40mm Cron C and my new M6!

[thafred]

I´m totaly in love my friends! I received Joe´s Summicron C two weeks ago (in less than a week from NewWorld to OldWorld 😉 ) and on the same day it arrived I got a deal on a black M6 I could´t resist 😀
What to say...this combo ROCKS! so compact and fast to use, it´s my new go everywere kit now!

I´ve had an M3 for nearly a Year now (it sold for the amount I paid for the M6) and have some observations to share regarding the M6, I kinda understand what the rave about build quality is all about with the old M´s...

First: The shutter release on the M3 is as a hair trigger should be..defined pressure point and very soft...never understood what the "soft release" is for, with the M6 I feel I could need one of those too. sometimes I missed exposures because I didn´t press far enough...ok maybe I just have to get used to it..

Second: The film advance on the M3 is like going through butter with a hot knive! extremely smooth.. the M6 is just a bit rougher ...is this because of well worn brass gears against steel gears? or does my M6 want a Cla?

Third: Viewfinder brightness is better on the M6, focusing seems equaly easy and accurate thou the magn. is lower on my .72 M6 body (naturaly)...one thing that bothers me is the Rangefinderflare on the M6! I have this problem quite often and never noticed it with the M3 or even my Bessa R! heck, my Yashica GTN never flared like this!

Surprisingly I like the M6 much more since it seems more usable/beatable than the pristine M3, also the black body is more of my taste than shiny chrome but thats personal geschmack.
The added Framelines are a nice plus and also the lightmeter is very nice to have (I like the balancing of brightness more than the Bessas - o + meter)

A killer camera that is and it will hopefully be my companion for years to come!

And now for something completely different:
The Summicron C is a stellar performer! sharp sharp sharp and with a feel of use I enjoy very much (I love small lenses thou)...a surprise for me is how well I cope with the (kinda) 35mm field of view! and I thought I was a 50ies guy! The picture quality amazes me and I´m looking forward printing some of the Frames this weekend with my Focomat.
I did modify the lens to bring up the 35 framelines after I got the first roll back and realised what wide FOV it gives compared to my 50ies...works very well for me!

Now feel free to tell me I´m just discovering freshlove and it will vanish in a few weeks or flame me for selling my M3 or writing long pointless posts 🙄

Also comments on the attached pics are most welcome!
Friedrich

 

[thafred]

All pics on apx100/rodinal scanned straight with auto curves...

 

[thafred]

I´ll stop now.. promised...
(oh a few are on APX400/tmax dev)

 

[Ronald M]

Film transport is smoother on the M3. M4-2 thru M6 used steel gears supposedly for durability with motor drives. I don`t know what is in the current cameras, but they are the same as originals or very close. Gear design can have more to do with it than material.


Shutter release is not significantly different and the release point is adjustable by repair.


RF patch with out can be modified for $275. Mine has only done this one time in 20 years and there was an indoor light source just outside the 75mm lens field of view. Perhaps because mine were very early, the V/F had not been cost reduced yet or the type of pictures I do does not make it happen. Auto manufactures do the same thing, cheapen a part and save a nickel, and the owner has to pay $300 to repair the failure because it is burried somewhere deep and a lot of dissassembly is required:

 

[thafred]

RF patch with out can be modified for $275
Holy smokes! thats the ammount I paid for a complete CLA + new shutter brakes for my M3! I guess I will tolerate the flare then....

 

[back alley]

looks good!

all that from a 'broken' lens.

joe

 

[chug]

Congrats on the setup. Its a fantastic combo and works really well. 🙂

 

[FrankS]

Great results, thafred.

I've been thinking about trying the 40mm Rokkor/Summicron on my M3, with tape over the frameline illumination window, and using the entire viewfinder for the 40mm field of view.

 

[ampguy]

Hi Roland

Hi Roland

I agree with your 2nd paragraph below. This retains the benefits of the RF view, and gives you the whole scene. Also don't need to molest the lens flange. There's some stuff from Leica on why this is better for serious photography as well.

I use that combo too, also with a lens from Joe 🙂. It is real nice.

Keep in mind that 40mm is almost as close to 35 than to 50 (17 vs 20%).
For 5m and less it is better to use the M6 50mm framelines.

Reg viewfinder brightness and RF accuracy, I like my M3 better than both
M6es that I have. 1 of my M6es and the M3 were CLA'ed in the last 5 years or so (the M3 has a "K" at 12 o'clock on the lens mount 🙂).

I also like 40 as a great complement to 28mm.

On a practical note: the M3 full viewfinder matches the 40mm focal length well.

Congrats !

Roland.

 

[vrgard]

Roland and Ted, it may just be personal preference on my part, but I do prefer my 40 to bring up the 35 framelines rather than the 50 framelines. YMMV.

And congrats, Friedrich, on that great 40 cron + M6 combination. I have run that same rig and it's a great "walking around town" setup due to its small physical size. Not quite CL territory, but still very easy to tuck under your arm while hanging from the neck strap "bandolier" style. And you're getting some great shots with it, too!

-Randy

 

[thafred]

Thank you guys for all your replies and for all the kind words! (sadly I couldn´t reply yesterday since no net-connection..damn provider)

I did play a little with RF-patch whiteout, seems that when I shift my eye slightly the whiteout goes away!! I have to remember this when shooting!

regarding the use of the 40 on the M3...I´m not wearing glasses and have difficulties seeing the whole 50 framelines on the M3 when shooting portrait orientation let alone seeing outside the frame! my compositions are 80% Portrait (donno why that is but it´s true ..hmm natural 645 maybe) so that was a concern...

My humble testing of Frameline accuracy with the M6 shows that the 35 lines are really close to the 40 Cron but the 50 lines are much narrower ...question: is there a difference in the 50 framelines between M3 and M6? maybe the M3 shows more than the 85+ % of the M6 so the whole view corresponds better than the M6 line plus margin? (or is it that the lines itself are thicker?)
..uh... I will to look into this in the evening since I have the M3 still lying around..

all that from a 'broken' lens.

The repairman at leica shop is digging for a focus tab so maybe there´s hope (at least I hope it isn´t more expensive than the lens...at big L you never know 😉 ...cable ties are cool anyways)

Friedrich

 

[richard_l]

The M6 may actually be more durable mechanically than the M3. Only time will tell. However, if the meter ever fails on my M6, I probably won't have it repaired unless I decide to sell it, which is unlikely.

Richard

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

Friedrich,

Those are really good shots, congrats on your new lens 🙂 The cron-c and rokkor-m are particularly nice for fast focusing because their focus throws are so short compared to other lenses. Very easy to use for fast action if you are not pre-focusing. And, as you can see, sharp as a knife and so low-profile and compact.

 

[thafred]

richard_l
The M6 may actually be more durable mechanically than the M3. Only time will tell. However, if the meter ever fails on my M6, I probably won't have it repaired unless I decide to sell it, which is unlikely.

I remember hearing similar voices stating that Leica actualy improved durability with the steel gears hence the slightly "stiffer" feel of operation but you´re right that only time will tell!

Flyfisher Tom
Those are really good shots, congrats on your new lens The cron-c and rokkor-m are particularly nice for fast focusing because their focus throws are so short compared to other lenses. Very easy to use for fast action if you are not pre-focusing. And, as you can see, sharp as a knife and so low-profile and compact.

Thank you very much Tom!
I love it even more since giving it more use. only drawback is that the lens had to be repaired since all of a sudden the aperture blades would´t move any more when turning the ring! (I knew that Joe had this problem, before selling it, and that it was repaired for free so I wasn´t too surprised)
Luckily we still have a few camera repair shops in vienna wich could do the repair for reasonable money. (seems like the little rod connecting the app-ring and the blades was broken! shame on Leica for the light build 😉 ) now it´s back to spec and is a very enjoyable daily cary around lens!
I´ve a ton of pictures at my new Flickr account (link below) shot with the Cron C .
Bokeh doesn´t look as good to me as my VC Nokton50 or Collapsible Cron thou

 

[Trius]

Great results and you have to love APX 100!

 

[richard_l]

I think the Minolta M-Rokkor version of the 40 Cron-C may be a bit better than the Cron. Moreover, the Rokkor takes standard filters. Shame on Leica indeed!

Richard