MP shutter won't fire if advance lever isn't cocked

[mark.brennan]

Hi All -

 

This is starting to really annoy me, as I am used to letting the film advance

lever come back flush against the top plate for the next shot. Now, however,

most (but not all) times I find that the shutter won't fire unless I cock the lever.

 

My MP is a year and a half old, and still under Passport, so I should probably

get it adjusted. I have a call into Leica in NJ and will probably ship the

camera to them once I talk w/ them. (Despite a previous thread I started about

2nd bodies however, I still don't have a 2nd M body, so I'm loathe to give up my

MP for a chunk of time for a CLA - alas.)

 

Has anyone else has experienced this? After changing out my last roll I played

w/ all the shutter speeds with the camera open and was able to get the issue to

abate. But now it's starting again.

 

Any feedback is greatly appreciated - thanks!

 

Regards,

-Mark

[fred_c1]

You're not making much sense. Of course you need to <i>cock the shutter</i> by winding the film advance lever before taking a shot.<P>

 

Or have you ever used a camera with manual film advance before getting the MP?

[john_gleason1]

I'll make a guess here: Maybe Mark didn't really mean "cock the shutter". Rather, he's saying that the lever has to be <i>out</i>, away from the body, even when the shutter <i>is</i> cocked? That it, Mark?

[john_r._fulton_jr.]

I thought what he said was pretty clear. John G has it correct. I've never heard of that

problem. Doesn't sound good.

[mark.brennan]

John G. and John F. understood correctly. Of course I cock the advance lever to advance

the film, but then (nearly) consistently find that the lever has to be OUT (away from the

body) in order for the shutter to fire.

 

It's weird: I feel the shutter depress completely, but it doesn't engage - the shutter

doesn't release. Then, if I move the film advance lever OUT (ok, without cocking it), I can

get the shutter to release (open/close) when I depress the shutter button. Truly

unsatisfying. And I agree John, it isn't good.

 

I can get it serviced, but wondered if anyone else had seen this happen.

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

Regards,

-Mark

[james mitchell dc]

I've only seen this happen on Bessas. The MP needs attention.

[vick_ko]

The MP is a completely mechanical camera as far as the shutter release and film advance are concerned.

 

My speculation is that the shutter interlock is just a tiny bit out of adjustment, and when you move the film advance lever out, it causes the interlock to just clear and allow the shutter to release.

 

The clue is to open the bottom of the camera, get a flashlight and look up the film takeup chamber. There is a notch in the top of the film spool that, when the shutter is properly cocked, the notch clears a tab which is the interlock to the shutter release. If the notch blocks the tab, the shutter is prevented from firing.

 

So - to fix this, unfortunately means a trip to a repair tech (not necessarily Leica, but someone who knows the mechanics of the camera).

 

Good luck.

 

Vick

[ken_ford1]

"The clue is to open the bottom of the camera, get a flashlight and look up the film takeup chamber. There is a notch in the top of the film spool that, when the shutter is properly cocked, the notch clears a tab which is the interlock to the shutter release. If the notch blocks the tab, the shutter is prevented from firing."

 

I've never noticed this before - thanks for the education!

[mark.brennan]

Vick - thanks for the details about checking the interlock. I will examine it once I finish

this roll.

 

Looks like the MP is going to Leica USA in NJ - dreading the long time it will probably sit

there (i'm hearing from other customers 2+ months!).

 

Thanks again.

 

Regards,

-Mark