Advice please

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polarcow

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Hello all,

I have recently been given the chance to purchase this camera (m6 classic) for 900 USD. I will not be able to pick it up myself and inspect it as I am in Iraq currrently and my family will be picking it up for me. My question is, does it appear to be worth the asking price? I will have them take it to a local camera shop to check the rangefinding accuracy and other functions (probably not shutter speed though) but the seller says it was CLA'd about a year ago. I know it is taking a chance but what do you guys think from the pics? Thanks.

-polarcow
 

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Looks to be well used but in decent condition externally. No zinc top-plate bubbling issues. Not sure how the meter-board is working. I haven't been following M6 prices recently so am not sure if $900 is a good deal w/o really having the camera in my hands. There are a lot of nicer examples out there for a bit more money.

Looks like an early M6 Classic (worn Leitz rather than Leica red-dot and no strap guards on top plate). I can't tell if the S/N starts with 16xxxxx or 18xxxxx. If 16xxxxx, it's around 1985'ish. Not seeing 18xxxxx S/N's on the Cameraquest site so not sure about that S/N range.
 
$900 is a good deal, given that it is good working condition. A CLa done 1 year ago, it should be working just fine.

Can someone in the family check it out for you?
 
Yes, the family will be picking it up but they wouldn't even know how to load the film. I thought of having them meet at a local camera store and they could check it out there.
 
you'll need them to find a good camera store for that these days.

$900 is a really good price, I would walk them through some steps to test it. If they can remove the bottom plate and open the back, they can see if the shutter is opening and the spool is turning. They can see if the LED's are turning on.

The alternative is to find someone on RFF willing to test it for you and then send it to you. That's been done before, with a camera going overseas. I had one where the seller would not send it overseas, so I "relayed" it for the member, tested with film while i had it.
 
That's a good idea, I hadn't thought of that. If there is anyone in the eastern north carolina area I could have my family meet them so they wouldn't be put out too much.
 
USD900.00 would seem to compare very favourably with UK prices although I can't find a direct like-for-like comparison on UK dealer sites at present. Camera looks used but not abused -- in fact, on balance it looks quite well cared for.
 
If it was CLA'd a year ago, that is a very good price. I'd say it is a typical bargain grade camera, but a CLA, done right, is worth several hundred dollars. Any way to find out who did the CLA?
 
I think it's a decent price assuming it's working.

Ditto on checking of the major functions, meter, shutter, etc.
 
As long as the CLA was done 'correctly' I would agree it sounds like a good price.

Sherry Krauter (Golden Touch), Don Goldberg ("DAG"), Steve Choi, and Gus Lazzari are all very reputable and trustworthy.

Although others might disagree, I would not trust a CLA from Youxin Ye. I bought a camera a few years ago that had been recently CLA'd by him - it needed a new shutter curtain due to over-lubing.

Before buying I would find out who did the CLA first.
 
I'd go for it. Even if you end up needing to have something adjusted, it's still a pretty good deal. If everything works properly, that's great price.
 
It is a very early M6. There are many, many M6's out there. I would wait until you could see and handle it for yourself. Even if you pay a little more. The meter boards on these early ones used to give out. Might be good to try and find out if it has been upgraded for the newer one.

So, now you have a whole range of opinions. Only you can decide what to do!
 
BillBlackwell said:
As long as the CLA was done 'correctly' I would agree it sounds like a good price.

Sherry Krauter (Golden Touch), Don Goldberg ("DAG"), Steve Choi, and Gus Lazzari are all very reputable and trustworthy.

Although others might disagree, I would not trust a CLA from Youxin Ye. I bought a camera a few years ago that had been recently CLA'd by him - it needed a new shutter curtain due to over-lubing.

Before buying I would find out who did the CLA first.
Click to expand...
Sorry about your experience. I had a CLA done Youxin Ye, it was flawless. Just saying. If the CLA was done by a known repair person, I would go for it.
 
It's a wetzlar M6 - slightly different meter than the later M6's and some say a smoother feel in use. Igor's has had several Wetzlar M6's listed, ~ EX, all around $1200. I'd say the one you're looking at is less than EX, hard to tell from the pics though, so a price of $900 is not bad. Because it's an early M6 the chance of it needing work is greater than a later M6. You have no real idea about the purported CLA, so discount that "fact." Go for it. If it needs service, so be it. You'll have a nice camera, fit for lots of use.
 
I tested this one with film, before it begins its long trip.

Worked great, RF spot-on with my Summarit 5cm f1.5, meter accurate, all speeds working, no capping, no light leaks. Very Smooth. It's pretty too, no dents or dings. Some wear to the black, but looks good.

And now it has a 35/1.7 Ultron to keep it company.
 
Somebody's gonna be real happy with that, Brian! Kudos to you for test driving and relaying that camera, real nice thing to do!
 
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