M6 VF upgrade

Well, I'll swim against the stream. I had DAG upgrade one of my M6 bodies. I don't find the upgrade very compelling, and haven't had the other one upgraded.
 
According to Leica, M7 improved viewfinder is identical to the MP viewfinder. I have called Leica, Samy's camera, and Leica dealer about this before I have considered buying a M7 and MP.
 
I believe Solms M6-to-MP viewfinder upgrade procedure includes new windows as well, but for higher price.
 
does the VF upgrade also mean additional framelines? say if you upgraded a M4-2, do you get the 75 and 28 framelines as well?
 
infrequent said:
does the VF upgrade also mean additional framelines? say if you upgraded a M4-2, do you get the 75 and 28 framelines as well?
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The frameline mask is separate. So I do not think that it is included in the upgrade. However, I believe that you can have those framelines added.
 
Does anyone know of anyone in or around Hong Kong that does this viewfinder upgrade? My new M6 is plagued by finder flare. I always shoot in troubling lighting and never had so many problems as I did with my Bessa, which I must say, never flared out.
 
ferider said:
Interesting, Marc. Thanks !

You got yourself a great 35/75 machine now ! :) Seriously, this is
now the perfect combo of 75mm framelines, larger magnification
and flare-free finder.

Cheers,

Roland.
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I actually love this combo myself. I use the VC-35mm Nokton F/1.2 with the Leica 75mm Slux F/1.4

I have the M6TTL 0.85 finder. I purchased this Leica as it was a demo, and it came in perfect condition. I'm not sure if the finder has been upgraded, but it does not flare as bad as my M6TTL 0.72

I wear glasses and I have no problem seeing the 35mm framlines with the 0.85 viewfinder; however, I do have a little trouble using the 75mm frames, so I use a 75mm external viewfinder, which I prefer.

The 0.85 viewfinder is not as good as the M3 viewfinder, but it is as good as it gets south of the M3 viewfinder. I even like it better than the viewfinder in my Ziess Ikon.
 
This quoted post worries me. My recently acquired M6 suffers from bad flare and I like to shoot in those inducing conditions. Can anyone chime in on whether the MP VF upgrade (w/ coated window) through Leica is a significant improvement over the upgrade provided by DAG? To my understand, it is about a $100 difference. I'd rather pay the premium and get it fixed the first time.

JNewell said:
Well, I'll swim against the stream. I had DAG upgrade one of my M6 bodies. I don't find the upgrade very compelling, and haven't had the other one upgraded.
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In fairness, I'm probably an outlier on this issue. Most people seem to think it's a revolutionary, mandatory fix for a huge problem. I have been shooting Ms with the "flare prone" vf since I added an M4-P to my bag in 1984 and it really hasn't been a big issue. YMMV.
 
I feel the same. I'll have Don do the upgrade the next time I send my M6 for service, but it rarely bothers me. When I do get flare I simply recenter the VF and it goes away.
 
Someone posted...here or p-net, forget which...that he actually found the flare a useful tool. Why? Because it does force you to get your eye centered behind the RF optics, which does result in more accurate focusing. It's kind of a "it's not a bug, it's a feature" argument, but it is correct. FWIW/FYI, the M6 that I have *not* had "updated" is my 0.85x, and the fact that the flare is a reminder to correctly center the eye helps me make sure focus is really right on with lenses like the 90mm Apo.

To the point above about the coated windows, I don't think that will have any effect on flare. The coating increases (slightly) the degree of light transmission, and probably reduces (in theory) reflections in some against-the-light situations, but these are separate from the flare/reduced (it is not "no") flare retrofit that involves the missing condenser lens.
 
The MP VF is approximately 30% brighter than the "upgraded" M6 finder. The upgrade replaces only the condensor. The M6 finder was atrocious for contrasty, back-lit situations.
 
JNewell said:
Someone posted...here or p-net, forget which...that he actually found the flare a useful tool. Why? Because it does force you to get your eye centered behind the RF optics, which does result in more accurate focusing. It's kind of a "it's not a bug, it's a feature" argument, but it is correct.
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You got a point there. Also, usually, when the finder doesn't flare, I'm pretty confident that the lens doesn't flare either :)
 
I had my M6 upgraded with the full CLA by DAG a year ago and it was the best thing I did for it. Expensive - sure!. But very useful and made it much better to use. But....it's for sale now, as I use Hexar RF almost all the time, really, so check classifieds, if you want a good user M6 with Full CLA and VF upgraded.
 
Now, is there someone like DAG in Europe where my M6 can get this improvement? I have this camera since many years and always hated the whitening, but hated Leica upgrading prices even more. The viewfinder of my M6 needs some adjustment anyhow, why not CLAU (CLA&upgrade) it? :)
 
You can choose "Fotomechanik Reinhardt" in Hannover to adjust the viewfinder. It is a really good place to go. But I don´t know if they will/can do the MP-finder upgrade.
 
M like Leica M6 said:
Now, is there someone like DAG in Europe where my M6 can get this improvement? I have this camera since many years and always hated the whitening, but hated Leica upgrading prices even more. The viewfinder of my M6 needs some adjustment anyhow, why not CLAU (CLA&upgrade) it? :)
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Try Will van Manen in the Netherlands. He does both CLA and a form of viewfinder upgrade. His site is Kamera-Service.info.
Alternatively, although I'm biased (;)), have a look at the Leicagoodies.com Shade.
 
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