Leicaflex Mark I

Hello, I have a Leicaflex Mark 1, and its serial number is 1083673. When I checked, I saw that it was in the first batch produced (1080001-1085000 Leica Leicaflex (1-chrome+black) 1964-1965 5000 Batch). I live in Türkiye. A repairman told me that these cameras break down frequently and frequently. He also said that repairs are difficult. What are the common malfunctions of these cameras? Is the repairman telling the truth? The economic crisis in Türkiye is putting pressure on repair and film costs. It's also difficult to find a good repairman in Türkiye.

The Leicaflex series of cameras are highly complicated, overengineered mechanical instruments, but not without their quirks. yOURS is now 60 years old, and with any precision device of this age, things cango wrong.

Common issues include the viewfinder prism beginning to desilver. The built-in light meter was originally designed to run on a obsolete 1.35V mercury cell. To get it working correctly today, you’ll need either a modern silver-oxide cell with an adapter or a zinc-air (hearing aid) battery. Even then, accuracy isn't guaranteed.

The shutter is also prone to aging. A typical symptom is shutter curtain tension being off, causing speeds like 1/4 second to actually be faster than 1/8 second (you can hear this).

I had my camera serviced by the best technician I could find last year. Then I tried it with a roll of film and had no problems. If something goes wrong, I can't have it done by the same technician again; their communication was terrible. But if it's very close to a problem, I can switch to another camera.

I would use as long as you can, it is a great camera, great lens, enjoy it while as long as you can. If it breaks then move on. Not knowing what is on the Market in Turkey (sorry I dont know how to use the correct name for your country) but I would think about a Pentax Spotmatic. Just make sure you get one with a working meter, any battery will work lots of screw mount lens available.

Like any old camera they are more likely to die by not being used whether it's a Nikon or a Leica or any other. Keep feeding it film.

Thanks for the articles.