How careful must I be in replacing the lens cap after taking a shot? It would seem very annoying to have to remove the lens shade and then replace the lens cap (35mm f/2 Summicron) for every shot? How do others contend with this?

Jim

-- J.L.Kuhn (james.kuhn-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov), September 12, 2000

Answers

A friend of mine told me back in the 1970's when he first got a Leica, he was so excited and he was marveling at the beautiful lens when he was outside. While he was looking at the lens,(pointing at the sky) he burned a whole in the shutter. I haven't had a problem and I do not use the lens cap while I am walking around. The lens has to point right at the sun for an extended period of time, like sitting open on a desk in bright sun aimed at the sun. What I have had some problems with is changing lenses in very bright sun where the light goes right into the camera mount. I have gotten a few light streaks this way. Leica expert Bill Maxwell told me the Leica shutter is not 100% light tight, and unlike an SLR, ther is no mirror to deflect the direct bright light. I now turn away from the sun when changing lenses, and have had no trouble since.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), September 12, 2000.

Just be careful. That will get you farther than anything else. The most likely scenario is that you put your camera down somewhere at night, not realizing that it's going to be pointed at the sun in the morning--if you keep moving you probably won't have much of a problem, but let it sit unmoving on a table pointed at the sun and you might have to call the fire department. I've never used lens caps much (just a UV filter--that won't start a LUG-type flame war here, I hope) and have never had a problem.

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), September 12, 2000.

As from very sunny part of world,South Africa,have such experiences.Now in Southern California.I like the sun! I have burned shutter on few occassions.Always had caps.Have regular checks.I use lens caps mostly.I MUST use UV filter.I have old Summicron 50mm.Very soft glass.Leave at nearest focus,smallest f-stop.Wide angle even more so.Be very careful of sunsets.They are not safe,esp for people with long lenses and slr.Friend burned inside eye...When you can look at sun without cringing its OK.Use dark red filter(eye protection) at eyepiece for direct shots at sun.

-- jason gold (jason1155234@webtv.net), September 12, 2000.

This subject has been discussed in a lot of Leica literature, and in my beginner days of Leica use, gave me great concern. I feel that in use, the lens cap must stay off... the very nature of the famous "Leica speed" demands it.

I guess there is a possibility of this problem, and I'm sure it has in fact happened, but I don't believe it is the problem that it is made out to be. First of all, not all lenses are created equal. Take for example a 35mm and 90mm lens... go outside on a bright sunny day and try to condense the sun into a pin point on the ground. Each lens must be held at a different length from the surface to achieve this, and a lot further than the plane that the shutter curtain would occupy. If you want to be assured for your camera / lens combo, try this the next time you have an unloaded camera.

Open the back, set the camera to the "B" setting and trip the shutter. Point the lens straight to the sun, while placing your finger at the plane that the shutter curtain would occupy if it weren't open. Try different f-stops also. I can't generate the pin point that would be required to burn a hole... and that is while I'm trying, pointing right at the sun. Indirect ambient light just can't burn the curtain.

There may have been some older lens designs, more simple optical configurations, possibly the first collapsible types, that could have been a problem. I have an old book by Alfred Eisenstaedt that warns of this problem, and states that it happened to him. The picture in the book shows an M3 with collapsible 50mm Summicron. I shoot for hours in the bright sunny weather of Florida, and my lens cap is in my pocket until I'm finished for the day. I have had many cameras for over 11 years and never experienced this Phenomenon.

-- Al Smith (smith58@msn.com), September 12, 2000.

Common sense. Don't point the camera at the sun except when shooting it, and keep the lens capped except when shooting. It's not just rangefinders. I've heard stories of SLRs left in the sun with f/1.4 lenses on them that melted their plastic viewfinder screens as well. I have never seen a camera like this, so it might be an "urban legend". Personally, I've never had a problem, and I've always kept the uncapped lens away from the sun.

FWIW, I once took a shot of a glorious sunburst in the clouds, positioning the sun at the edge of the frame. The light was so strong that it overexposed the shot of the sunburst, and light leaked into the next frame.

-- Tom Bryant (tbryant@wizard.net), September 12, 2000.

How to burn a hole? Easy! Focus the lens to infinity, set the aperture to f16 and then set the camera down on the ground and let nature do its work. Any focal length will do this and UV filters will not prevent it. If you are a multicamera outdoor/sports/wedding/street/etc photographer, then it is easy to do if you are not careful. If you only have one camera and are walking with it around your neck, I would not worry about it at all. When I stop at outdoor coffee shops, I am always careful not to lay my cameras on their backs. My major worry is keeping my two year old's fingers off the front element.!! I have, when looking at used M cameras, noticed quite a few with little pinholes in the shutter curtains and on the LUG many have sheepishly confessed to being a little careless.

Cheers

-- John Collier (jbcollier@home.com), September 12, 2000.

I must confess I have burnt a hole in a curtin. I was photgrahing one of my Nikon Rangefinder cameras an S3 for insurance. Out in the sun lens pointing up ....woops! Its been fixed now, the simple solution is dont leave the camera at infinity and the light never concentrates enough to burn through.

-- Joel Matherson (joel_2000@hotmail.com), July 19, 2001.