I seem to remember that the long leader was common at some point in time and St.Barnack designed around it
I learned my lesson after I sent my IIIf to YYE for CLA and he said that there were bits of film in the chamber
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This is all good and as suspected. Leitz could have been more particular explaining the long leader, but. maybe that would put some potential buyers off ? I'm pretty set I will follow proper technique to load a film in.
The sprocket at the top of the camera does not allow the film to slip over it - it has to feed onto the sprocket holes laterally. There is also the possibility that a short leader could have the point of the film (where it becomes full width again) pierce the shutter cloth. Which would you rather cut? Film leaders or shutter curtains?
OK, that makes sense. And, of course, this is a non issue with M bodies that have the trapdoor on the back.
Although, if you're particularly sloppy, you could drive a corner of the film through the curtain in those, too.
The sprocket at the top of the camera does not allow the film to slip over it - it has to feed onto the sprocket holes laterally. There is also the possibility that a short leader could have the point of the film
It's not the sprockets in the camera that is the problem when loading film, it's the top edge of the film catching on the top edge of the frame opening on the shutter crate.
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Barnack is all new to me, just got my IIIC and given 1947 built with overall way it clicks, I have to admit, it's a mechanical joy. Good clean looks and great condition it's an icing on the cake.
@Hassasin, there are two authors that I've found really informative - Andrew Matheson, whose The Leica way has pretty much everything in it. I have the 6th edition (1963), which is good on the early Ms as well as all the Barnacks. The other author is Theo Kisselbach, with two titles - The Leica book and Pocket Leica book, both from the 1950s. My copies of those are the German originals Das Leica-Buch and Kleines Leica-Buch. They are really well illustrated: Kisselbach worked for Leica. His son Hans-Günter wrote a book called Barnacks erste Leica (Barnack's first Leica) which is in German only but the illustrations are something else.
By the sound of it you certainly won't need to look up everything in thpse books; but they are very useful for out-of-the-way information - and there are copies available on abebooks.
Since the Leica was the original 35mm camera, when Kodak introduced the Retina and the standard film canister (c.1932?) they trimmed the leader to fit the most common camera out there. They didn't go to the short leader tab until the middle 1970s (I was there for the change). By that time Barnack Leicas were long out of production, few were still in use, so there was no need to waste that bit of film.
It's not the sprockets in the camera that is the problem when loading film, it's the top edge of the film catching on the top edge of the frame opening on the shutter crate.
But you state one is a fact, the other is not. Based on what?
Incidentally, the tiny leaf springs behind the pressure plate are not made to withstand someone's thumb pressing against the plate while trying to wrangle film into position.
They actually are pretty tough. I've never experienced a broken one in any of the LTM camera's I've had on my workbench.
A decade of experience. If you feed in the uncut film and watch through the open shutter you will that it catches on the top of the film frame
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