I started with the MP and so got classics for back up as the shutter dial goes the same way. They are also a touch smaller. It does not matter as long as you are used to it. Rotating the dial against the arrow is completely intuitive to me now.
Those who say that you can mix and match bodies that rotate different ways are evidently not shooting in pressurised situations. Its a terrible idea, so best to stick to one. If I were to swap out my Ms, and say got to M7s I would get M6 TTLs too and so swap out the lot.
Turtle - I think that your post perfectly describes the conundrum of mixing and matching. Like you said best to stick bodies that rotate in the same direction.
My dream camera has always been the black MP or alternatively the black LHSA. If I purchased the MP, then I would get a battered user M2 as backup. They both rotate in the same direction.
However, if I purchased the LHSA, then I would keep my current TTL as the backup body, as they both rotate the same way.
I remember an interesting anecdote when I was shooting some photos in Japan. I was with a friend who was a member of a Leica club there. We went out shooting with a grizzled elderly Japanese photographer who happened to be an ex-photojournalist for one of the dailies.
He had several bodies that were wrapped around his neck. He had if memory serves me correctly an M2, M3 and M7. I asked him through the translation of my friend if he found it difficult using the opposing dials of the older Ms and the M7.
His reply was what really struck me. He said something along the lines that a seasoned or experienced photo-journalist should be able to seamlessly cross from different cameras with different dials as well as be able to use different focal lengths in split second situations.
Anyway, I am still learning to do that, but I don't think that I am a better photographer when I can do that. I like to keep it simple.
