[Leica] Re: Leica R7 Flash problem

[Cummer Family <cummer@asiaonline.net>]

Hello Luggers,
I need some advice from those of you with flash / shutter synch problem
experience. You may recall I bought a demo R7 from the Schmidt demo sale in
Hong Kong a week or so ago. This R7 is an early production model and has
been used at various shows in Hong Kong and China. I took it to Chengdu for
a conference and used it to photograph the speakers, planning to use the
pictures in a book which we will publish of the proceedings of the
conference. I used a Metz 32 Z 2 flash with a SCA 351 module and shot all
the pictures with the APO Macro Elmarit R 100mm/2.8. Here is the problem -
out of the three rolls of Fuji 400 that I shot - on each roll there are
three or four pictures with a black bar along the bottom of the photo - the
bar covering up about 1/4 of the picture. The rest of the photo was always
properly exposed. This indicates to me most probably an intermittant sticky
shutter, or (less likely) some intermittant communication problem between
the flash unit and the camera, that keeps the camera from choosing the
correct flash shutter speed when the flash is turned on (I was using
program and when the flash is turned on - 1/100 should be automatically
selected - I confess I may not have always checked that the flash speed was
displayed as I was busy focusing and framing pictures). Anyone have any
ideas, advice, suggestions about this problem before I take the camera and
the photos into Schmidt for a diagnostic on Monday? Welcome all advice.
Howard.
PS All my outdoor and non flash pictures were properly exposed and without
any black bars along the bottom of any of the photos. The Leica lenses,
including my new (old) demo 180/3.4 APO, were great as expected with
saturated colour rendition and high contrast. Wonderful wonderful glass!!