Frame size of Leica MDa

[darkosaric]

I see on many MDa cameras something that looks like that frame size is not 24x36, but longer on 36mm size. Is that something that is known, or just looks like that? If that is so - are the frames overlapping, or they are just not 36 frames, but smaller in the standard roll?

 

[Ballinderry-Michael]

The Leica pocket book of 1980 notes that Leica supplied some MDs and MDas to the German telephone authority with a variant format for meter reading ("normally supplied with a fixed focus Summaron 35mm f2.8 lens"). The only thing is, that variant format was 24x27, not longer than 36 as you're wondering.

The variant MDs are dated 1966 and the variant MDas 1968, 1970 and 1971. To complicate it a bit, Leica also supplied 24x36 models to the authority between 1965 and 1970.

I could copy the relevant pages for you, if you like.

 

[AgX]

For registration use there were several finder and even reflex cameras modified to more narrow formats.
But I do not know of widened film gates.

I guess the photo in question just got distorted. However the OP states that he saw such repeatedly. But making a focal plane shutter wider than necessary (at standard gate width) does not make sense to me.

On could think of the transport length added by one perf,. and using the yielded space for a registration exposure from behind, but in that photo there is no hint at that either.

Maybe that milled cut-out was intended to mount a registration transparency in, for illumination from the lens. But that would require that it would not scratch the film and that the shutter would open in front of it too.

 

[Saganich]

The MDa and MD-2 had options for data strips to be inserted. Those base plates had a slot for the strips. See below.

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/285364-md2-film-plane-notch/

 

[darkosaric]

I will go in Meister Camera store, and look this camera live (they have one for sale now), it could be that pictures are showing this distorted.

 

[AgX]

But that milling must be there for some reason. And as Saganich indicated I was right with my last guess about the transparency strip (video does not load at the moment). But as indicated that means that the shutter had enough play to still illuminate a widened gate.

 

[macfred]

There were versions in 24x36 and in 24x27mm https://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/MDa