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Leica Emergency? M6 TTL Film advance stuck...

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david3558

Guest
Hey everyone,

Was super pumped to get my M6 TTL today! I had a roll of Fuji Superia 400 ready to go - had to run a test for sure!

Anyhow, I loaded up the camera, went to buy fresh batteries for the meter, and all was well. Took a bunch of shots but once I hit around 20-22 on the exposure count my film advance lever totally got stuck halfway as if it had already been cocked. I frantically tried to depress the shutter but realized it was stuck too... I anxiously tugged a little harder on the advance lever and felt a weird grinding as if the teeth were missing the sprockets on the film. Took a shot and then did it again, same thing happened the weird slipping/grinding sensation. I was starting to panic so I just gave up and rewound the film back in and haven't tested the camera since.

This is my first Leica so I'm not too sure what might be going on. I looked up potential issues and someone said I should turn the rewind lever/knob counterclockwise - I did so and eventually the knob actually tightened to the point where it stopped...was I not supposed to do that?

Finally, I need to mention that when I loaded the film, I did not use the rewind knob to take up potential slack, but everything leading up to the 20ish exposures was fine - saw some videos saying that people don't use that method, is that wrong?

Anyhow, thanks in advance for any help, totally freakin' out.

David
 

Cindy Flood

Super Moderator
First off, congrats on the new M6ttl. Once you get this sorted and your film developed, please post to Analog forum.
Dumb question, but was that roll 24 or 36? If 24, maybe you were at the end of the roll when you felt the resistance.
When I load my M6, I cock and press the shutter, open the bottom and just lay the film into the camera (and bring it across to the 3 pointed post per the diagram on the bottom of the camera). I make sure that the film is over a sprocket before I put the back down. Then I advance to #1 by winding and firing and I'm good to go. Watch for the rewind to be turning backward. I've never had a problem with film in an M after several years of shooting.
Do you have an old roll of film that you could use to reload and fire till you get to the point where it failed the last time. You could then find out if you have a problem.
 
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david3558

Guest
Cindy, thanks! I got the results back and they're great but CVS totally screwed up my test roll scans so I'll need to figure out another way to get some scans.

It was also a roll of 36 - I think trying a test roll might be nice.

David
 

Cindy Flood

Super Moderator
I'm glad that the photos came out. You probably will have to send your film to a photo lab or get a scanner. I scan my own with a Nikon 9000.

I would try a test roll. You might not have to ruin the roll. You could leave the lens cap on and just advance the film through...then rewind if you do not have any problems. When you rewind, stop before the leader goes into the canister. I would want to know right now if there was a problem with the camera.
 
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