New to me M6 vs. ZM vs. Other Priorities

[robbeiflex]

Hello all,

On Friday I had the great luck of finding an M6 classic in fantastic condition at my local shop for a very good price with a one month warranty. It really is in fantastic shape and I decided to go for it. Here it is with my favourite lens, the Zeiss ZM Planar 50mm:

Here are some photos from my first rolls, all taken with the Planar, the first on Rollei RPX400 pushed to 800 in XTOL stock, and the rest on Rollei RPX100 in XTOL 1+1:

I hope you like them, your comments are welcome.

I really like the M6 a lot! Compared to the Zeiss Ikon ZM, which I've had for almost a year, the M6 feels better due to its shape and weight. I found that despite my first rangefinders and my Rolleiflex being fully manual, I over-use the aperture priority on the ZM because I don't like the flashing number system for manual metering. I like going back to full manual and having the meter with the two arrows:

>< = 😀

I wear glasses, so for 35mm I can just barely see the frameline in the M6 and for 28mm I have to take my glasses off to compose. With the ZM, on the other hand, I can just barely see the full 28mm frameline with glasses on.

I also took the M6 with me to a party at a friend's place where the lighting is notoriously bad for photos, and noticed right away that the ZM is better for focusing in low light. The M6 meter, on the other hand, seems to meter in the dark a bit better. That was a colour roll, so we'll only know next week if I was able to successfully focus my 35mm Nokton f1.4 in the dark with the M6.

I'm very happy with both cameras, and they both have their strengths. I don't know if I will keep both in the long run, because I currently struggle to find enough time to use my Rolleiflex and ZM. The summer is on the way though, and its long days with sun late into the evening will greatly increase my photography time. My wife is also pregnant with our first daughter, due in a few weeks, and I'm sure that when she arrives my film consumption will quadruple and my time to develop and scan diminish to near zero. So I'll hang on to and enjoy both for now, and one day report back on what is really important, which one I'm able to take better pictures of my growing family with. 😉



Cheers,
Rob

 

[sojournerphoto]

Rob

Congratulations on the impending arrival. Either wll take nice pictures of your bairn, but you may find it hard to develop and scan them all, never mind make prints

Mike

 

[robbeiflex]

Thanks Mike! Yes, from what I hear I will build up a huge backlog of undeveloped film and not spend much time on RFF either. I'm fine with all of that as long as everything is OK with the little one.

Cheers,
Rob

 

[djorourke]

When my son "arrived" I started bulk rolling. Surpringly I've (mostly) kept up with my developing/scanning in this first year.

Congrats to you Rob! Your best photos are ahead of you.

 

[Stravinsky]

Congratulations indeed: can you imagine how beautiful it will be to shoot to the new kid? it's one of the best thing in the world!!

And, as far as I am concerned, my computer time raised in the first months... I found myself in the evening to cradle the baby to give some rest to my wife and with one hand only available the only choice was between TV (that I dislike) and computer...

here's my combo: M6 Classic (though I have a "wetzlar") + daughters


Hug by Str@vinsky, on Flickr

The planar looks beautiful on the camera and the results are superb. I like the flower and the fence especially.

Ciao, Andrea

 

[nobbylon]

The M6 is my favorite film M and that looks like a nice one indeed. Early one. Good luck with your impending arrival. I've found Leicas are great for babies but once they get running around they're a nightmare unless you pre focus. All that running around but that's what AF Dslr's are for! Enjoy your new camera.

 

[marcbcn]

I wear glasses, so for 35mm I can just barely see the frameline in the M6 and for 28mm I have to take my glasses off to compose. With the ZM, on the other hand, I can just barely see the full 28mm frameline with glasses on.

So for 28/50mm combo lense is better the ZM ?

 

[robbeiflex]

For the 28mm the ZM viewfinder is better, so for a 28/50 combo if you wear glasses the answer is yes. Of course this depends on whether you want/like the AE of the ZM. IMHO the manual operation of the M6 is clearly better.

 

[marcbcn]

For the 28mm the ZM viewfinder is better, so for a 28/50 combo if you wear glasses the answer is yes. Of course this depends on whether you want/like the AE of the ZM. IMHO the manual operation of the M6 is clearly better.

Thanks for the reply and sorry for my english 🙄
I don't wear glasses but I read that the viewfinder in the ZM are bigger and the 28 frame have more space compared with a M6.

I'm very interested in your answer:
With the 28mm attached You can see more space around the 28-frame (with and without glasses) in the ZM or in a M6?

 

[robbeiflex]

Thanks for the reply and sorry for my english 🙄
I don't wear glasses but I read that the viewfinder in the ZM are bigger and the 28 frame have more space compared with a M6.

I'm very interested in your answer:
With the 28mm attached You can see more space around the 28-frame (with and without glasses) in the ZM or in a M6?

With my glasses, no question, I can see the 28 frame with the ZM and can not see it with the M6. As for without glasses, you'll have to wait until this evening when I get home so that I can compare.

 

[robbeiflex]

...and the answer is: The ZM has a very slight edge over the M6 on how much you see outside of the 28 frame, but honestly it's not so noticeable. What is more noticeable is that the ZM finder is bigger.

 

[marcbcn]

...and the answer is: The ZM has a very slight edge over the M6 on how much you see outside of the 28 frame, but honestly it's not so noticeable. What is more noticeable is that the ZM finder is bigger.

Thank you very much for your answer robbeiflex.!