M6 vs M3

M6 vs M3

  • M6

    Votes: 363 61.0%

  • M3

    Votes: 232 39.0%
  • Total voters
    595
I have both. Cannot choose.
One's for 50s, the other for 35s.
One without any electronic, both mechanical.

Everyone says "you need to have a good lens". No. It depends on WHAT YOU DO AND HOW YOU DO IT. Not everyone needs an ASPH lens so **** that, that's a waste of money for artists who DO NOT THINK.

Why do you use a Leica M, why would you choose a voigtlander, why would you sell an M6 for an M3. Only the artist can answer and decide. We all do different things, I hope.
 
Your question seems less about which body to choose and more about whether or not you should be patient and save for a second lens.

Will that M3 be good enough [for you] so that you can have that lens now and still retain a backup camera body. The thing is.. no one else can decide for you. Only you can. You will find votes in favor of either camera because they both have special qualities. However, if that M3 doesn't satisfy you then you will want another M6 [see Pete B's comment about not forsaking a good camera prematurely] and have to sell the M3 and then.. well-- it's like selling a car to buy new tires for the car but then having to buy the car to put the new tires on.

My vote is for being patient. Save for the lens you want. And in the future if you get the opportunity to try an M3, do so. If you like it you can always trade then, and be comfortable with not making an impatient decision.
 
Why not stick with what you have got? I have both an m3 and m6 classic, and I use one with a 50mm, and the other with a 28mm or a 35mm. It is a really nice combo, but since you have the ttl .85, you already have a great body for using with longer lenses. That for me is the greatest selling point for an M3.
The annoyance with your current set up is opposing shutter dials, but swapping the classic for the M3 won't solve it. If you are ok with that, then just start saving for lenses.
 
Had an M3, wasn't crazy about the loading and viewfinder.

Don't know why you'd do all the trading, etc., rather than just waiting until you had the money saved to just buy the lens you want.

BTW, several of the Voigtländer lenses are just as nice as their same focal lengths from Leica, and Zeiss for that matter, just different in style and rendering. At the level of quality for all three makes, it's more a matter of what you like best rather than better or worse.
 
I couldn't vote. I have an M3 and an M6 classic, and I like them both. I haven't had the M6 for very long, so I really can't say yet which I prefer.
 
It really depends on what you value in a body.. Different people will value things more than other people. For me personally..

I recently got me an M6 classic after owning an M3 for a while. The big M3 viewfinder was nice, but in my personal opinion the M6 is an upgrade.
The viewfinder allows realistic use of lenses from 28 (21 if you guesstimate) to 90 (135). I personally don't mind the clutter of multiple framelines. (I also don't wear glasses.. that may have a bearing on this part of my evaluation)
The meter is great and saves me pocket space.
The build feels real solid to me.
And the film loading.
The film loading is a revelation. 🙂
For me, that alone is worth the cost of admission.
 
jgran said:
The M6 .85 and M3 are not optimal for 35mm lenses. If you plan on using that focal length, you'll want to trade the M6 .85 for the M3.
But hold off, buy the lens and get the M3 later. Because more gear is always better.
Click to expand...
I use my 35mm lens on my M3 all the time. I just ignore the 50mm framelines and use the whole frame. No problem.
 
brokencivilian said:
With the money from the trade I was hoping to get a low end voigtlander lens so I have no need to worry about dings and such. quote]
I abstained too, because you seem to think the lens doesn't play much of a role in photography, and you're wrong. As for gear, it's ALL about the glass. Sell one body and use all the money to buy the finest lens that your money will buy.
Click to expand...
 
ChipShorter said:
It really depends on what you value in a body.. Different people will value things more than other people. For me personally..

I recently got me an M6 classic after owning an M3 for a while. The big M3 viewfinder was nice, but in my personal opinion the M6 is an upgrade.
The viewfinder allows realistic use of lenses from 28 (21 if you guesstimate) to 90 (135). I personally don't mind the clutter of multiple framelines. (I also don't wear glasses.. that may have a bearing on this part of my evaluation)
The meter is great and saves me pocket space.
The build feels real solid to me.
And the film loading.
The film loading is a revelation. 🙂
For me, that alone is worth the cost of admission.
Click to expand...
Since I have an iPhone with me all the time (I use an app for metering), the need for a built in (read lots of red lights) meter is not needed. I find the film loading on the 3 and 6 though different from each other no big deal. I use a 21mm lens a lot so having an external VF is a plus. All in all, I am an M3 whore, pure and simple.😉
 
R.MacDonald said:
... I wear glasses and the frame lines for a 50mm lens can be a pain...I voted M6 for the built in meter, and frame lines.
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kshapero said:
I use my 35mm lens on my M3 all the time. I just ignore the 50mm framelines and use the whole frame. No problem.
Click to expand...


I also wear glasses, and I have no problem with the 50mm frame lines on my M3. I haven't tried a 35mm lens yet.

Perhaps it has to do with eye relief? My glasses are pretty close to my eye, so my eye is not much further away than it would be if I didn't wear glasses. Other people's glasses may put their eye at a greater distance from the viewfinder.
 
M6 vs M3

Keep the 2 M6.
i own a M3. Yes it was the pinnacle of construction. It has the best feel. It is OLD. The viewfinder can be erased by a bump! The balsa glue is very dry and fragile. i do prefer using my M3 to my M6. Yet the M6 offers metering, easier use of a wide angle.i use the goggles on a35mm Summaron. The goggles as many others who have them, suffer from moving parts in viewfinder! You get to use it anyway. The Rngfdr square not always OK in horizontal.Two images.
Save for another lens. I am sentimentally attached to my M3. You can be more pragmatic.
 
kshapero said:
I have an M3 and mostly use a meter(my iPhone app). I just don't use a built in meter, which I find distracting.
Click to expand...

kshapero said:
Since I have an iPhone with me all the time (I use an app for metering), the need for a built in (read lots of red lights) meter is not needed...
Click to expand...

I use an external meter with my IIIf. It annoys me because of the extra steps I have to take to read the lighting, and sometimes I still have some frames that are over/under exposed from trying to sunny 16.

Internal meter is just way faster, plus the M6's meter (only two small red arrows, not lots of red lights) is pretty darn accurate once you get used to it. I rarely have a non-useable frame with the M6, as far as lighting goes anyway..

Of course, this is all personal preference. I'm sure if I use my IIIf enough, i'd get used to not having an internal meter and have less wasted frames.
 
When I decided I wanted to get a Leica, I tried out a friend's M6 and another friend's M3. I liked them both so much that I got an MP with .85 VF. I shoot mostly 50 & 90 and prefer changing lenses than carrying two bodies.
 
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