new M body need advice

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atlcruiser

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Currently using an M4-P and loving it. Almost all B and W but I am starting some color as well. Have been thinking about a 2nd body to have dedicated to color most of the time.

My thought is an M6 as it has a meter. Current I use a hand held. As I generally at 400 in B and w and 100 in color an internal meter would seem to make it easier to jsut grab and shoot and not fiddle with the handheld meter.

Am I making this complicated? Love the M4 and I can get another or an M3/M2 and save some $$$ towards a 90mm lens 🙂
 
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I had similar thoughts last year and went a step further buying the M7. It has AE, which can be very helpful when I am to lazy or busy to deal with metering. Before that I had a M6 (and some other metered Leica M bodies) and always found it quite helpful to have one body with internal meter.
 
I have metered and unmetered Ms. I have SLRs with fantastic metering (Eos 3, 1HS etc) for trannies. I have a Mamiya 7, RF645... a hand held meter... You know what, I get amongst the most consistently well exposed B&W negs from my metered Leicas. The Mamiya comes a close second due to the semi spot meter which I can point at the value I want to meter and lock in the reading.

TTL AE metering is IMHO not good for monochrome as it does not think in shadow terms. I find locking in the exposure I want based on shadows works well with the Mp and M6s and much, much more consistent in changing light than Wide Area/Zone AE that twitches everytime the sun comes near, or there is a sunlit wall, or white subject.

I find I can meter far more accurately and quickly with my Ms than with my incident meter in high contrast light. In flat light the incident meter is quick and simple, but when the shadows are deep and the sun strong, the incident meter would have me hugely under exposing with blank shadows.

My advice would be to get a M6 classic. Dials turn the same way as your M4-P. I would forget the M6 TTL or M7 because the dials go the wrong way compared to the M4-P. M7 in AEL might work nicely, but once again, the dials go the wrong way and the price is much higher than for a M6 (like another $1K)

PS I dont shoot transparency. Were I to do so, TTL is the way to go IMHO.
 
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David, you have a hand-held meter already. An M3 (or an M2 if you have a 35mm lens) may leave you with money to put towards a 90mm lens. If you are flush with funds, get an M6 ("Classic" or TTL). In my view the direction of rotation of the shutter speed dial is not significant.
 
Forget about which way the dials rotate, an M6 Classic is a better picture taking machine than an M4-P because of the internal meter. Of course the M7 is even better as you can pretty much leave off figuring exposure and concentrate on focusing and composition. I have M3, M6 Classic and M7's. The M3 never gets used, the M6 little and mostly the M7's in AUTO. My subjective evaluation of prices is that M6 Classics are in demand because of the internal meter and that they usually sell for less than an MP or M6TTL. The M6 Classic is probably one of the great M values out there. It's really able to do anything any of the other M's can do except Auto shutter and TTL flash, If you don't require either than purchase the best condition M6 Classic.
Once you get rid of a hand held meter around you neck taking up time to evaluate and taking your eye off the subject matter, you won't go back.-Dick
 
No brainer. For the best value in M, the M6. It will give you everything you need and at a cost that won't break the bank. If you want to have to think even less, the M7.
 
Wait for it. Here it comes.

M5. Best meter. Period. There is one in the classifieds.

I also have to wonder about the color & black & white thing. For ages I longed for 2 cameras so I could use 2 films at once. For some reason my brain doesn't work that way. I generally have the same film in both bodies. Your brain may work differently.

2 bodies does cut down on lens changing. That is a blessing.
 
Wow........it is like you guys are reading my mind. I am cheap so an M3 or 2nd M4 sounds great, wierd things that no one likes have my name all over them so the M5 works, I can be lazy so the M6 sounds perfect, I love shiny expensive things so the M7 fits the bill.


Hmmmmmmm................ 🙂
 
Why do people believe you have to "think" less with AE, or that somehow AE meters are different then the M6 meter or a handheld meter?

I use the M7 the same way I use any camera with a meter (or a hand held meter). I meter on the area I consider important, slightly depress the shutter, quickly compose and shoot.

And what is the big deal about which the shutter dial turns? I have an M4 and M7 (and had an M6) and I don't know, nor do I care, which way the shutter dial spins. I pick a shutter speed consistent with the occasion and turn the aperture to get the proper exposure. In some ways I like the MR-4 meter better than the M6 because I can quickly set the correct exposure before bringing it to eye level and then shoot.
 
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Beemermark said:
Why do people believe you have to "think" less with AE, or that somehow AE meters are different then the M6 meter or a handheld meter?

I use the M7 the same way I use any camera with a meter (or a hand held meter). I meter on the area I consider important, slightly depress the shutter, quickly compose and shoot.
Click to expand...

completely agree. i dont buy the 'it let me slow down and think' line either. AE just lets me act faster after i had thought where i want to lock the AE.

But if i was buying a leica i would get the MP. But i would prefer it if it had AE and meter read out like CV R3A .
 
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Did not really intend an unfunny joke...

but i did get to thinkng about the M7. The more i looked at it the more it made sense. I found some very good deals out there and was about to buy one then I "accidently" won a Mamaya 645 AF on e bay for dirt cheap.

Went back full circle and bought an M6 ttl on RFF. Should arrive this week.

Cant wait! Thanks for the suggesstions!

Apologies if my weak attempt at humor was out of line
 
Good choice! Bet you'll love it!


I found the 'meter for shade and stick to it' remark very useful, its how I shoot my M6.

AE would have me look for a meter reading with each shot, since the AEL unlocks once you fired the shutter, right?

Concerning the rotation direction of the shutter dial: if you shoot shutter priority its really a non-issue, and although I shoot aperture priority and thus have to turn the dial to expose correctly, I have never had any trouble using my M3 and M8 side by side before I sold the M8. The difference in shutter dial size made me remember what camera I was holding, and what direction to turn.
 
I guess I will work out the dial issue as I go.

I am a bit frustrated that the 50 'cron apature turns one way and the 90 'cron turns the other way

Now I have the Mamiya to deal with as well....i might need to make a cheat sheet or get a full time personal assistant 🙂
 
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