Help buying a used Leica M6

[t.s.k.]

Just watch out for finder flare. See if the store will allow you to return it if you just "don't like it". My M6 has been a source of frustration because of the finder. Granted, it's a late model .85 classic edition but the whiteout is frustrating nonetheless. I haven't had the inclination to send it in for a condenser upgrade...yet.

I cut my teeth on an M2 and M3 and I'm glad I did. Metering is way down the list of important things a camera should do - number one being the ability to focus in all conditions and at all angles.

Anyways, best on your journey.

 

[cidereye]

Just watch out for finder flare. See if the store will allow you to return it if you just "don't like it". My M6 has been a source of frustration because of the finder. Granted, it's a late model .85 classic edition but the whiteout is frustrating nonetheless. I haven't had the inclination to send it in for a condenser upgrade...yet.

I cut my teeth on an M2 and M3 and I'm glad I did. Metering is way down the list of important things a camera should do - number one being the ability to focus in all conditions and at all angles.

Anyways, best on your journey.

You know what? I'd never thought in a million years I'd agree with your comments a while ago but having started cutting my teeth on an M2 and now getting an M6 I understand your sentiments fully and totally agree. Metering is not the big deal it's cracked up to be, especially when using BW film and a small meter in your pocket is nice but again not even essential for most conditions as I've so often found when I've forgotten to put my meter in my bag.

As I've just learned, I am so much slower with a metered M than an un-metered one. Should have bought that nice M3 I looked at instead, ah well.

Also, talking about finder glare on the 0.85 have you ever tried this? Many M6 users seem to sear by it, might give it a try myself. 🙂

http://www.leicagoodies.com/shade.html

 

[Roger Hicks]

Perhaps this is a sacrilege, but I don't believe the human eye can emulate a light meter. We may remember exposure combinations that worked in certain situations. Sunny16 encapsulates some common combinations that experience shows are useful in certain situations. I wonder, though, if anyone really learns anything that can be transferred to a different situation.

So, my advise to the OP, or anyone else, is to get the camera you want and learn to use that camera effectively. The M6 has a meter, so what an M6 user needs to do is learn how to use the M6 meter.

Dear Bill,

Absolutely. But we CAN remember a awful lot and we CAN guess exposures by analogy, so I think that to a considerable extent we can learn things that can be transferred to different situations.

The point is, though, that even if you're very good at estimating/guessing exposures (and I am) there are still situations in which you will be wrong, sometimes VERY wrong. Practice brings down the number of failures but never eliminates them entirely: from perhaps 20% to 2% or maybe even less.

Then again, meters ain't perfect, and usually, if the meter and I disagree, I'm right.

Whether the lack of a meter or the flare-out is a bigger problem is a very personal choice. The flare-out (first experienced on an M4-P) is why I avoided the M6 and didn't get a metered M until the MP. But I liked the (metered) Bessa R2 and often used it instead of the M4-P. Personally, I wouldn't bother with an M3, but then, I like 35mm lenses. I've had two or three but sold the last one a couple of decades ago.

Cheers,

R.

 

[t.s.k.]

You know what? I'd never thought in a million years I'd agree with your comments a while ago but having started cutting my teeth on an M2 and now getting an M6 I understand your sentiments fully and totally agree. Metering is not the big deal it's cracked up to be, especially when using BW film and a small meter in your pocket is nice but again not even essential for most conditions as I've so often found when I've forgotten to put my meter in my bag.

As I've just learned, I am so much slower with a metered M than an un-metered one. Should have bought that nice M3 I looked at instead, ah well.

Also, talking about finder glare on the 0.85 have you ever tried this? Many M6 users seem to sear by it, might give it a try myself. 🙂

http://www.leicagoodies.com/shade.html

Thanks for the endorsement 😀

I've looked at the leicagoodies line of products as well as other remedies for the flare. For me, anything that dims the finder, even just a bit, will also frustrate me. My eyes ain't what they used to be. But who knows? I may find an unused "shade" on craigslist one day. I appreciate the suggestion!

 

[Wessie]

Finder Flare

Finder Flare

Thank you guys for all the advice.

I got the camera yesterday from the local store and have 10 days to test it out.

So I got my first roll and I can't explain how much I love the shutter sound. Don't think I can explain that feeling in words 😛 I tried an M8 before (for a few months) and I have a Nikon fe but nothing can compare with the sound on the M6.

And the weight. Really love it.

So far I noticed some finder flare only indoors. Not complete whiteout but enough to affect focusing. Can't wait to see the results from my first roll (dropped it off first thing in the morning) to decide if it's a keeper or not.

Again, I really appreciate to receive great advice here in so little time.

Cheers.

 

[umboody]

Why do you think that?

I used my M3 extensively before the M6. Sunny 16 has really helped me get a good rough idea of correct daylight exposures, something I wouldn't have picked up quite so well with relying on the M6's meter. Besides, I find the rangefinder and the general feel of the M3 to be much better than the M6.

 

[wgerrard]

A. Eye and reason can be a better combination.

It's an approximation, an exercise in heuristics. The human eye and brain cannot measure light intensity.

I'll stand by my statement that the best way to learn to use an M6 is to use an M6. Learning Sunny16 is not directly transferrable to an M6 unless you turn off the meter.

Build quality, an illusive and overrated attribute, isn't an issue for someone who has decided to buy an M6. The build quality of any Leica is sufficient to its purposes.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Also, talking about finder glare on the 0.85 have you ever tried this? Many M6 users seem to swear by it, might give it a try myself. 🙂

http://www.leicagoodies.com/shade.html

I bought a couple of those little "shade" patches and they seem to work well. In my opinion claims that they dim the viewfinder unacceptably are overstatement. I see hardly any difference at all.

 

[zhengpeng]

I have both M3 and M6. If you can live with Sunny16 or handheld light meter, I'd recommend M3

 

[CSG123]

I have an M4 and an L-208 meter on the way for back-up but I was mightily tempted to consider an M6 because the meter is there in the camera. Shooting a film rangefinder takes me back 30-40 years when that's all I used (not a Leica though). If I continue to enjoy it I will consider adding a second body but whether it will be the classic M3 or an M6/7 for the built in meter, I don't yet know. I was interested that Sherry Krauter thinks the M5 is the shiz and Leica's best metering camera. She told me this herself.

 

[David Hughes]

Nope. I have to say that the M2 is the best starter. And 35, 50 and 90 are the best starter lenses, or 35 and 90 which is very practical. Imagine starting with the M3 and then finding you can't use a wide-angle without a finder sitting on top.

As for sunny 16 etc. I use it when pushed but prefer to use a meter (even built in one) and then make a slight adjustment.

Just my 2d worth. Regards, David

 

[Wessie]

Some photos from first Roll on the M6

Some photos from first Roll on the M6

So I got the photos back from the lab and I'm keeping the M6 🙂

Here are some from using Kodak Ektar 100 + 28 Ultron

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php?ppuser=37446&cat=500

 

[CSG123]

Enjoy your new M6! Any Leica is a good thing.