Leica M4 shutter capping issue

Jonnymm · Aug 17, 2020

Hi all!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

I have an issue with my Leica M4 and it's shutter capping at 1/1000th, where I'm getting slightly darker tones on the left hand side of the negative.

Apart from the obvious CLA, has anyone had any experience fixing it themselves? Budget for repairs with Covid happening has me limited sadly.

guangong · Aug 17, 2020

Yep! The camera spirits are telling you it’s time for a CLA. Camera maintenance is the best way to protect your investment. A CLA is much cheaper than a major repair. I have owned my M cameras since late 60s early 70s and have never had a failure in the field. If you are not the the original owner then a CLA is definitely necessary. When buying used I always factor in a CLA into selling price to determine actual cost of camera.

Jonnymm · Aug 17, 2020

Annoyingly I got a CLA on this M4 around 2 years ago. As much as I know a CLA is the best option, it's the cost of having to fork out €300-350 when money isn't exactly flowing with the current crisis in hand.

I'm looking at these though that might help fix the shutter timing?

https://www.phochronxa.com/index.html

RedSwede · Aug 18, 2020

If you want to try yourself, the best option is to look at curtain tension adjustment. Dark on the left of the negative will be less gap towards the right side of the opening, since the image is inverted. So the gap is opening up as the curtains travel right to left. Since it is unlikely that the leading curtain will have magically sped up, it is likely that you need to increase the tension in the closing curtain. Try one or two "notches" - that will make sense when you look into the work.

More than 1 or 2 notches, and I would say that the underlying issue needs to be investigated.

You can film the shutter to check accuracy using an iPhone on slow-mo. Not particularly accurate, but should be good enough to check evenness.

Jonnymm · Aug 18, 2020

RedSwede said:
Since it is unlikely that the leading curtain will have magically sped up, it is likely that you need to increase the tension in the closing curtain. Try one or two "notches" - that will make sense when you look into the work.

More than 1 or 2 notches, and I would say that the underlying issue needs to be investigated.

You can film the shutter to check accuracy using an iPhone on slow-mo. Not particularly accurate, but should be good enough to check evenness.

Cheers for the reply. So it would be tightening the 2nd curtain? (on the right hand side if I'm holding the camera base vertically and they're on the bottom)

Also silly question but would tightening be clockwise or anti? I've seen this video:

RedSwede · Aug 18, 2020

I would be tightening the second/closing curtain. I'm not 100% sure what you mean by on the right hand side - although yes, it is the right-side curtain, since they move from left.

I think tightening is anti-clockwise. But you can feel the spring loading. Turn it against the resistance. Mark the starting position with a pencil, and make sure you have a screwdriver that fits in the slot properly. One notch is about 1/10 - 1/8th turn - can't remember exactly.

Jonnymm · Aug 18, 2020

RedSwede said:
I would be tightening the second/closing curtain. I'm not 100% sure what you mean by on the right hand side - although yes, it is the right-side curtain, since they move from left.

I think tightening is anti-clockwise. But you can feel the spring loading. Turn it against the resistance. Mark the starting position with a pencil, and make sure you have a screwdriver that fits in the slot properly. One notch is about 1/10 - 1/8th turn - can't remember exactly.

Cheers for the reply. Yeah sorry was confusing explaining the left and right. I meant as in the video above it's the right hand (top one)

RedSwede · Aug 18, 2020

The two most important things are 1) don't loose track of the starting position and 2) have the right screwdriver. It must be wider than the slot - it needs to push down on the surrounding ring/collar - and be thin, so that it can push down far enough without hitting the sides of the slot. Most "precision" screwdrivers will hit the sides of the slot, in my experience. A small hex-drive bit (the kind that you use in drills...) was actually perfect. But you really want this right, as if you loose control it could spin uncontrolled and you're finished - CLA/calibration time.

Leica M4 shutter capping issue

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