Recommendations for overhauling my M6

ForeverUnknown said:
Lever costs $50, and you can install it yourself (you'll need the flexiclamp) or have a technician do it little or no fee.
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oh really?
i didnt know its self install
wow
i really like that m2/3 film advance lever
any websites to explain how this can be done?
where can one get the lever?

thanks
 
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Sherry is FAST. In this case, send it to Steve's because he is local and it works for you. Have the VF upgraded and CLA the camera. Very simple.

The .85 isn't rare by any stretch.
 
Here is my story. I have M6 that had that famous flare problem. Simple fix I posted before is here:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34082&highlight=m6+flare

I managed to jam the shutter a little while back, so off it went to DAG. WHile there I had him do the flare fix, Full CLA, unjam shutter and install black M3 type lever. Turn around was about a month - with shipping both ways.
Was it worth it - well maybe. Full CLA (which he said didn't HAVE to be done, could have done 3/4 CLA for $100 less) made it a bit smoother. Not that much, but some. Flare - somewhat better than that fix I posted above - it is more helpful with VF brightness than flare itself, as tape over that window did make framelines dimmer. If I had to do it over again - I'm not sure if I'd have it done. Keep in mind - My M6 is a user, with dings, and marks. I don't baby it, so I wanted to have it best condition possible, so I had all those things done. I suppose my camera was in a pretty good mechanical condition to begin with, - thats why I don't see much difference from CLA. I love the M3 lever. I could have done lever myself, really, but with CLA there was no extra chage for labor to put it on. I think camera handles better with the M3 lever better. But thats me.
So, what I would recommend - try flare fix I posted, see if you like it. If not - send it out to be done at DAG. I think that's this kind of flare fix is a good thing, but a bit overrated. As I said, I'm not sure I got that much better performance in flare department compared to my own fix. DAG does do a good job and fairly fast. Price is reasonable too, considering it's a Leica service.
Can't help with film scratching issue - but I'm sure he will have some ideas/fixes for you.
Good luck.
 
I had my M6ttl converted from .85 to .72 by Sherry at Golden Touch. Eventually she also added the flare fix, which is worth every penny!

My main reason for going to .72 was that I had a very difficult time seeing the 35mm framelines with the .85 mag.

Look here for repair shops:


http://www.lhsa.org/repair.html


DAG, Golden Touch, Kindermann, Focal Point, Leica NJ etc are all well respected and popular choices.
 
Don't consider sending the M-6 anywhere but to Leica.

A few years ago I dropped mine and cracked the shell at the base. I sent it to Leica and when they sent it back I had to check the serial # to make sure that it was my camera. They did such an excellent job that I thought they had mistakenly sent me a new camera. Cost? They may have been a little higher than the independents but what is a camera upgrade from E+ to mint worth?
 
Tony Whitehead said:
Don't consider sending the M-6 anywhere but to Leica.

A few years ago I dropped mine and cracked the shell at the base. I sent it to Leica and when they sent it back I had to check the serial # to make sure that it was my camera. They did such an excellent job that I thought they had mistakenly sent me a new camera. Cost? They may have been a little higher than the independents but what is a camera upgrade from E+ to mint worth?
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Not that this is what they did, but as you know serial number is on a hot shoe, which is easily removed. Unless there is another serial number inside that matches one on the shoe - how do you really know?
Just being devil's advocate. ;)
 
I called Steve's Camera repair. He said it would be about $320 to $350 to upgrade the finder and overhaul the camera including the advance system, rangefinder system, speeds etc. He said depending on parts he figured about 10 days to 2 weeks for repair.

I explained the film scratching problem to him and he said he would go through and track it down including shooting some test rolls with it etc.

He seemed very knowledgeable and friendly to me so I think I am going to give him a try next week after Easter is over.
 
Sounds like a very good deal. And if he does a good job, - he just might become a better option than Sherry and DAG. Keep us posted.
 
Krosya said:
Sounds like a very good deal. And if he does a good job, - he just might become a better option than Sherry and DAG. Keep us posted.
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Steve's has a good reputation and his prices are as good if not better than the others.
 
Mirror Face said:
From DAG regarding the M6 "classic":

"Installing the flare- free optics-$190.00, removing any framelines & any amount of framelines-$30.00. CLA-$290.00. If you do get a CLA on the entire camera for $290.00 & also want the flare-free optics installed, the cost for the "upgrade" is $150.00 instead of $190.00"

So with CLA and MP finder upgrade: $440USD
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So, its more than $320-350 quote from the post above at Steve's Camera. Right? ;)
 
Well the camera went off with the UPS truck yesterday. I will keep you all updated on the progress once I hear back from them. They said to give them a few days to check over the camera so they can give me an exact price. I also asked them to quote me for putting on a black M3 style adv lever. I am assuming it is in the $50 range. I haven't decided if I will do it or not though. It will depend on how much the rest costs and if they need any extra parts to solve the scratching problem (new pressure plate or adv parts).
 
I read from someone on here that if you simply put a patch of masking tape or any white tape over the frameline window it elminates the flare..I tried it with a piece of paper and it worked magic
 
I've heard that works as well, but as I needed the camera worked on for the scratching issue, I think I will just have the viewfinder upgrade done so I don't have to deal with the frame line dimming and funny tape on the front of the camera.
 
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