M6 Just Arrived! Now Comes The Questions!

[SuitePhoto]

So I decided to take the plunge and sell my DSLR gear in favor of the simple analog life. Shortly thereafter I found a late model (1997) black M6 in very good condition and at a great price - and now I'm fondling it as I type this. 😉

As this is my first Leica, but not my first RF, I have a few questions.

1) The camera has some dirt build-up next to all the raised parts on the top plate - shutter speed dial, film advance, frame counter, etc. Is isopropyl alcohol safe to use with q-tips on all metal and plastic pieces? How about glass and leatherette?

2) When giving the camera a thorough exterior cleaning, do you remove any pieces to do so? For example, the screws for the shutter speed dial and plastic piece on the film advance are easily accessible. Am I taking a risk by removing those pieces to clean under them?

3) I'm not a huge fan of the plastic tip on the film advance lever - I'm not sure if this is normal, but this one actually swings out about 30 degrees all by itself - before it actually catches the metal part of the lever. Is this normal? If not, can I just tighten the screw underneath??

4) Given my preference in #3, is it possible to replace the lever for an all metal one like on the M3?

5) And finally, the camera came with no battery - what battery should be used in the M6?

Thanks for your help!

 

[LeicaTom]

Mike,

Unless you really KNOW what your doing with cameras, I won`t remove any knobs or anything, clean exterior with isopropyl alcohol and a clean soft cloth, and or Q-Tips/Cotton Balls.

The Replacement M3 style lever is a GREAT idea, my M6 is getting that too as well soon, also the WEAKEST LINK with the M6 is the film Rewind Knob, make sure that the screw there is always tightened (but not overtight) and there`s no play in the knob, Leica really DROPPED THE BALL, when they designed this, and they are prone, to bending, twisting off, falling off etc.

Best thing to do there is get it replaced as well with a Leica Flex SL-2 style rewind, which is made from soild brass and is sturdy and robust, it won`t let you down......

DAG Don Goldberg has the M3 levers "used" and the SL-2 style rewind knobs "new" so give him a yell! 😉

I`ve been shooting with an M6 since 1992, I`m sure you will love it, ohh I don`t rememeber what battery it takes, who can chime in out there?

Happy Shooting! 🙂

Tom

 

[ferider]

Congrats !

Best battery is CR 1/3N.

3) I'm not a huge fan of the plastic tip on the film advance lever - I'm not sure if this is normal, but this one actually swings out about 30 degrees all by itself - before it actually catches the metal part of the lever. Is this normal? If not, can I just tighten the screw underneath??

This is normal, a feature, not a bug 🙂

I recommend to use the "knee'ed" advance lever for a while and try to get used to it. Some of us like it better than the M3 style. Faster for repeated shooting, like bracketing, IMO.

Get used how to load it, even blindly, and go out and use it ! 🙂

Cheers,

Roland.

 

[Zonan]

It uses 2 Energizer 357 batteries (or equivalent). Also takes a single battery of some type.

You can download a pdf version of the manual at: http://www.forloren.dk/

Enjoy!

 

[hans voralberg]

The battery is also known as SR44/LR44 depends on where you live, it's used only for metering so you can shoot without it.

 

[SuitePhoto]

the WEAKEST LINK with the M6 is the film Rewind Knob, make sure that the screw there is always tightened (but not overtight) and there`s no play in the knob, Leica really DROPPED THE BALL, when they designed this, and they are prone, to bending, twisting off, falling off etc.

Best thing to do there is get it replaced as well with a Leica Flex SL-2 style rewind, which is made from soild brass and is sturdy and robust, it won`t let you down......

Funny that you mention the rewind knob, the screw that holds it down (under the part that flips out) shows obvious signs of being tightened with the wrong size screw driver. Not bad, but it is obvious.

I'll shoot with it for a while before I make any rash decisions on replacing parts.

BTW - I'd like to get a half-case but a Luigi is more than I want to spend. who makes the 'next step down' in cases??

 

[hans voralberg]

Zhou, google Zhou case. his are pretty decent, abit tighter fit than Luigi's and the button are not as well made, I have had one fell out after 2 days of use, but he's very decent on return and refund so I guess it's ok.

 

[Thardy]

Luigi has cases that he calls economical or something like that.

They cost $80.00. I'm not sure if Youxin Ye has them anymore.

 

[Tom A]

best way of cleaning the crevasses and nooks of your M6 is a soft brush (childs toothbrush) and if there is stubborn dirt - a Qtip and some isoprop. alcohol - but apply the alcohol to the Q tip - dont 'pour" it on to the camera.
The advance lever can be replaced as stated - not a big deal.
The film-rewind lever assembly is a bit flimsy and a good knock can bend it out of shape- so take care with it.
The batteries are standard SR 76/SR 44. They do last a long time - probably 80-100 rolls if they are fresh. Make it a rule to change them every 6 month anyway.
The battery compartment "lid" is stupid - buy one of the coin slot ones from Leica USA. Nothing worse than trying to get the regular off and not be able to unscrew it.
The M6 is an extremely rugged camera and in reality, very few things go wrong with it. My oldest one dates back to 1986 and has seen a lot of film through it (1000's of rolls) and at the moment it has a mild hiccup with the contacts and flickering diodes. Could be something as simple as dirty contacts between the back door and the chassi - or simply a dying meter chip - but that is after 23 years of neglect and heavy use.
Enjoy it and put it to use - Leica's hate being idle!
As for the half-case - they are known as "never ready cases" and unless you want to keep the camera "mint" for future trades - disregard it. It slows down film loading and "bulks up" the camera to an uncomfortable degree in my opinion.

 

[platorulez]

Congrats on getting your M6! I recently got one too. I was also looking for an affordable halfcase and got tired of waiting for Mr Zhou to put more on sale. After waiting for nearly a month, I decided to get one from Luxecase. You can check out www.luxecase.com.

As for the battery, aside from the standard 2 pieces of LR44, you can also opt for the single piece CR1/3N batteries.

 

[SuitePhoto]

Thank you to everyone for your help! It was a joy just to clean it last night - now I need to hurry and find a 50mm Summicron to go with it. Having the body in hand but no lens is frustrating!

One interesting note, the serial number on mine is 22958xx - which puts it in no-man's-land according to the numbers on the Camera Quest site. There was a run of black M6s dated 10/17/1996 with #'s 2288501 thru 2289500. And the next run of black M6s was dated 6/3/1997, with #'s 2414001 thru 2416000. Hmmm... Special collector?? 😀

 

[ampguy]

Agree, after many late '80s/'90s M's that the rewind is the weakest link, I'm not sure that the SL2 fixes it, it's just that if you rewind like an SLR user would, the insides washers just can't take the heat or friction. DAG or others can take care of it like an old one, I think. This is one area where the design just didn't keep up with '70s SLR rewind knobs which are almost impossible to break.

Also, note that some folks have mentioned that an M3 film advance will touch the shutter dial. On an earlier M6 I had with M3 advance, it didn't quite contact, but was very very close (< .25mm or so), so that's another reason for possibly trying to get along with the plastic tip advance.

 

[Darkhorse]

You're very brave to get rid of your DLSR gear. I don't know if I could do it, at most I could maybe sell a couple of lenses but I like using my 40D with my ƒ1.4 50mm in low light. especially at parties.