Beat up Leica M6

[edodo]

Is it me or there are no M6 beat up users for sale on the bay... I was seeking a beat up camera with sound mechanics for a fair price but it seems that these days there are only collectors camera that were never used 😱

 

[bmicklea]

I noticed that too. All the Leica collectors are foiling our best laid plans!

 

[RdEoSg]

There is no such thing as a beat up Leica.. I believe what you want is something called a "minty" Leica. It is not to be confused with a "Mint" Leica.

 

[edodo]

I am not sure I get what you mean when you say beat up=minty, but all I want is a cheap M6 with dings and scratchs, brassed like hell but with sound mechanics. If anyone here is selling one, pm me!

 

[ferider]

Wait for one to show up here or on pnet, Charles. I got both my M6 bodies from here/pnet for less than US 1000.
There is a great M4P on ebay this morning, 120092578019, for US 650. No connection to the seller, etc.
M6 bodies don't brass, but sometimes they show tiny corrosion bumps under the paint. Hard to see in a photo.

Roland.

 

[edodo]

Thanks for the tip on the m4p but as I already have the M4 as a B&W body... I was looking for a slide body and the MPs are out of reach.

 

[Meleica]

Leica M camera price guide

http://members.aol.com/dcolucci/mmount.htm

Dan

 

[RdEoSg]

it was a joke.. nevermind..

 

[edodo]

I am not english mother tongue thats why *

 

[JNewell]

"Minty" is what people say when it isn't "mint." Isn't auction-speak great???

 

[maitrestanley]

M6 bodies don't brass, but sometimes they show tiny corrosion bumps under the paint. Hard to see in a photo.

Black chrome finishes will eventually brass. Under the black is a layer of zinc that will show up whitish colour but once that wears down, the brass is there.

 

[drewbarb]

Hate to say it, but those cameras are being used, and generally are not for sale. Once in a while, they come up. Be patient, and keep a sharp eye out in all the usual FS spots, if you really want one.

For what it's worth, I'd say put some slide film in your M4 and just get even better at hand held metering while you are waiting.

 

[RdEoSg]

Don't worry about it edodo. My fiance happens to be Polish. Even though she is fluent in English as well I still have to explain jokes and slang words to her sometimes as well! She is fluent in Polish, French, English and Spanish, and I can't even speak English very well!

 

[ray_g]

Black chrome finishes will eventually brass. Under the black is a layer of zinc that will show up whitish colour but once that wears down, the brass is there.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think that zinc was a coating, but was rather the material the M6 top plate was made of. Later M6TTL's may have gone back to having brass top plates, but the M4-P and M6 (and M4-2?) had zinc top plates under the black chrome finish.

 

[ferider]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think that zinc was a coating, but was rather the material the M6 top plate was made of. Later M6TTL's may have gone back to having brass top plates, but the M4-P and M6 (and M4-2?) had zinc top plates under the black chrome finish.

Correct. Late M4Ps and M6 ("classic") bodies have zinc top plates, using centrifugal casting.

See Tom's quote in: http://nemeng.com/leica/042b.shtml

Roland.

 

[flipflop]

Who shoots with an M4-P? What do think of it? How bright is the finder? How does it compare to the M6? Besides the meter what differences are there between the two and do you think it is as well built?

 

[drewbarb]

I used to own an M4-P; I also had a very late M6 classic at the same time. The finders were almost identical, except for the meter diodes in the M6, of course. The frame lines were the same, and the brighness seemed to be the same. But I thought the build quality and feel of the M4-P was a lot better; it felt much smoother and more like the older M cameras. I think it had a brass gear train, vs. steel in the M6.

My M6 was a late classic from the Solms factory, built in 1999. I'm not one of those who will automatically say that the Wetzlar cameras were all superior- the new M7's and MP's I've handled coming out of Solms seem great- and the new finder upgrades help, too. But that M6 was really lacking something in comparison to the older cameras. All in all, it was a fine camera, but it was the first Leica I was happy to sell. Ultimately, I sold the M4-P, too, due to my frustrations with finder flare. I use a pair of M3's now, with clean, bright, flare-free finders and recent CLA's, and I am happy as a clam.

 

[maitrestanley]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think that zinc was a coating, but was rather the material the M6 top plate was made of. Later M6TTL's may have gone back to having brass top plates, but the M4-P and M6 (and M4-2?) had zinc top plates under the black chrome finish.

:bang: Totally didn't know that!! Thanks.

Someone told me they were still brass with a zinc layer and a black layer on top of that.

 

[Pablito]

I can confirm what drewbarb says re. the M4-P versus the M6. I currently use both and the M4-P (Canada) is much smoother than either of my M6s (Solms). However the framelines are not identical. They both cover 28-135 but the actual design of the framlines varies slightly. The 75mm framelines are better (fuller) in the M6.

As to the question raised by the original poster, a beat up M6 with good, reliable mechanics will have had a full overhaul which would bring up the price.

 

[NIKON KIU]

I was just checking ebay and noticed Adorama just listed 3 of them, nothing beat-up but not mint either, all around $1000.

Kiu