While reloading my M6 in a not nice area of NYC I was paying more attention to my surroundings than my camera. When I put the baseplate back on and advanced the film the sprocket holes tore out (I did not notice and I did not check to see if the rewind crank was moving...I was nervous about where I was). I shot 35 frames ( I don't shoot 36 or 37 frames because my negative storage system holds 35 per page) and tried to rewind the film. The torn edge of the leader caught in the shutter slit opening and the leader tore off. I unloaded the camera 2 days later in my darkroom. The film leader was jammed into the shutter. I pulled it out, removed all the film chips and ran a roll through the camera. The shutter does not appear damaged, the film is exposed properly across a range of shutter speeds from 1/1000 to 1/4. Should I be worried (send it to Leica for inspection) or just count my blessings and keep shooting?

-- jeff schraeder (jeff@circlesofclarity.com), November 20, 2001

Answers

The "new:" type of shutter material is tougher than the old stuff. I just did a similar thing and have a few marks on one of my curtains but no other problems. If the camera works fine then I would not send it in. I would recommend giving yourself, as I did myself, a good solid kick.

Cheers,

-- John Collier (jbcollier@powersurfr.com), November 20, 2001.

i've done this a few times myself. once, i the film was complete torn up insdie the m6. the camera has been fine although i threw the film away.

-- Tristan Tom (tristan@tristantom.com), November 20, 2001.

One thing you might want to keep an eye out for is little film chips still floating about in your camera. One of these may find its way into the shutter gears and cause the first curtain to hesitate, which would result in uneven or partially blank exposures. Film chips & other debris in the gears are probably the #1 culprit in Leica repair work I've done.

rick :)=

-- Rick Oleson (rick_oleson@yahoo.com), November 20, 2001.

Just curious. What part of NYC were you in?

-- Richard Le (rvle@yahoo.com), November 21, 2001.