Factory Tips

ManualsBrandsLeica ManualsCamerasLeica M Series

Factory tips on the

M-Series Leicas

The M-series Leica is still the

standard of excellence among

rangefinder-type 35mm cameras. Yet

despite Leica's popularity and length

of time in service, there seems to be a

long-felt vacuum of factory

information in the repair field — at

least, so it appears from the

individual questions we've been

answering at National Camera.

So instructor Monty Witt ventured

forth to Leitz in hopes of obtaining

some first-hand factory servicing tips.

The notes he brought back from New

Jersey should be of prime interest to

CRAFTSMAN readers. And we'd like

to express our gratitude to Leitz for

their courtesy and assistance in

gathering this material.

Although Monty also received

bench training on the Leicaflex and

the Leica M5, we'll confine ourselves

this time to the notes he kept on the

M2, M3, and M4 ( mainly because of

the immediate availability of an M2

which was used for most of the

illustrations). We plan to pass along

the Leicaflex and M5 information in

future CRAFTSMAN articles.

In addition to Monty's notes, we'll

include some basic information on the

M-series Leicas. If you're already a

proficient Leica technician, please

stick with us — you should find

something new and useful besides

what may already be familiar.

Disassembly Steps For The

M-Series Leicas

The Leica M2 illustrated in Fig. 1 is

a slightly simplified version of the

original M-series Leica, the M3. The

M3 set the design precedents for the

other M-series Leicas: the Ml

(further simplified from the M2) and

the MP (a special model for press

photographers quite similar to the

M2). More recently, the M4 (an

improved version of the M3) took over

the top roost. But all the Leica models

mentioned are nearly identical from

the technician's viewpoint. Only the

M5, which we'll not discuss here,

represents a radical departure from

the original design.

If you've been in the repair business

for any length of time, you can no

doubt take a Leica apart. But we find

that most technicians spend time

removing parts that could just as well

be left in place. So we'll outline the

disassembly techniques to reach the

adjustments and timing points of

concern.

Starting with the top cover plate

disassembly, remove the screw at the

top of the lens mounting ring, Fig. 1.

This screw is normally sealed with a

black locking agent. Since the screw

must be removed to pull either the top

cover plate or the body shell, you can

frequently tell from the condition of

the locking agent whether or not the

camera has previously been

disassembled.

Next, remove the camera's base

plate as you would for loading film.

The Leicas based on the M3 design

carry over the load-from-the-bottom

technique of the screw-mount Leicas.

But the M-series Leicas added a

hinged back to facilitate loading. You

can remove the hinged back by

pushing the release pin from left to

right in Fig. 2.

Reaching into the supply-spool

cavity, wedge the rewind fork to

prevent it from turning. Then, use a

Multispan wrench to unscrew the

cover screw that holds the rewind

knob, Fig. 3. An exception here is the

M4—the rewind knob in the M4 sits at

a convenient cant and is held by a

setscrew.

Probably one of the main

disassembly problems faced by the

technician is the removal of the wind

lever cover screw, Fig. 3. The wind

lever cover screw has a right-hand

thread, but it may be extremely tight.

To avoid scarring the polished

RANGEFINDER WINDOW

FRAME LINE

MASK WINDOW

COVER SCREW FOR

VERTICAL RANGEFINDER

ADJUSTMENT

Figure 1

Figure 2

VIEWFINDER WINDOW

RELEASE PIN

FRAME LINE SELECTOR LEVER

REWIND LEVER

Summary of content (7 pages)

PAGE 1
Factory tips on the M-Series Leicas The M-series Leica is still the standard of excellence among rangefinder-type 35mm cameras. Yet despite Leica's popularity and length of time in service, there seems to be a l o n g - f e l t vacuum of f a c t o r y information in the repair field — at least, so it appears from the individual questions we've been answering at National Camera. So instructor Monty Witt ventured forth to Leitz in hopes of obtaining some first-hand factory servicing tips.
PAGE 2
surface, use a Flexiclamp wrench or a split collet to unscrew the wind lever cover screw. You can then lift off the wind lever and, in the M2, the counter dial. Also, if you're working on the M2, remove the cover plate retaining screw shown in Fig. 3. You won't find this retaining screw in the M3 or the M4 — instead, unscrew the retaining ring accessible after removing the wind lever. The reason for the difference is that the AA2 has an external, manually set counter dial.
PAGE 3
use a screwdriver with a blade slightly wider than the slotted ends of the take-up rollers central shafts. Insert the screwdriver into the slotted end of one central shaft and push down — that depresses the locking collar and frees the central shaft. You can now turn the screwdriver to add or let off tension. Another departure from tradition is the elimination of the interlockingstud arrangement common to the drum-type focal-plane shutters.
PAGE 4
INFINITY AND 10-METER ADJUSTMENT Removing The Body Shell The next step is to separate the body s h e l l f r o m the s h u t t e r mechanism. First, take out the rewind lever by removing its retaining screw, Fig. 9. Then, remove the five screws holding the body shell, also pointed out in Fig. 9. You may find it necessary to remove the frame line selector lever to reach the upper bodyshell screw at the right of the lens mounting ring. The AA2 we used for the illustrations does not have a self timer.
PAGE 5
screws shown in Fig. 12 and lift out the focal-plane light shield.
PAGE 6
escapement) is hooked behind the pallet cam follower. Replace the pivot screw and hook the pivot spring. Now, to adjust the pivot screw, hold the speeds escapement against its spring tension — away from the speed control cam stack. Tighten the pivot screw until the speeds escapement cannot move toward the speed control cam stack under its own tension. Then, back off the pivot screw until the speeds escapement does swing into contact with the speed control cam stack.
PAGE 7
in the remaining speeds as well. But if the 1/1000 second is still out of tolerance, you have a slotted adjustment on the high-speed cam, Fig. 16; reforming this section of the high-speed cam affects only the 1/1000second setting. In fact, in the newer versions of the M-series Leicas, the high-speed cam is slotted at most of the individual speeds to allow precise adjustments throughout the speed range.