Your method will 100% result in wasting film, and also can result in issues with film placement as the end mushroom cap of the baseplate is not there to guide it.
Not at all the case. I get 37-38 exposures on a 36 exposure role reliably. First frame is never fogged. Film placement is also never an issue specifically because of what I showed in the video i.e. checking that the film is registered on the sprockets before closing the back door.
I have had zero failures loading film using Leica's instructions. On the other hand, at least your video is not as bad as Tamarkin - a Leica dealer no less! - who winds the film on two or three times before closing the back!
Good for you. If that method works for you, use it. There is more than one way to skin a cat.
I haven't seen Tamarkin's video but I wouldn't be overly upset about them winding past a few frames either. It just doesn't matter and if that's what works reliably for them, honestly who cares? The film is loaded. Not much else really needs to be said.
Why is it that people do not just follow Leica's instructions? It is quicker, simpler, does not waste film, and works. Has Leica's method somehow failed for you?
Again, like with most things in life, you read the instructions, practice, and then find your way. Sometimes that lines up with the way something is documented and sometimes its a little different.
I went back and read the loading section in an M4 manual to see what you're perceiving as so different from the documented method. There's virtually no difference. Leica says to open the camera, set it on its top, inset the canister and pull the film across so that it falls between two of the three prongs on the take up spool, close the camera at which point Leica states that a "disk on the inner side of the baseplate will press the film into the correct position." That last part is where many find an issue. It's been well understood for many decades that Leica's engineering intent with that doesn't always equate to reality. Simply, that doesn't always work to guide the film properly (a well known issue). That's where leaving the back open for a moment longer to confirm that the film has not slipped off the wings of the take up spool and registered on the sprockets before closing the camera comes in. The method I describe solved film transport issues during loading for me completely, along with every person I've shown the method to who complained that sometimes the film would slip off the take up spool wings or not register on the sprockets. So yes, Leica's method has failed me and a lot of other people which is exactly why people iterate to find the most logical way to get it done reliably like pretty much anything else in life.
That's why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream. Each to their own.
Exactly. Not much else to be said. It's just loading film after all.
