Leica M6 in low light condition...

[j_sebastian]

Hi,
I have reading this forum for months but I never post because my english is... Well... you can see it.
I bought one of the early M6 and I have some doubt about meter...
In low light when I close the aperture at f/4 the arrows of the meter disappear even with iso 6400 and 1/8s
I have to set at f/2 for read the light...
For example: f/2 = 1/60s (iso 6400) so then I change to f/4 = 1/15s for more DOF but the arrows does not appear
Is it normal..?
I hope improve my spanglish...
Thanks
Sebas

 

[Boy Scout]

What type of lighting are you under? It could be that it is too low because f/2 @ 1/60 and f/4 @ 1/15 are both equally "bright".

So tell us, what settings does your M6 give you on a sunny day?

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

Hi,

When you put your lens at f4, it holds back 4 times more light than at f2.
With low light the meter cell might pick up just enough light to meter. At F4 it then does not pick up enough light any more to meter and the led's will stop blinking. This has nothing to do with the iso setting. The meter cell just doesn't get enough light.
You can meter at f2 and then change to F4.

Cheers,
Michiel fokkema

 

[j_sebastian]

In sunny day it is ok... In fact in "normal" light condition the M6 give me the same setting that my canon 5D (in spot mode)....

But at night in the street I have to set the lens at f/2 to make work the meter...

What type of lighting are you under? It could be that it is too low because f/2 @ 1/60 and f/4 @ 1/15 are both equally "bright".

So tell us, what settings does your M6 give you on a sunny day?

 

[Boy Scout]

In sunny day it is ok... In fact in "normal" light condition the M6 give me the same setting that my canon 5D (in spot mode)....

But at night in the street I have to set the lens at f/2 to make work the meter...

That's good to know your camera works.

I figured that f/2 (2) + 1/60 (6) = 8, so that's exactly the same as f/4 (4) + 1/15 (4) = 8; and this is through the exposure value method. If Leica's use the EV method to measure light and regardless of how much light hits the meter, as long as it's in the EV range, shouldn't the camera be able to read it?

Oh well, Michael could be correct and I hope that all M cameras don't have this issue. 😱

 

[ferider]

Hi Sebas,

first of all your English is fine.

Second, if I recall right, the early M6 sensitivity is 0EV ( = 1s, f1) to 20EV at ISO 100. Later M6 go down to - 1EV. I have two almost identical M6 cameras, in one the meter circuity was upgraded and I can confirm that it is 1-2 stops more sensitive.

At ISO 6400, f2, 1/15 (film += 6 stops, aperture -= 2 stops, speed -= 4 stops), you are at 0 EV. So it sounds like your camera is about in specs.

At lowest EV ranges the lens needs to let enough light through for the meter sensor to "see" it, regardless of the speed and iso settings. So around EV0 the behavior is not linear.

Best,

Roland.

 

[j_sebastian]

Thanks to all for your answers...

So I think that I have to use to this method..?

Cheers
Sebas

 

[ferider]

Sebas,

when you are on the street at night, or in a bar, the nice thing is that the light changes only little. So you can use a more sensitive hand-held meter just once or twice, and adjust by feeling, in particular if you use negative film with wide latitude.

Best,

Roland.