Do I need a M6 TTL?

[samdj1210]

Hey there

I've come in to some money and sold my Bessa R so I was thinking of splashing out on a M6. Do I need a TTL verison, I'm guess that it has something to do with the flash? Am I right?

Whats a good price for M6? and what should I look for? Sorry for the newbie questions.

Thanks
Sam

 

[ghost]

not an essential feature, imho. i'm not hot on leica's primitive ttl flash and prefer using an automatic.

 

[samdj1210]

not an essential feature, imho. i'm not hot on leica's primitive ttl flash and prefer using an automatic.

So i could save myself some money then and get a None TTL? Anything else to look for in a M6?

 

[ghost]

m6 classics tend to be $300 less in equal condition.

always go through this checklist: http://cameraquest.com/leicamchecklist.htm

if you wear glasses, avoid the early m6s with the metal eyepiece.

 

[samdj1210]

Thanks for your help 🙂

Anyone selling one? PM me

Sam

 

[pstevenin]

I prefer the M6-TTL version, only because the speed dial rotates the logical way (non historical), hence following the meter arrows.

I've also heard the viewfinder is better coated reducing flare (I'm not sure about the correct term, but this is a well known issue) which happens some times (you cannot set properly the distance as the rangefinder is not working in certain angle of light, especially in portrait mode).

If you do not already own a M camera, I'd go for the TTL (but not for any flash aspects).

 

[Avotius]

yeah, if I was going to go for a m6 I would probably go for the ttl but I heard something about the frame counter using plastic gears that break sometimes....but that was also on a few...sometimes I dont know, both will give you a lotof bang for your buck but most of all I like the improper rotation of the ttl's dial

 

[rover]

I bought a TTL too. When shopping I found that the difference in price was only about $100 so I bought what I thought was the best camera available. Shop around, you will find some decent prices for both models.

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[peter_n]

Sam the M6TTL was my first RF camera and I still have it and love it after 3 years of ownership. It is built like a brick and I couldn't be happier with it. I much prefered both the rotation and size of the M6TTL's shutter dial over the M6 dial when I was purchasing.

One thing to consider is where you might go with Leica after you get this camera body (because you are now on a slippery slope as you may or may not know 😉). If you fancy modern cameras and an M7 or an M9 really appeals to you as a second body sometime in the future then get the M6TTL - don't even think about it. The two cameras work really well together.

OTOH, if you are the nostalgic type and fancy the M2, M3, M4 or MP as well, then strongly consider an M6. The M6 was the last Leica (if you don't count the MP) to have the shutter dial rotate in the same direction as the older cameras. With the M6TTL, Leica chucked out 50 years of tradition for sound ergonomic reasons. The best thing you can do is go to a camera store and try both bodies out and see where your own preferences lie.

 

[BillBingham2]

Sam,

I got an early M6 when they first came out. I look at the TTL as a great feature, but it limits my choices of flash. If you use off camera flash (holding the camera in one hand, the flash in another), I do not know of too many flashes that support that option. I try to always shoot flash that way. IMHO, it gives you better shadows.

I use old flashes (Vivitar 283, 192 and 292) and when I use automatic I put an external sensor on the hotshoe, keeping it pointed at the subject. While I've only owned a Flash TTL camera for a very short period of time and never shot any flash with it. I find the exposures with either on camera or off camera with external sensor fine for me. Like anything, when shooting a white gown, open up a bit.

While I try to do off camera all the time, just got a Olympus T32 a few months ago. I got it because of size/power ratio (small/very powerful) and it takes AA batteries. It will only work on camera, but when I do not want to carry a big flash, it's become my standard.

Right way, wrong way dial IMHO is a big deal if you have other cameras. I have a M4-P, it was my first M. So for me, the M6TTL is backwards. If the M6TTL is your only M, or you are going to perhaps get an M8 in the future, go TTL.

You will not be ill served by either camera, the M6 is great.

B2 (;->

 

[dcsang]

Do you "need" an M6 TTL ? What is this "need" that you talk of? 😀 Question is, do you WANT the M6 😉

If you're looking for one
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00I9l3&tag=

That thread has one - posted yesterday, seller is in the U.S. $1050 USD for the classic body - I do not know the seller nor have I had any dealings with the seller so caveat emptor and use your own judgement 🙂

Good luck in your quest for the M6

Cheers
Dave

 

[ddutchison]

Well we're talking Leica M's here, so the truth is that you'll probably love either camera, and if you don't, you'l probably get all your $$$ back whan you resell it. One point to remember is that a M6 Classic can be anywhere up to 20 years old, where as the TTL can't be older than 6. That's a baby in Leica years.

If you haven't guessed already, I prefer the TTL even though I'll never use any of those puny Leitz flashes (Vivitar 283 r00lz d00d). the meter's more sensitive by one stop, and I like the meter display better. The TTL has a dot between the two arrows, a la... "> 0 <", which allows it to indicate a half stop over or under exposure (when the dot and one arrow are both lit). I find this feature handy for applying quick exposure compensations. The Classic only has the two arrows, both light up when the exposure is correct.

Another thing. If the meter doesn't have enough light to operate, both arrows and the dot will flash (not sure if the Plane-Jane M6 does this too). I've discovered that this is a real handy lens-cap-is-still-on indicator.

Now, I am very sorry to have to disagree with our esteemed colleague from France, but the arrows in the M6 TTL viewfinder really are intended to indicate which direction to turn the aperture ring and shutter dial - that's why Leica changed the direction the shutter dial turns on this camera (as well as the M7 & M8). I will agree that in the M6 Classic, they are not intended to perform this function at all, and are merely centering symbols.

Seriously though, I've handed my camera to a number of people who've never touched one before, told them to just turn the aperture or shutter dial in the direction of the arrows until the dot lights up - they've all got it right instantly. I find it's really fast and intuitive to use - if you don't spend too much time thinking about it 😉.

The larger Shutter dial is a slight improvement in ergonomics, but I've never had a problem with the smaller one -a solution to a problem that doesn't exist IMHO. As for the quality of the Viewfinder, I think it's pretty much the same between the two. My TTL RF flares out occasionally, so if it has any improved coatings, they don't make much difference.

The downside is that the TTL's more expensive, the shutter dial turns in a different direction from all previous M's ( but the same direction as almost all subsequent ones) and it's really not quite as nice looking, what with being 2mm taller and having that honkin' big shutter-speed dial up top.

Having said all this B.S., Much as I think the TTL is a (slightly) better camera, a skankin-good deal on a M6 (especially one that's has the RF flare problem fixed) would trump a TTL at regular prices any day.
--
David Dutchison

 

[samdj1210]

Thanks for all your help, I now have my eyes peeled for M6 TTL/none. I'll let you know how I go.

Let me know if anyone is sell one.
Thanks
Sam

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[ddutchison]

Magus:
Ah, I see what you mean - definitely an after thought. Yes it is amazing the difference 2.6 mm can make.


Sam:
Good hunting. Patience is the key, and if a phenomenal deal in an M6 classic comes up, go that way (Just assume that your guardian angel knows it's really the better one for you)

 

[ghost]

n/m. i figure they both make sense because the m6 classic dial is thumb-oriented, while the m6 ttl dial is index finger-oriented, due to its larger size and consequently more forward position (to clear the advance lever). in both cases, you do turn the dial to the right to increase exposure. it's just with a different reference point.

the main difference is how easy the dial turns with the camera to your eye, which i guess is why the new main line of cameras is m6ttl/m7/m8. i guess bigger is better.

 

[E_Aiken]

I shoot with M6 classic and have no regrets. I picked mine up for $600, took about 20 minutes and buffed out the scratches that made it so unappealing to the doctor/lawyer/ferarri type who ditched it. My intention was to then flip it and make a few hundred bucks for my time, but I ended up loving it and now shoot with it almost every day unless work dictates digital or larger format film. I have a mix of Leitz, Zeiss, and Voigtlander glass and perhaps that along with being accustomed to working with multiple systems the shutter speed rotary dial issue isn't much of anything to me; I'm accustomed to different ergonomics from lens to lens/camera to camera. The TTL feature I'd regard as being next to useless, so really I'd go with whatever you find a good deal on.

 

[richard_l]

I don't know whether or not you need an M6 TTL, but I certainly don't. My plain jane M6 is a fine instrument, which does everything I need a camera to do. In fact, my elegant M2 is all I need, but I daren't sell the M6, as my wife likes it for the meter.

Richard

 

[jja]

Some corrections are in order:

--M6-TTL is not more flare resistant than M6. Reduced flare finders were not (re)introduced until midway through the M7 (and all of MP) production.

--Leica began introducing plastic parts (more failure prone) in the frame counter around '96 or '97, near the end of the M6 production life, according to cameraquest. It's unclear when Leica corrected this problem.

--Whether or not you call them "arrows," the LED indicators are in fact DIRECTIONAL indicators. ">" means turn the aperture ring clockwise to open the lens, "<" means turn counterclockwise to close it down. From the M6 manual: "...When only one LED appears, turn the lens aperture ring in the direction indicated."

--Like the M6-TTL, the M6 is capable 1/2-stop over- or under-exposure, depending on how bright the LED lights appear.

Currently I have an M6 classic in the classifieds, but to be honest, I may pull it. The M6 and M6-TTL are both great cameras. I would choose depending on condition (and direction of shutter-dial, if you see other M's in your future). One issue no one has broached is the supposed tendency of the M6-TTL to eat up batteries, a problem I've never had with my M6.