Slow shutter speeds in Leica M1

[darkosaric]

So,

I got M1 - planning to sell it together with my Elmar-M 50mm/3.5
M1 come with one problem: slow shutter speeds are inaccurate: 1s is more less ok, but 1/2, 1/4 ... 1/30s are all like 1/30s.

I have exactly the same problem with my original nikon F. Comparing shutter of M1 with my M3 (that works ok) - I see that shutter is not completely closed after shutter fires. I have tested the camera and it works great: no light leaks, other speeds are accurate, all looks and works great.

What it can be, and how much expensive can it be?

Thanks,
Darko

 

[darkosaric]

Is it a new forum so it is hard to find this post - or nobody has any idea ?

 

[davedm]

Darko PM John Koehrer (there was a url link here which no longer exists). May be he can help.

 

[John Koehrer]

Or, I can just give it a shot here.
The curtain travel times need to be adjusted, it's part of a CLA. It's common to just about any horizontally running shutter.
It can be adjusted without cleaning the shutter, but that's a bad idea if you want to use the camera for any length of time. As in, it'll just do it again.

Youxin Ye is good but I don't know his rates. I had him do a lllG last year and it's smooooth.

 

[darkosaric]

Thanks .

 

[trojancast]

Good Sir,

The M1 is an extremely rare instrument. Would you be so kind as to share a couple of images of it? While I am unable to assist you with your shutter issue, I pray someone here can assist.

Cheers.

 

[mnemosyne]

I assume the picture shows the position of the curtains after firing the shutter. The position of the curtains is not correct. The edge of the closing curtain should not be visible after exposure. The shutter mechanism has to be disassembled, inspected, cleaned, lubricated and adjusted. Everything else (playing around with curtain tension etc.) I would consider "tinkering", which could make problems worse instead of solving them. And while you're at it, it absolutely makes sense to have the whole camera serviced.

Based on personal experience, I would strongly discourage you from having the camera serviced by a certain individual which resides in your town (Hamburg). More info availabe through PM. My recommendation for this job is Kameratechnik Langer in Karlsruhe, I have had excellent service from them and it is highly unlikely you will find a better price for a quality job. A full CLA for a Leica M there is around 200 Euros including VAT. You will get a shutter speed protocol that shows you the actual speed of all your shutter times after service. As the M1 does not require adjustment of a rangefinder, I would assume that a full CLA should be somewhat below that price. Give them a call, they are very friendly.

 

[darkosaric]

The M1 is an extremely rare instrument. Would you be so kind as to share a couple of images of it? While I am unable to assist you with your shutter issue, I pray someone here can assist

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[darkosaric]

I assume the picture shows the position of the curtains after firing the shutter. The position of the curtains is not correct.

Yes - you are right, after firing the shutter. I already paid around 350 euros for body - if I add 200 more - then it is more expensive than my M3 that I got for 500 (and it is working like a charm after 3-4 years of heavy using). I will just keep using it - slow shutter speeds are not so important to me anyhow.

 

[trojancast]

Beautiful