nickmeertens
Established
Hello people,
I just bought my first M6 together with a v4 Summicron 35mm (it's still in the mail). I mainly bought the set for the lens, which I plan to use on my M8, but couldn't resist getting 3 roles of Tri-X to give the M6 the once-over this weekend.
The pictures the seller send me show that the camera just has a big 'M6' engraved on the front, not 'Leica M6', like they usually do. I searched the internet about this but didn't find much except some pictures on mir.com.my which show the same type and mentions it being rare.
Does anyone know how rare this is and why Leica used 2 different types of engraving on the front?
Any do's or dont's I should know about before going shooting with the M6?
Thank you, Nick
I just bought my first M6 together with a v4 Summicron 35mm (it's still in the mail). I mainly bought the set for the lens, which I plan to use on my M8, but couldn't resist getting 3 roles of Tri-X to give the M6 the once-over this weekend.
The pictures the seller send me show that the camera just has a big 'M6' engraved on the front, not 'Leica M6', like they usually do. I searched the internet about this but didn't find much except some pictures on mir.com.my which show the same type and mentions it being rare.
Does anyone know how rare this is and why Leica used 2 different types of engraving on the front?
Any do's or dont's I should know about before going shooting with the M6?
Thank you, Nick
johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
Hoi Nick,
I'm pretty sure you have an early issue M6. These only had the type on the front, not the brand.
Post some shots of and with the camera once you have them!
Groeten uit Assen,
Johan
I'm pretty sure you have an early issue M6. These only had the type on the front, not the brand.
Post some shots of and with the camera once you have them!
Groeten uit Assen,
Johan
palec
Well-known
Congratulations to your new purchase.
I have the same one and while I don't consider it rare I have no proof for such claim.
It's basically the Leica M with all do's and dont's (are there any?). Just check all speeds if they are not sticky, don't forget to put film inside and make sure it's winding correctly (see the rewind crank rotating as you wind). Make a photo of bright sky at 1/1000 to check the shutter is adjusted (no darkening on sides). And don't be suprised if the exposure meter lights will turn off suddenly when metering in dark or smaller apertures.
I have the same one and while I don't consider it rare I have no proof for such claim.
It's basically the Leica M with all do's and dont's (are there any?). Just check all speeds if they are not sticky, don't forget to put film inside and make sure it's winding correctly (see the rewind crank rotating as you wind). Make a photo of bright sky at 1/1000 to check the shutter is adjusted (no darkening on sides). And don't be suprised if the exposure meter lights will turn off suddenly when metering in dark or smaller apertures.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
The "Big M" version is a brief transitional model that happened just after the factory move from Wetzlar to Slohms.
The Wetzlar versions (aprox. first two years of M6 production) have some small differances from the regular "M6 Classic." Check out Stephen Gandy's Camerquest site for the details.
Seems like the production of the Big M was very brief, but it has more similarities to the M6 Classic than the earlier Wetzlar versions. I love the differance BTW.
A while back, a power seller offered a Big M with an unusual feature: the Big M engraving on the chrome body was filled with red paint. I am unsure if this was done at the factory, but it sure looked cool.
I own a Wetzlar M6 that has an unusual feature: it has a titanium top plate, but it has the egraving on the top of a Wetzlar version along with all the other Wetzlar features. Only the top plate is Titanium (really titanium plated brass, not solid machined titanium), and the rest of the camera is as if it were just a plain chrome M6, but my Ti M6 pre-dates the regular production Titanium M6's by five years. Do I have a prototype?
Calzone
The Wetzlar versions (aprox. first two years of M6 production) have some small differances from the regular "M6 Classic." Check out Stephen Gandy's Camerquest site for the details.
Seems like the production of the Big M was very brief, but it has more similarities to the M6 Classic than the earlier Wetzlar versions. I love the differance BTW.
A while back, a power seller offered a Big M with an unusual feature: the Big M engraving on the chrome body was filled with red paint. I am unsure if this was done at the factory, but it sure looked cool.
I own a Wetzlar M6 that has an unusual feature: it has a titanium top plate, but it has the egraving on the top of a Wetzlar version along with all the other Wetzlar features. Only the top plate is Titanium (really titanium plated brass, not solid machined titanium), and the rest of the camera is as if it were just a plain chrome M6, but my Ti M6 pre-dates the regular production Titanium M6's by five years. Do I have a prototype?
Calzone
nickmeertens
Established
The M6 came in the post today. It is a well used one but seems to be functioning as it should. Everything feels and sounds smooth.
The serial suggests it is from the 1988 Batch, which makes Calzones suggestion about the Big M the most logical.
I have put a roll of film in it and will make a 1/1000th picture of the sky to check the timing.
Anyone got a straight black M6 baseplate lying around to sell? Or point me to a good source? The one on the camera is a slightly bend where the tripod mount is
Thanks again guys, Nick
The serial suggests it is from the 1988 Batch, which makes Calzones suggestion about the Big M the most logical.
I have put a roll of film in it and will make a 1/1000th picture of the sky to check the timing.
Anyone got a straight black M6 baseplate lying around to sell? Or point me to a good source? The one on the camera is a slightly bend where the tripod mount is
Thanks again guys, Nick
Tom A
RFF Sponsor
The "Big M6" was a small series in 1987/88. Leica was trying to figure out a way of tracking "grey market" cameras. They tried to use the big M6 and only sell it in Europe and then see were they ended up! I have seen a figure of 3000 made with this engraving - though I have no idea if that is the correct one. The Big M6 in chrome is quite elusive - I have only seen a couple of them over the years.
In the mid to late 80's there was a lot of grey market sales and Leica Germany/Leica USA was trying to find out a/were they came from and b/were they showed up. The factory would sell M6's by the 1000's to a "dealer" in Belgium who then would ship all over the world to other dealers. Leica Germany liked this as the grey market sellers had to pay up front and they got much needed cash instantly. When they shipped to authorized importers (Leica USA/ Hong Kong/Beijing) those were given 90 -120 days "credit".
At one time Lemon Camera in Tokyo sold more M-cameras as grey import than Leica USA did as an official importer!!!!! The problem was of course the warranty repairs - cameras bought as grey import did not have the cost of eventual service/repair included in the price and some owners got quite irate when they were informed that the camera they bought in Tokyo/Hong Kong was not covered by the US warranty. Of course, if you were willing to send it back to Wetzlar - the international warranty was still valid - but that was complicated and time consuming.
In the mid to late 80's there was a lot of grey market sales and Leica Germany/Leica USA was trying to find out a/were they came from and b/were they showed up. The factory would sell M6's by the 1000's to a "dealer" in Belgium who then would ship all over the world to other dealers. Leica Germany liked this as the grey market sellers had to pay up front and they got much needed cash instantly. When they shipped to authorized importers (Leica USA/ Hong Kong/Beijing) those were given 90 -120 days "credit".
At one time Lemon Camera in Tokyo sold more M-cameras as grey import than Leica USA did as an official importer!!!!! The problem was of course the warranty repairs - cameras bought as grey import did not have the cost of eventual service/repair included in the price and some owners got quite irate when they were informed that the camera they bought in Tokyo/Hong Kong was not covered by the US warranty. Of course, if you were willing to send it back to Wetzlar - the international warranty was still valid - but that was complicated and time consuming.
selfdialogue
Member
Hi Tom,
That's pretty interesting information. I only knew about them doing 2 batches of production around 1988 but that was all the information I could find.
I actually have a chrome M6 with the big engraving. I didn't notice at first but then realized it's different. I think the big engraving looks much better than the regular 'Leica M6' engraving.
That's pretty interesting information. I only knew about them doing 2 batches of production around 1988 but that was all the information I could find.
I actually have a chrome M6 with the big engraving. I didn't notice at first but then realized it's different. I think the big engraving looks much better than the regular 'Leica M6' engraving.
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