Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/06/06

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Subject: [Leica] mirror prefire possible on the Leicaflex SL and SL2!
From: "Patrick G. Sobalvarro" <pgs@sobalvarro.org>
Date: Sat, 06 Jun 1998 15:37:53 -0700

LUG member John Lee kindly responded to my message in which I said that
Eastland's "Leica R Compendium" claimed that the SL and SL2 had a mirror
prefire feature, but I had been unable to find it or any reference to it
outside of Eastland's book.  But John points out that in fact it is
possible to pre-fire the mirror on these!

John W Lee wrote:
> Now, about that "mirror release feature" of the Leicaflex SL and SL2. I
> recalled a number of times that I've seen Jim Lager, the Leica books author,
> use this particular "feature" on his Leicaflex SL's and SL2's. I called him
> on the phone earlier today about it. You lightly tap the camera's shutter
> release button. Of course, it takes a bit of practice. Jim has been doing
> this years for years with no ill effects to the camera's mechanics!

It took me about 20 tries to get this down, but now I can do it every
time.  The SL's mirror is so quiet on the upswing that I wasn't aware at
first that I was succeeding in prefiring it, but then I saw that the
lens was stopping down and the VF was blacked out.  Perhaps this means
that mirror prefire isn't as important on this body as on some others,
but I was just tickled pink to be able to do this.

- -Patrick