dropped my M6

[gee-bug]

My wife accidentally knocked my week-old M6TTL off a chair on to a concrete floor - about a 1.5 foot drop. I checked the camera and no physical signs of harm, but I found that there is a sound when I shake the camera. I hadn't noticed this before, but I hadn't shaken the camera before. It doesn't sound like a "broken" rattling, but almost like a lever moving internally. Is this normal or are bodies typically silent when shaken? (Everybody shake your Leica!) Also, I can't tell for sure but I think the rangefinder isn't focusing properly at infinity. Since it is night here the only thing I can focus on at infinity is the moon. I can't tell if it's not focusing or if it is just my nearsightedness causing some ghosting of the moon's image. Guess I'll have to wait until morning and find a tower far enough away to check. Any advice on other things I should check? Will such a drop typically knock the rangefinder off? I just filled out the warranty card today but haven't mailed it.

 

<p>

 

Ugh, I remember a similiar nauseous feeling after the first dent in my new car. I won't sleep well tonight...

[sam_smith3]

I deeply sympathize, divorce is so expensive these days. I'll check

out my M6 when I get home by giving it a good ole shake and I'll let

you know the result. I don't ever recollect hearing a rattle in my

Leica M's but then again I have never shaken them. Apparently the

rangefinder can easily be knocked out of alignment with a slight

knock and yet can also survive a real solid wallop without any ill

effect. You'll obviously have to determine the alignment question

come morning.

[andy_piper2]

Just shook my M4-2. There is a subtle rattle if the camera is facing

slightly up - dead center. Sounds like the rubber shutter curtains

wobbling in the tracks a little (they have to be loose or they'd jam.)

 

<p>

 

Somewhere in these piles of threads within the past 2 months someone

linked to the Wash. Post colunist writing about dropping his M6 - more

like 3 feet - and how it worked fine afterward (while's HIS wife's AF

Nikon SLR took the same fall and died horribly).

 

<p>

 

Cross your fingers - but the Leica is TOUGH.

[Niels - NHSN]

Frank Van Riper on <a href=2http://washingtonpost.com/wp-

srv/photo/essays/vanRiper/010615.htm">dropped cameras</a>.

[Niels - NHSN]

That didn't quite work. Here's the URL:<br>

http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/essays/vanRiper/010615.htm

[tim_robinson]

It is only a week old camera not a week old baby! Both would

probably be fine when dropped from 1.5 feet. Put a roll of film

through it before you worry too much. I have lots of gear that has

been dropped and 90% of the time there is no problem.Just

don't make a habit of it. When you do your test roll focus on an

obect and shoot wide open to see if the range finder is out. They

sometimes are from the factory . Thank yourself lucky it wasn't a

plastic nikon. Most things inside the M6 are easy to fix.

[richard palmer]

Have you taken the film out and rattled the camera? I did the same

thing with paranoid rattle problem and realised it was the film

canister...der. Hope yours is the same. I would get the camera

checked over in any case but my thoughts are that it will be fine.

See if you can keep the camera in something a little energy absorbent

most of the time as this will significantly reduce the shock loading,

just to make you feel bad peak accelerations of a 1.5 foot drop of a

steel ball on a steel plate will be in the 1000s of g.....[To be fair

though this is a shockwave that will not have a very long duration]

Good luck and remember a few small scrapes on the camera will make

you more likely to take it out if you would normally feel worried,

and reduce the resale value. Both of which translate to using it more

often, and for longer.......and that is what really counts. The M6 is

a great object, but only BECAUSE of what you can do with it, and how

it inspires you to do it.

[gee-bug]

Yeah, the film cannister was making most if the noise. Now (with it

removed) there is just the slightest "tick-tick" when I shake the

camera - probably normal.

 

<p>

 

Unfortunately... I just checked the infinity focus in the daylight

and it is way off. I can't even focus on telephone poles at

~200yds. So now I get to experience the legendary Leica service

department, what fun! How long does it take for them to fix a camera?

[mostly sports]

Collectors' Advisory: This post contains painful information, you may want to stop reading now! Once upon a time I was bicycling on the island of Isleboro, Maine. My M4 Leica with 35mm Summicron was in a bike pack between the handlebars. Somehow one of the elastics securing the pack got tangled in the spokes. I came to a screeching halt, but the contents of the pack got flipped forward into the air. You don't know dismay until you've seen your M4 bouncing and skidding down the pavement. The lens hood was bent out of shape, the top plate was dented on the corner, there were a few other scratches, and the rangefinder vertical alignment was out. But the camera (after Marty Forsher corrected the rangefinder) gave me years of service thereafter, and needed no other repair.

[john_collier5]

My daughter has twice practically thrown my TTL and M2 at very

hard surfaces. The M2 hit so hard the lens uncoupled! All that

was amiss was the rangefinder alignment. If the rangefinder

vertical alignment (which takes a special tool) is still OK, you

could quickly reset the infinity setting yourself.

 

<p>

 

Focus the lens to infinity and point it at an object at least two

miles away (3.5 kilometers). The screw holding the roller on the

rangefinder arm (which contacts the lens rangefinder cam) is

eccentric. Turn it small amounts until the two images line up.

Make sure you use a screwdriver that fits correctly and DO NOT

apply any pressure against the arm! Just lightly insert the

screwdriver blade and turn.

 

<p>

 

It is a very simple adjustment to a make and there are other

more complicated adjustments to calibrate the rangefinder but

they seldom go out.

 

<p>

 

Cheers and relax,

[gee-bug]

Thanks for this info, John. I think the vertical alignment is okay, so I'll try the screw adjustment. Does anybody know where I might find more info on making this adjustment? Like a website with some pictures? Thanks for any help.

[jay_.]

Ken, the RF horiz. adjustment is very easy but you need to have a

very delicate touch and a screwdriver with a blade of exactly the

right width, taper and thickness, plus you will need to file the edge

of the blade at a slight angle since the screw slot is just inside

the lens opening and the handle can't be held parallel to the screw

axis. I made a tool for this, which allows holding at 90-degrees

from the screw axis. Frankly, if your M6 is still under passport I

wouldn't risk voiding the warranty by chancing to leave a jones mark

on the screw that Leica would recognize as evidence of

an "unauthorized repair facility". If you can live without it (or

seize the perfect opportunity to rationalize the need for a second

body!)I'd send it to Leica.

[don_maldon]

If this camera is only a week old, and purchased new, it should be

covered by the pasport warranty and able to be repaired by Leica at

no charge.

[john_collier5]

Even if the warranty is fast, which Leica NJ is seldom accused

of, he will be without his camera for a week. A week for minor

adjustment! Do it yourself.

 

<p>

 

Here is a website that shows you roughly what is up but the

pictures are not very clear:

 

<p>

 

<a

href="http://www.mediakyoto.com/camerashopper/lrc_e/index_e.

html">

http://www.mediakyoto.com/camerashopper/lrc_e/index_e.html</

a>

 

<p>

 

Cheers,

[jeff_schraeder1]

Sympathy! I dropped my new (1 week)Leica out of my Jeep onto rough

pavement. I worried myself silly. I even considered sending it in for

service and having the baseplate replaced because of the scratch. I

couldn't bear to part with it though, so I shot some film. I think I

heard noises, I think the lens focusing felt less smooth. The

pictures were fine. I used a honing stone to smooth out the area that

was scratched. That made it look worse but at least I couldn't feel

the rough spot while I was shooting. Somehow I got to love my Leica

even more now that it was a little ugly. It kind of matched my Jeep a

little better and I am a lot more relaxed using it. It takes time but

it will happen, despair, denial, anger, depression, and at last

acceptance!

[gee-bug]

I have returned triumphant! (I think) I initially tried

unsuccessfully to grind down a small screwdriver but couldn't get it

right, so went to Sears and bought a "master offset gauge", a multi-

blade tool for checking engine valve clearances. It's bent so it's

easy to get into the camera, also the "blades" have nice rounded ends

so as not to scratch the screw. I got it the rangefinder aligned on

the fourth try - about 5 minutes. The .20mm blade fit the screw

precisely. Sears part# 940802, the "Craftsman 26-blade master offset

gauge".

 

<p>

 

I know I should have been good and sent it back to Leica, but I just

got the damn thing and am going on vacation in two days and couldn't

stand the thought of being without it.

 

<p>

 

One last item for ye gurus: I noticed that at 1/15 and 1/30 there is

a sound like a tiny ball bearing bouncing twice after the shutter

fires. I don't think I noticed that before, but it may have always

been there. It only happens at these two speeds, is it normal?

 

<p>

 

Thanks to everyone for all the help and suggestions, esp. John

Collier with the adjustment info and the "Cheers and relax". Also

Richard for pointing out that my since my camera is no

longer "perfect", I'm more likely to use it - true. The kid gloves

come off now.

[andy_piper2]

The shutter speed sound IS normal - and there should be a whirring

sound AFTER the shutter is closed with longer speeds (down to 1

second)....sound goes all the way back to the 1954 M3....possibly to

the leica A for all I know.

[victor_randin]

In a similar situation I would shake my wife�:?(

[msitaraman]

So Ken, John,

 

<p>

 

Is the M6 horizontal alignment done the same way as in the M3 (i.e.

as illustrated by Media Kyoto)?

 

<p>

 

I know that the vertical alignment will require prising off the red

Leica dot...

 

<p>

 

And by the way folks, 1 week is not so bad- getting a Leica fixed

take 3 months in Singapore, and costs about half as much as a

50 'cron. Small consolation if you need your camera right away, which

most of us do.

[john_collier5]

Yes and no. The proceedure on the website is a simple one and

it does not actually calibrate the rangefinder mechanism. You

are just adjusting the infinity setting. The rangefinder arm length

can also be adjusted. This requires a special factory jig or

buckets of patience with a ground glass screen. There are also

individual adjustments for each frameline set as well. The

vertical alignment on the later cameras requires a special tool

(which you can purchase for aprox. $275US) as well as removal

of the red dot.

 

<p>

 

Cheers,

[gee-bug]

The end of the story: after our vacation I sent the body to Leica NJ

and they adjusted the RF and replaced the top plate - no more dent!

All for free, gotta love that Passport Warranty! It feels - and

smells - like new again. When I opened the sealed plastic baggie it

was shipped in the smell hit me, and I took a good long whiff -

exquisite! I'm not sure how they accomplish the "new camera smell",

but I love it. It took NJ three weeks from the date on the repair

estimate, which, incidentally was Sept. 11 (shudder).

 

<p>

 

The shutter and film advance are silky smooth again. They seemed to

be not-so-silky after the fall, but it may have been my imagination.

So glad to have my M6 back, I'll sleep well tonight.

[roberto_watson_garc_a]

Are you sure you took off any ring from your hand before you did the

sheking, hope it is well, are you ready for the next?, it is a nice

thing of buying used.

Check for meter, finder and feelings in the winding mecanism, and use

it extensively, I once droped a M3 and it didn´t fail until days

after, I send it to LNJ, also see where the camera hitted the floor

and anilice what could happened, or share the info to see if we can

help.