thegman
Veteran
That's a good looking M6, and I've dealt with Red Dot Cameras a couple of times, they're good guys. Despite their shop looking pretty nice, the prices of the gear is fairly reasonable.
stormbytes
Member
My impression, based on that lengthy conversation with a 30+ year veteran Leica technician (who actually worked for Leitz) is that Leica hasn't actually changed its mechanism. However, with the economics factor in play, the quality of its parts suffered at different times and more so with recent models.
I was told explicitly to look for used models with sn's in the ranges of:
1974xxx to 1978xxx
1991xxx to 1998xxx
The explanation given was that earlier models (aka "first out of the box") had "bugs", and latter models (those produced after Leica's corporate restructuring/sale) were made with some slightly cheaper parts.
I realize this amounts to heresy in the RF/Leica community, and I was equally shocked to hear it, but like any for-profit establishment, Leica *did* in fact cut corners to save a buck.
As for my own foray into Leica/RF, it has been educational. I'm happy to have had the option to return the M6-TTL and to make a more educated purchase the second time around.
I was told explicitly to look for used models with sn's in the ranges of:
1974xxx to 1978xxx
1991xxx to 1998xxx
The explanation given was that earlier models (aka "first out of the box") had "bugs", and latter models (those produced after Leica's corporate restructuring/sale) were made with some slightly cheaper parts.
I realize this amounts to heresy in the RF/Leica community, and I was equally shocked to hear it, but like any for-profit establishment, Leica *did* in fact cut corners to save a buck.
As for my own foray into Leica/RF, it has been educational. I'm happy to have had the option to return the M6-TTL and to make a more educated purchase the second time around.
stormbytes
Member
I guess 'reasonable' is subjective
Considering the camera is 20+ years old, the fact that it had documented service (CLA) in July of last year played a major role in my decision to purchase this particular camera.
A CLA on Leica M* can run anywhere from $300 and up (parts and labor). A $1300 purchase can quickly turn into $1600 and more if there are any issues.
To be absolutely honest, I did like the big-lettered M6 on the front of this model.
Sparrow
Veteran
If it looked like this sort of thing there is probably nothing wrong with it ... it's just the parallax difference between the VF's field of view and the RF's and is unaffected by make or model but gets more pronounced with cameras that have a longer RF base length
stormbytes
Member
In hindsight, I should have elaborated. I was referring to the added electronics and the fact that the shutter speed dial turns the 'wrong' way. I'll leave out the fact that most would find 1/50s flah-sync essentially useless.