Strange behaviour of M6TTL shutter, pls help

[christoph_frick1]

Does anybody have experience with the following strange

behaviour? : used my M6TTL (fairly new, from May 2002) with SF-20

flash in TTL mode, shutter setting at 1/4. At two exposures, the

shutter opened, flash fired, but then the shutter didn't close and

could not be cocked. Only turning the speed to 1/50 (synchro speed)

made the shutter close, and then I could cock the shutter again as

normal. Don't know whether this has anything to do with the flash --

could it be that I tried to cock the shutter too quickly, before

the second curtain closed, as a reflex after the flash, and this

confused the shutter? -- I don't want to try that intentionally,

worrying that I might break something... -- It only happened for

two frames, separated by a few normal exposures. After that roll

was finished, I tried all speeds and they sounded OK, then had to

continue shooting, and all exposures on two more rolls came out OK.

 

I'm puzzled; I only heard about such behaviour from AE cameras with

electronic shutters, but never from an all-mechanical shutter... --

what was going on, what did I do wrong? Thanks everybody for the

help!

[john_collier2]

For some reason the low speed escapement stuck. It may have been because you think you might tried to cock the shutter before it had finished cycling. If it happens again, send it in for a check.

[henry_ting2]

Using very slow shutter speed, cocking the shutter before the escapement "whirling" sound stops should not cause a problem unless something is wrong. Have it checked by a competent repairman/woman.

[sandy.]

Christoph, same thing happened to my brand new M7, got stuck in the middle of a roll, had to turn the shutter dial to close the shutter. It's one of those 'electronic gremlins' one has to live with, with M6TTL and M7. You have no other choice but to send it back to Leica for a CLA. Am I kidding you ? A brand new camera and it needed a CLA ? Well, I have recipts to prove it if you like. Sorry about that happening to you. It is just one of those things in life.

[steve_barnett2]

It happened to my M6TTL, and M7, like Sandy. But being only an odd occurence, and the simple solution is to turn the shutter dial, I didn't send the M6 back for a CLA/checkup until the very end of the warrenty period. That way the camera was fully freshened before the factory waived bye bye to their responsibilty, and any other bugs will have had time show themselves.

[walt_delesandri]

There is NO reason in any M6 why the slow speed geartrain

should stick..it's not electronic....it's the same (DESIGNwise)

as all M's....however, here's something I've noticed...many

years ago, in another life, I worked for an authorized repair

shop (Houston, Tx)...I noticed that in pre-M4P cameras the

escapement geartrain, once cleaned, worked "smoother"than

newer ones...again, the DESIGN was never changed...Perhaps the

quality of manufacture is in question. I notice this in my own

M4 and M4P (both post-CLA)the "return"

movement is noticeably 'smoother' in the older M4...(Leica Ms are unique-they do NOT disengage the pallet

wheel at the end of the exposure, hence the 'winding down' sound

we all love---shitty design, relies on a feeble hairspring to

return the geartrain to rest with the pallet wheel engaged)

 

Also, to the last poster, why would you send a camera that was

functioning perfectly to Leica in warranty?...

I'm sure they, like most shops,

don't repair what ain't broke...there's no way a Leica should

need "cla" in amateur service before 15+ years...I'd be worried,

with Leica's repair reputation, that unnecessary service would actually HARM the damn thing.

 

I post hesitantly, as I encountered some hostility on the LUG

after some of my "repair" and "QC" related posts. I use Leica,

(four-body-many-lens household), love Leica, and think they're

the finest 35mm equipment available today, by a wide margin...however,

they're subject to the same cost restraints as are the rest of

the manufacturers, and they have long limped with some inherently

shitty design "features"...repair folks differ in their attitudes.

I prefer the M4-2 over later cameras (though NOT as much as the M4)

although that's not a common opinion. I concur with Jay that M2/3

RF assemblies are a disaster waiting to happen (we have two here in our house)...due

to the cement problem...the slow speed/RF alignment problems with

these cameras are legendary. Until the Nikon S series comes back with

sensible pricing, I'll suffer with my Leicas!!!!

(I replaced my Nikons with used Leicas shortly after high school,

in the seventies)

 

Walt in Denton, Tx.

[steve_barnett2]

Walt, can I point you to what I said "It happened to my M6TTL, and M7, like Sandy." So, no I wasn't sending it back without a problem for a CLA on the cheap. And who the f**k are you to decide if its amateur or professional use without asking first? In fact, why does it matter, if its broke its broke?