Avotius
Some guy
So yeah after many agonizing moments over a span of almost 3 years I bit the bullet and got myself an M6. This one kind of fell into my lap really so I got lucky. Its a very much in good condition black TTL version with little to talk about on the body. A few rubs on the corners, a little ding on the rewind crank, nothing much else though.
In the studio
Typical things on the table in the studio. A camera (my new Leica M6 TTL) and the small version of the sculpture I am working on.
Comparing it to my Bessa R2a you right off the bat realize the weight of the M6. Its nice and heavy but not annoyingly so ala Leica R 6.2, also it seems more dense. The first shot I took with it was in really bad light at 1/8th of a second. It came out tack sharp. The weight helps.
The first M6 photo
The first photo I shot with my Leica M6 TTL. It was very low light. f2 at 1/8th of a second. The heft of the camera helped keep it very stable and this shot came out perfectly clear.
The shutter sound is very nice, my photography teacher (who is green with envy right now by the way) couldn't help but comment on that aspect. My other friend the 65 year old sculptor admired the camera for its lines and rounded edges giving great emphasis to the fact that the edges are not simply half circles but more then that so there would be no hard line when going on to the straight plane. He also called my Voigtlander vulgar believe it or not, but still he thinks for the price you cant be picky.
Thick dog
One of the things that you see here sometimes, the dogs in Chongqing seem to be overly thick. They still enjoy the sunny days like everyone else though.
By the way, who at Leica was sleeping on their arse when they let all these cameras walk out of the factory with this viewfinder flare issue? Are you kidding me? When its convenient I will send it in for a upgrade. Leica....shame on you for this, because you let your professional cameras out with such a glaring omission you deserve the uneven ground you now walk upon. My viewfinder flares out all the time, its rather annoying...but not a deal breaker as of yet.
This was the Nail House
This is the former location of the Chongqing Nail House. A single house that stood up against a company wanting to build a mall there.
On my first roll of film to stretch my Leica legs I noticed I forgot to adjust the shutter speed a few times, coming from the world of aperture priority shooting it seems a bit fiddly to me but I am getting used to remember how to eye meter and preset the camera like I used to with my Canon AE1. I was shooting color negative film as I usually do so the latitude saved me but just something to get used to, hone the skills as the old man said.
Learning how to use a real camera
The girlfriend trying to learn how to use this thing they call film. She is a digital child you could say.
Flim loading was a bit tricky, I had a learner roll of film ready though, the first time it didnt work, the second time it was fine, after that I pretty much got the hang of it, although I keep forgetting to close the back door thing. You really need to pay attention to that rewind nob.
The good old boys
Looking for a job? Why not put an add on the street showing yourself off waiting and hoping that someone will come give you work?
I am now paranoid about burning a hole through the shutter, its awfully sunny here right now so need to be careful, though the other day I was out with a Minolta SLR 50mm f1.4 lens and a some leafs seeing what kind of aperture and how much time would be needed to do some damage. Closing down the aperture helps a lot, basically after much time at say....f4 there was nothing happening, but as soon as you opened up to 1.4 it burned right through. A valid argument for slow lenses eh?
Stroll down the alley
You typical old back alley here in Chongqing. The occasional person walking by, someone out the door of their house in the sun, some steam from something cooking catching the light.
But anyway, im glad to get the Leica monkey off my back. Next I need a Leica lens, a 35 asph summicron sounds in order. Just have to recover from this purchase the I will move to the next. Going to sell the Voigtlander 35 PII, rather equalize my lenses, the 35 PII renders different then my other stuff, plus I dont use it much.
Photographers snack too
When out shooting on the streets you sometimes need to stop and sample the local snacks. Though it should not hamper your shooting!
hm....maybe some vintage glass....a Leitz 50 1.5 maybe or a 50 f2 rigid....
Trash?
Hardly trash. Just some unlucky people snoozing away in the mid day next to the busiest square in all of Chongqing, right across from the Rollex/Tudor shop.
These photos are the results of the first roll of film I ran through the body, Fuji Superia 200. Everything was taken with the Zeiss Planar except the first photo which was with my Ricoh GRD and the second to last photo of my girlfriend buying a snack which was with the Voigtlander 35mm f2.5 PII. The photo "The good old boys" is a digital black and white conversion using the black and white function in Photoshop CS3.
In the studio
Typical things on the table in the studio. A camera (my new Leica M6 TTL) and the small version of the sculpture I am working on.
Comparing it to my Bessa R2a you right off the bat realize the weight of the M6. Its nice and heavy but not annoyingly so ala Leica R 6.2, also it seems more dense. The first shot I took with it was in really bad light at 1/8th of a second. It came out tack sharp. The weight helps.
The first M6 photo
The first photo I shot with my Leica M6 TTL. It was very low light. f2 at 1/8th of a second. The heft of the camera helped keep it very stable and this shot came out perfectly clear.
The shutter sound is very nice, my photography teacher (who is green with envy right now by the way) couldn't help but comment on that aspect. My other friend the 65 year old sculptor admired the camera for its lines and rounded edges giving great emphasis to the fact that the edges are not simply half circles but more then that so there would be no hard line when going on to the straight plane. He also called my Voigtlander vulgar believe it or not, but still he thinks for the price you cant be picky.
Thick dog
One of the things that you see here sometimes, the dogs in Chongqing seem to be overly thick. They still enjoy the sunny days like everyone else though.
By the way, who at Leica was sleeping on their arse when they let all these cameras walk out of the factory with this viewfinder flare issue? Are you kidding me? When its convenient I will send it in for a upgrade. Leica....shame on you for this, because you let your professional cameras out with such a glaring omission you deserve the uneven ground you now walk upon. My viewfinder flares out all the time, its rather annoying...but not a deal breaker as of yet.
This was the Nail House
This is the former location of the Chongqing Nail House. A single house that stood up against a company wanting to build a mall there.
On my first roll of film to stretch my Leica legs I noticed I forgot to adjust the shutter speed a few times, coming from the world of aperture priority shooting it seems a bit fiddly to me but I am getting used to remember how to eye meter and preset the camera like I used to with my Canon AE1. I was shooting color negative film as I usually do so the latitude saved me but just something to get used to, hone the skills as the old man said.
Learning how to use a real camera
The girlfriend trying to learn how to use this thing they call film. She is a digital child you could say.
Flim loading was a bit tricky, I had a learner roll of film ready though, the first time it didnt work, the second time it was fine, after that I pretty much got the hang of it, although I keep forgetting to close the back door thing. You really need to pay attention to that rewind nob.
The good old boys
Looking for a job? Why not put an add on the street showing yourself off waiting and hoping that someone will come give you work?
I am now paranoid about burning a hole through the shutter, its awfully sunny here right now so need to be careful, though the other day I was out with a Minolta SLR 50mm f1.4 lens and a some leafs seeing what kind of aperture and how much time would be needed to do some damage. Closing down the aperture helps a lot, basically after much time at say....f4 there was nothing happening, but as soon as you opened up to 1.4 it burned right through. A valid argument for slow lenses eh?
Stroll down the alley
You typical old back alley here in Chongqing. The occasional person walking by, someone out the door of their house in the sun, some steam from something cooking catching the light.
But anyway, im glad to get the Leica monkey off my back. Next I need a Leica lens, a 35 asph summicron sounds in order. Just have to recover from this purchase the I will move to the next. Going to sell the Voigtlander 35 PII, rather equalize my lenses, the 35 PII renders different then my other stuff, plus I dont use it much.
Photographers snack too
When out shooting on the streets you sometimes need to stop and sample the local snacks. Though it should not hamper your shooting!
hm....maybe some vintage glass....a Leitz 50 1.5 maybe or a 50 f2 rigid....
Trash?
Hardly trash. Just some unlucky people snoozing away in the mid day next to the busiest square in all of Chongqing, right across from the Rollex/Tudor shop.
These photos are the results of the first roll of film I ran through the body, Fuji Superia 200. Everything was taken with the Zeiss Planar except the first photo which was with my Ricoh GRD and the second to last photo of my girlfriend buying a snack which was with the Voigtlander 35mm f2.5 PII. The photo "The good old boys" is a digital black and white conversion using the black and white function in Photoshop CS3.
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ZebGoesZeiss
Established
Finally! Couldn't happen to a nicer guy! I'm sure you will put it to good use, and I'm looking forward to seeing more results! How much did you end up paying?
I'm sure you will put it to good use, and I'm looking forward to seeing more results! How much did you end up paying?tomasis
Well-known
wonderful photos and comments.. the shot in alley is beautiful! Glad you got the M finally You know that some myths are sometimes true
You know that some myths are sometimes true Ronald_H
Don't call me Ron
Nice pics!
As I also gave in to my Leica desires yesterday, I will shoot with my M2 today. Loaded it with slide film (Sensia) and have some FP4+ on standby.
As I also gave in to my Leica desires yesterday, I will shoot with my M2 today. Loaded it with slide film (Sensia) and have some FP4+ on standby.
Damaso
Photojournalist
Nice photos, looks like you are getting the hang of it. I've had mine for about eight months and I am still learning the quirks of the camera. But I too am very happy...
infrequent
Well-known
congrats on getting the M6 and its quite clear that it will be a success. i like the first shot as well as the alley shot. thats the sort of stuff i wanna shoot! all the best.
meven
Well-known
"Stroll down the alley" is an amazing photo!
Congrats for the purchase.
Max
Congrats for the purchase.
Max
doitashimash1te
Well-known
"Stroll down the alley" is a brilliant capture!!
Good luck with your M6. For sure this piece of machinery is in good hands!
Good luck with your M6. For sure this piece of machinery is in good hands!
chambrenoire
Well-known
Wow, great pictures! You and the M6 seem to fit well together.
Have fun!
Have fun!
__hh
Well-known
Congrats Avotius... you really deserve that M6, and that M6 deserves you.
Like they say in the Penfolds advert... "the rewards of patience" really applies in this case.
Looking forward to more of your unique pictures.
Like they say in the Penfolds advert... "the rewards of patience" really applies in this case.
Looking forward to more of your unique pictures.
Rafael
Mandlerian
Congratulations on the purchase Colin. Let join the chorus of praise for the photograph of the man walking down the alley. It is really fantastic. When you have the time and the money, I highly recommend the flare fix. I just had my M6 done recently. The fix works very well. And it is not all that expensive ($185 or so), especially when you consider what the camera costs.
Film dino
David Chong
The sculpture's cool too..
sirius
Well-known
Enjoy your wonderful camera...nice to see your girlfriend shares your interest, or at least humours you!
SolaresLarrave
My M5s need red dots!
Good work, Colin! The M6TTL is a glorious camera. I know... I have two of those and don't know which I like best.
Avotius
Some guy
Well I guess I owe everyone that much!
What happened was there was this add online from a guy in Beijing. Turns out this person who had the add is a friend of a friend so my friend was able to get a special price for the camera. I ended up paying 8500 RMB or just over 1200 USD for it. The guy even shipped it to me especially fast. It arrived here in Chongqing from Beijing in less then 24 hours. Quite amazing really.
amateriat
We're all light!
Congrats, Colin. Your photography, as always, is a pleasure to view, and now you also have a camera that in some ways will get less in the way of your mind's eye than before...and that, ultimately, is the most-important thing we can ask of such a tool.
- Barrett
- Barrett
Avotius
Some guy
I almost agree with you there, thanks for the comments though, always good to hear from you. The M6 does get in my way a bit, as I am not accustomed to this manual everything way of photography, aperture priority for me has always been the camera not in my way (with rangefinders at least, SLRs have always been in the way for me and my nearsightedness). In the grand scheme of things I would have really preferred an M7 or M8 but I had to draw a reasonable line as an M7 was going to double the expense of the M Leica for me and that I have other expenses to consider soon. That said all that money I saved will be put to good use, film, maybe a 35mm lens, and then I will be able to properly work through this camera and hopefully get back in touch with the basics.
jan normandale
Film is the other way
well congratulations for doing what you want. Too often people talk themselves out of what they want because of price. One caveat , your GF may end up taking better shots because she's got your GSN ;- )
"Happy Trails", Colin
"Happy Trails", Colin
Avotius
Some guy
Thanks! Actually I tried to talk myself out of it a few times, basically giving up, I tried to talk myself into a Nikon FM3a with a couple Zeiss lenses, but in the end just closed my eyes and pushed the button so to speak.
A side note, my photography class (im a photography major) has an online chat room, one guy on there is talking about how he just got a apple laptop, I mentioned that I got a Leica M6, no one on there knows what a Leica is. By the way, did I mention we are 4th years students graduating in a few months?
Xax
Established
yeah gratulations!
after one roll i dont know if i will sell mine.. it's really quite nice although i am missing the aperture priority a bit...
after one roll i dont know if i will sell mine.. it's really quite nice although i am missing the aperture priority a bit...