Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/09/19
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Yes absolutely! I've found the sound of a properly functioning M shutter has a unique signature and if you listen to enough of them (I'm easily amused) it is possible to estimate a shutter's state of health when buying an older body. Speeds between 1/1000 & 1/250 give a single "snik"; at 1/125 some folks just start to detect two independent "sniks"; at 1/60 & 1/50 the opening and closing "sniks" are distinct; 1/30 & 1/15 usually have a slight "swishing" after the second curtain closes; and 1/8 to 1 second gives the "whirring". When comparing an M3 #104xxxx with an M6 #16xxxxx they both display these characteristics more or less. The timbre of the M3 is lower and sounds a little quieter (just "tuned" up by Don Goldberg - maybe he's very good at such shutter sounds). I suspect the M3's weight and materials are responsible for the difference. ;-) - Kevin kburke@iterated.com >Your observation is perfectly in order. The long shutterspeeds of the Leica >M6 are controlled by a mechanical assembly that controls the start of the >travel of the second shutter curtain. The longer the speed set, the later >the second curtain closes. The sound you heard is the spinning of the >geartrain that controls the long speeds (you hear it at best at 1/15th >second). >Another advantage of mechanical components: they sing and dance while with >electronics its the silence of a cimetary! >Gerard Captijn, >Geneva, Switzerland.