Leica Special

[Steven Boldt]

I got a Leica Special a while back that was DOA. I took the gate off recently and it looks like it's coated with teflon. Is this common to all Leicas and are these cameras known for steady images? If that's the case I'm going to see if a place called "blackicecoatings" can do a teflon job on a couple of film gates for me. I noticed there's very little play side to side with the Leica gate but that's also true of some cheap cameras too.

Has anyone tried this?

 

Edit;

The Leica is a Super, not a Special.

Edited January 14, 2010 by Steven Boldt

[Andries Molenaar]

Depends who you ask. :) Allegedly Leicina Special gates are made from some magic material. Design is quite simple when compared to Minolta D-10 or Nikon R10 R8 and earlier models. Possibly shared source? These have guiding ramps and force the curve of the film into flatness at the postion of the gate. R10 and R8 also have a really special arresting pin.

 

In general jitter/stabiltiy problems stem from friction in the cartridges or the camera not having the pull it used to have. Friction from the metal of the gate is the least likely source. Make sure if you have special homebrew Super-8 that the film is lubed and not too rigid for the curves in the cartridges. I.e. get film from Wittner. Also a check on the present torque from the wind-up driver is a must on these ancient cameras of all brands.

Wittner kinotechnik sells Gate Lube to juice the gate a bit for few rolls :) Should you insist.

 

PS I have no relation with Wittner :)

PS2 Leicinas are still serviceable. Isn't it a powersupply problem?

Edited January 14, 2010 by Andries Molenaar

[Steven Boldt]

I probably botched the Super beyond being worthy of repair trying to take it apart. Also, the lens has a lot of play in it and I understand this is a common problem on these. I'll probably give the Super away if someone wants to spring for the shipping charges. It came with some sort of accessories. As a whole, it looks like the gate of the Leicina may have been machined/manufactured to tighter tolerancences than is normal but I could be wrong. If costs a fortune to do that.

 

I'm pretty sure the gate has a teflon coating. Don't know if that helps image stabilty but it certainly wouldn't hurt. ;) It is interesting.

[Moises Perez]

I probably botched the Super beyond being worthy of repair trying to take it apart. Also, the lens has a lot of play in it and I understand this is a common problem on these. I'll probably give the Super away if someone wants to spring for the shipping charges. It came with some sort of accessories. As a whole, it looks like the gate of the Leicina may have been machined/manufactured to tighter tolerancences than is normal but I could be wrong. If costs a fortune to do that.

 

I'm pretty sure the gate has a teflon coating. Don't know if that helps image stabilty but it certainly wouldn't hurt. ;) It is interesting.

 

Hi Steven,

My name is Moises Perez, I'm a Super8 enthusiast. I'm always looking for cameras to modify, this camera of yours sound like a good candidate for it. I'd to give it a try. Please e-mail me with the details at this address: reachmoy@netzero.net.

[Steven Boldt]

Hi Steven,

My name is Moises Perez, I'm a Super8 enthusiast. I'm always looking for cameras to modify, this camera of yours sound like a good candidate for it. I'd to give it a try. Please e-mail me with the details at this address: reachmoy@netzero.net.

 

I sent you an email Moises. I'm in the US(Wisconsin) by the way.

Steve