As a newcomer to Leica M6, having gotten rid of my Canon A2 and lenses because of far too much automation, I have had difficulties in correctly loading film. I have actually "shot" two rolls through only to realize after the fact that I was shooting blanks. The film never threaded through properly. I am a conciencious manual reader and followed the instruction to the letter. Has anyone gotten a "foolproof" method of film loading with the M6? I'd appreciate the help. BTW, on the films that I succeded in properly loading, and using the Voigtlaender 50mm Nokton, the 35mm Ultron, and the Leitz 90mm 1:2, the images are stunning. The 90 is the only Leica lens I could afford (used) and I obtained the Voigtlaenders for appx $350.00 each new on e-bay.

-- Jean-David Borges (jdborges@home.com), December 21, 2000

Answers

My trick is fold over the end of the film leader and loop it over one of the prongs on the take up spool. This fold will usually flatten back to normal when you rewind. The other thing many folks do is tension the film by turning the rewind crank gently. Do this after advancing at least one full frame. If it turns more than a very small amount before stopping you have not loaded properly. You can watch to see that the crank turns after releasing and recocking the shutter for the first one or two flicks at the beginning of a new roll. If it doesn't turn or if you can't feel tension on the rewind crank stop and reload.

-- Michael Johnson (mdjohnsonphoto@hotmail.com), December 21, 2000.

I found the answers to Tony Rowlett's question, under the M section, which starts out "OK to wind M6 . . ." (etc.) helpful. The idea is not to fuss too much over it. Pull out the film until it's long enough to engage the prong. Drop the film in & push it home a bit. Don't worry about the sproket. Put the baseplate on. Wind one film advance. Tension the rewing lightly. click shutter, wind again, and as noted above, chack that the rewind knob is turning. It'll work.

Regards,

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), December 22, 2000.

I always find it helpful to use my little finger to push the end of the leader deep into the take up spool; this ensures that the sprocket engages the film sprocket holes. You could always use the pleat trick, that is make a Z fold in the end of the leader and place that in the middle of the take up spool. However the only trouble I have is when I forget to push the leader deep enough into the take up spool.

As mentioned by the others the most important thing to do is to observe that the rewind crank is turning when you advance the film; after taking up the slack as advised.

It won't be long and you will find that loading the M6 becomes second nature and 'a piece of cake', why some experienced Leica M users go on and on about it, I don't know.

-- M. V. (mahv@xtra.co.nz), December 22, 2000.

The main problem in loading an M6 (M4 and up actually, oops M2R as well) camera is that the edge of the film leader can get caught on a film guide rail or the film gate itself. When you replace the baseplate, the film jams between the film gate and the aligment "wheel" on the baseplate.

So when you load, flip open the back, and make sure the film edge goes past the "upper" film guide rail. Then close the back and attach the baseplate. If you check this everytime, you will never get a misload.

Some bodies are more prone to having the film catch an edge. I do not know why but on one of my bodies I never open the back and on the other it will catch everytime if I do not open the back.

For absolutely foolproof loads in the dark, theater photography perhaps, I use the old ABLON film template which trims the leader quite long. I then do not have to open the back as the leader is trimed so long it cannot catch an edge.

BTW The take up spool has a slip clutch drive, so even the film has a fold in it, the take up spool will not pull jammed film into alignment

Cheers

-- John Collier (jbcollier@home.com), December 22, 2000.

Thanks to all who replied. I'll follow these advices and hopefully will some day be able to load like a Leica pro.

Jean-David

-- Jean-David Borges (jdborges@home.com), December 22, 2000.

Jean-David, You're already loading like a Leica Pro. The secret is learning to RE-load like a Leica Pro when you notice that the rewind knob isn't turnng backwards as you advance the film. Mitch

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), December 22, 2000.

Read and re-read John Collier's response above. It is 100% dead-on. This is the first time I've seen someone state the problem and solution exactly as I would have. Either make sure the film is seated up into the slot above the film gate before you replace the baseplate, or trim the leader long enough so the film feeds into the slot from the side as you wind on. Bravo, John.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), December 22, 2000.

I have not had a loading problem and am now concerned that I may be loading incorrectly. I use my finger and push the film leader into the take-up spool and then wind about 2 frames before replacing the bottom cover. I then watch for a turning rewind knob. Does anyone see a problem with this method?

-- Don M (maldos@home.com), December 22, 2000.

Don, it appears there may be a problem with winding while the baseplate is off. Again, look at the thread of "OK to rewind M6 . . ." in the older M threads.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), December 22, 2000.

i have no tricks....film goes in easily on mine, and in one turn its caught....

i guess film just likes me...

-- grant (g4lamos@yahoo.com), December 22, 2000.

My suggestion is a bit different. I don't use a long leader, just cut about a 45 degree angle on the end. I push that angled piece down into the take-up spool like everybody else. But what I look for is that the sproket holes of the film line up with the gear near that spool. If they do, the film is correctly seated, so you can close the back over it and proceed. Of course, you should always look for a rotating rewind lever as you proceed. If you do it this way, making sure the film is completely wound into the cassette beforehand [all tension taken up], you'll get the bonus of at least 3 extra exposures from a factory loaded cassette. Such little things matter when you're shooting chromes. I learned this with my M4 and it is the same with the M6.

-- Alec (alecj@bellsouth.net), December 24, 2000.

My two bits worth...

The following works well for me, after trail and error and a posting here ;-)

1. Tug the film leader out about a quarter to a half inch. 2. Push the cassette in fully with one index finger. The end of the leader should rest within or between the prongs if you've completed 1. above. 3. Slide the film with thumb over the sprocket hole. You'll be nervous about the cloth shutter curtain but the thickness of film base will prevent any actual contact. 4. Replace baseplate and wind-click twice.

Ready for use.

YMMV, especially with the non-TTL M6s, which, in my experience are more prone to jamming-the newer M6TTL is better in this regards, though it occasionally will wind without film advance, which never used to happen to me with the old M6 (it would jam if the film wasn't being wound).

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), December 24, 2000.

Thank you all for your help. If I screw this up again, I'll have no one to blame but myself, after such diverse and detailed explanations. The bottom line seems to be: no matter what the loading procedure is, make sure that the rewind knob is turning as you advance to the next frame; if not, start over.

Thanks again,

Jean-David

-- Jean-David Borges (jdborges@home.com), December 25, 2000.

Jean-David --

When you loaded the film, was the back gate flipped down? When you push the gate up the film is supposed to go into position. As long as I do this, put the bottom plate back on, wind once, take up slack, wind again, it works fine. It doesn't seem like it should work but the back plate -- once back in position -- seems to make everything come out ok. The instructions in the manual really work for me. Hope this helps.

-- David Enzel (dhenzel@worldnet.att.net), December 25, 2000.