Leica M6 or M7

[eric23]

Hi Guys,

I want to get a rangefinder I was looking at the leica's. The M7 is kind out of my price range but I found a new M6 for a lot cheeper.

What is the difrance between the M6 and the M7?

Thanks,

Eric

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

hi,
The M7 has auto exposure and ttl flash.
The M6 is very capable though. i have two and they are great.
Cheers,
Michiel Fokkema

 

[eric23]

Thanks guys for the feed back, I am going to read a lot about them before I spend the money.

 

[El Monstro]

M6 and M7 are both legendary rangefinders. Major diff - M6 is all-manual exposure, M7 has aperture-priority. The rest of the differences are cosmetics. Suggest you visit your dealer so you can give both RFs a try. It's really a matter of personal taste and feel. You wont go wrong with any of the two, though. Good luck!

 

[peter_n]

If you fancy the M7 because of the AE but you are unsure about whether you will like a rangefinder or not, think about getting an M6TTL rather than a regular (or "classic") M6. It is a more recent camera and the shutter speed dial rotates in the same direction as the M7 so it is an easy jump from one to the other. (The M6 and all Leica shutter speed dials before it rotated in the opposite direction to the M6TTL and M7. Leica changed the direction for ergonomics reasons - the control/display relationship.)

 

[demian]

Hello

Yep, you have a lot of research to do..there is a tremendous amount of information out there. You will be swimming before long.

Other than what has already been mentioned, and one of the strongest points in purchasing in my opinion....the M6 requires NO BATTERY. It is purely mechanical requiring battery only for the meter (which is not even necessary if you have experience.)

This is one of the mainstays and reasons for purchasing an M I feel. Being free of batteries is a dream. Period. (Especially in this digital world...)

Every time I have found my wife (pro photog) have to charge batteries or have problems as a result of needing to charge/change batteries, or when I must use her canon for whatever reason, my strong anti-battery sentiment always becomes so readily apparent again..and I am so thankful!!


The M7 works without batteries only at 125 I believe, otherwise battery operated.

I cannot stress how nice it is being completely free of batteries....
And if I havent mentioned, I hate batteries. Hate to have to worry about charging them, changing them, etc..

The M7 drain may be low, but it is nice being free from them nevertheless.

You are apparently novice, but when travelling in places where you can't change them, find replacements, lose replacements....sigh...it is a godsend.

Anything that takes your attention away from a project is a bad thing, and there are always so many other things to remember when travelling, working, etc.

Why waste energy worrying about batteries?

That's all I have to say about that...

best of luck
D

Say "NO" to batteries!! got it? good.........<laugh>

 

[Ara Ghajanian]

Demian,
What do you think of batteries??

Eric,
The M6 is a great camera. I saw no need for going with an M7. My vote is for the M6.
Ara

 

[szekiat]

i dunno what the big fuss is about batteries, they weigh a heck load less than film (esp the M7 ones) and you could carry at least 5 changes for the weight/volume of a roll of film. I'd get the M7 for AE and the stepless shutter if i were you. Or consider some of the 3rd party alternatives like the R2A or hexar RF. I personally use an M2, M6 and Hexar RF but if there's one i need to bring out, it is always going to be the Hexar.

 

[Ororaro]

Ahhh... the silly "no battery" debate.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

The M7 is quieter (magnets, no gears). The M6 has less to go wrong with it. I have both and this weekend I used . . . my M2. Personally, at around USD $1,100 I think that the M6 is one of the great deals in silver-halide photography.

Batteries don't matter . . . unless they matter. If I were going to trek in Nepal, I'd take gear that was minimally dependant on electrons (which are in short supply in the hinterlands).

Good luck with your choice!

Ben Marks

 

[peter_n]

This battery thing is silly. As I've repeated on this forum before, I sent one of my M7s to a shop for calibration with a lens and turned to my backup M6TTL in the meanwhile. What happens? Mechanical failure. My next backup is going to be electronic...

 

[alan davus]

Hi Eric, I have a M6ttl And a Hexar RF. I bought the M6 not the M7 for two reasons. 1. the M6 was much cheaper (even buying one as I did recently brand new) and 2. the Hexar and M7 are similar in that they have AE. The Hexar (and the M7) are probably more user friendly because you can just pull them out, focus, then shoot leaving the camera on AE. to do the metering. With the M6 you have to spend time getting the metering right first. This slows the whole process down viz a viz the Hexar. But for me this is not a problem. I never see taking photos as some sort of race and for me slowing things down somehow gives more time to think about the composition. And that lovely barely audible click of the M6 shutter, that's worth the price of the camera alone. If you buy a M7 don't worry about the battery issue. If photographers can't have the wherewithall to carry a couple of spares they deserve to get caught out.

 

[triplefinger]

go for the Zeiss Ikon, solid build, more modern features, reasonable cost, best viewfinder, easier film loading, Aperture priority...

I love mine and have bailed out of all my leica bodies in favor of the zeiss. for pure functionality, it's the choice.

 

[maitrestanley]

M6 is fully mechanical. It might not matter to you but to me, it seems like a lot more workmanship must be put into the camera and thus is worth more. The fact that it's cheaper than the M7 by quite a bit (often around $700-1000US) is also very appealing. The M6 Classic also has the shutterspeed dial rotating in the tradition Leica direction. If you plan on collecting bodies from different vintages, this may be important to you. To me, it is because I plan to purchase the vintage M's in the future. And perhaps the MP as well.

The M7 has AE so you can definitely work much faster with it than a manual exposure camera. I work slower with my M6 but my work is more deliberate and I find that I am not simply snapping away. As for the M7 being quieter because of the electronics... honestly, the mechanical gears are SO quiet already in the previous M's that this argument is almost moot. Battery dependency.. yes it's an issue but the little batteries really can be found anywhere and bringing spares doesn't add much weight or bulk to a kit.

Again, I like fully mechanical things so I appreciate the mechanical shutter speeds of the M6. The electronic shutter of the M7 is more precise though; but unless you're shooting slide film, the latitude of most negatives films is high enough that the variance in shutter speeds of a mechanical camera is negligible.

Ignore all other factors. The MAIN factor is the function. Decide whether you need AE or not. If you do, get the M7. If not, opt for the M6 (they're much cheaper too!)