cheap and well used or prestine and pricy

piazza63

piazza63

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Hello I'm new to the rangefinder world (migrating from film and digital SLR) but a couple of my friends have m6's and I too (after drooling over their photos) am looking to make the move. I was wondering what people thought of well used possibly abused Leicas. I have an opportunity at an m6 for only 750 the viewfinder is good and mechanical movement is smooth but a lot of brassing, paint chips and a couple of small scratches and dings. does this sound like a good price or should I poney up the 1000-1200 for a presence one with boxes, caps, staps etc. I think I know what a good non ttl m6 goes for, but what about a beat up one? Any help would be great!
 
depends, do you like to shoot or fondle? Me, I prefer to shoot and most of my cameras look like it. I did buy an MP that was in pristine shape once...once ;).

If it is in operable condition I'd jump on it, most Leicas can be repaired back to an operable state, good luck whatever your choice and lets see some pics.

Todd
 
At that price, you could pay to have it gone through by one of the reputable repair places everyone on here uses and still have a good deal I'd say. If you don't mind that looks that is!
 
Buy it :). My most used camera is a beater M6 just like that. Because it's a beater, it has been carried all over the place, 4 continents so far.

Cheers,

Roland.
 
As long as it seems to work, it probably will -- and don't worry too much about the 'CLA' that so many talk about as this is a relatively recent invention. Many of us who have been using Leicas for decades never have a CLA for its own sake -- just a general clean-up when the camera occasionally needs a repair. I've used REALLy ratty old Leicas as well as new ones, and if it's to be used, you don't want pristine.

Cheers,

Roger
 
I'd go with the somewhat more used one. Leica's really like to be used, the more they are used less often you have to get them adjusted. If they sit the lubes used stiffen. At some point a camera will get a scratch or something, it's a fact of life. I did really well with my new Ms but even they were not perfect.

I moved from Ms to Nikons. I started with a very well used S2 and was very happy. I moved to an S3-2000 only to get a different style of shutter dial (non-rotating shutter dial) and finder with built in frame lines for 35/50/105.

I'd go with the used M6, it is a great camera and go shoot some film.

B2 (;->
 
piazza63 said:
.... I have an opportunity at an m6 for only 750 the viewfinder is good and mechanical movement is smooth but a lot of brassing, paint chips and a couple of small scratches and dings....
Click to expand...

Put a couple of films through it if you have the chance. Nothing beats a test drive.

Good luck.
 
Buy it. Pristine is overrated and you have a good offer there. You're getting a great body at a good price and you're going to have a bit left over to invest in glass. What more could you ask for?

Welcome to the forum BTW! :)
 
Cheap and well used has two advantages: first, well used means that it works well; second, it is cheap. As Todd said, most Leicas can be made fully functional.

Pherdinand, it is not fair to take my dream from me. But if you find two...
 
I bought a "pristine" M6 a while ago. I dont have the respect for it that I do for my M2 and as such, have beat it intensely, dragging it into conditions that no camera should ever be dragged through. It needs a CLA badly now, the RF is out of alignment, the frame spacing is inconsistent and really, really, really needs lube on the gears. If I had bought a user body, it would be in identical shape right now and the money I saved would have paid for the cla I need to have done. If you are a photographer and plan to use the camera to take pictures instead of taking pictures of the camera, there is some logic to buying a bit used. There is to some degree some sense in buying a lightly used older M as the gears are softer, I have an M2 that is much tighter feeling than any of my 4's but its purely tactile and doesnt effect the photos it takes at all...

bit off your topic, if you arent set on the idea of in finder metering, you might consider an M4 instead, I like my 4's sooooooooooo much better than the 6.
 
Leicas are, in general, pretty durable machines. There is not too much that can go wrong. One of the arguments for spending more money on a well-made piece of equipment is that it will outlast less well-made gear. The number of working M2's, M3's, M4's and M5's on this list bears this out, I think. And not to start any camera-wars, this has always been the thing that I wanted to know about the CV RF's, the Hexar RF, the Zeiss Ikons and so forth -- whether they have the build quality to survive over the years. There is no need to argue about it. If these cameras really are as durable as Leicas then there should be a good supply of them clicking away in 15 or 20 years and we can have the discussion then.

As long as there is nothing broken in the used M6 and it has never been submerged in salt water, it should last for many years.

Ben Marks
(ducking)
 
Thank you all for the help...I plan to be a user over an admirer as well. So we will see maybe tomorrow I will have photos to show:)
 
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Just remember. No one will ever say "This camera has brassing on the top plate" when you hand them a print.

This is what mine looked like when I bought it. So far, no one has ever complained about its condition while looking at the results.

hells_leica.jpg


I just wrote a blog post recently on this subject after remembering an incident where a collector told a coworker of mine it was worth the etxra chunk of change for the cosmetic perfection. If you're curious -> Here
 
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There is the odd logic that to get well used, it must have been good. I have several very clean M's but my favorite is an old, well used M3. Good Luck. Joe
 
I recently bought a "pristine" black paint M6. It is so perfect it makes me nervous and the two previous owners, both rff'ers, were essentially afraid to use it.

I use my cameras and this M6 will get a proper work out. If I had it to do all over again I'd get a black paint beat-up M4 because I like the brassing as they get older.

Here's my friend's M2. It's the most beat-up Leica I've ever seen and it works perfect, silky smooth. That's a 21mm Super Angulon.
 

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