambiguous

[henry_a]

Set "B" on the shutter speed dial and uncock (click) the shutter - that's "OFF" for the M6.

[mrivers]

The "Rose" is a battery cover that rotates to cut power to the battery on M6's. They are available used, but I seem to remember that the makers house burned down...

[chuck a]

Vinay,

 

According to these tests at John Colliers site, there is a similar drain on power when the shutter is not cocked and the shutter release is pressed as there is with the shutter cocked. You wouldn't think so because the meter lights don't work but...

 

http://leica-users.org/v17/msg07164.html

 

At the above URL, John Collier concludes:

"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. ..."

[ilkka]

I have a M6TTL and soft release and have never changed batteries more than once a year. I do occasionally forget to turn the switch off, but usually not when the camera is in the bag where shutter release could be pressed. Something seems wrong with your camera or the way you operate it.

[owen w.]

When my M6TTL was new, it had this problem and a couple others. I sent it back to Leica on the Passport Warranty and they replaced the electronics. That solved all the problems. I have never bothered to turn it to the "off" position since, and need new batteries about once every 18 months. It took practice to not cock the shutter, tho. If the shutter is cocked, and it is in the bag, count on dead batteries.

[raymond_tai]

Early batches of the M6TTL had a short in the battery compartment. I had one of them and got it replaced under waranty. Perhaps Leica will fix it for free because it was a manufacturing defect. Research the laws of your state.

[mikko_kalavainen]

Hmm. So on the Classic M6 the rule "B is for Bag" works, but not on the M6TTL... Odd.

 

Although I never remember to turn it to B. Oh well.

[vinay_patel]

"According to these tests at John Colliers site, there is a similar drain on power when the shutter is not cocked and the shutter release is pressed as there is with the shutter cocked."

 

Leica, Sherry Krauter, Don Goldberg all say there is no current to the meter after the shutter is released. That I find more reliable information than a test performed by a private individual with a single sample of the camera which could very well have had the same defect as yours and Owen's. I also find it unexplainable why in the "test", he got a higher current reading with the meter diodes extinguished than when they were lit. You seem to have proved to your personal satisfaction that your camera is fine and doesn't have a service issue, so all is well.