The Leica M6 0.85 Arrived Today!

[raid]

The Leica M6 with the 0.85 finder arrived today in the mail.
I am nearly speechless here; how do the Leitz designers and engineers make such beautiful pieces of art?

The M6 is in Black, while my M3 is Chrome.
Both are still mintish, and a jealousy fight has already broken out between the two girls [maybe I am carried away a little here]. Who will be wearing an Italian made soft leather case and who gets the solid German full case ?

The camera feels rock solid in my hands.
I love having a built-in meter in a Leica.
Thank you Reed for selling me your beautiful M6.

It took me quite some time to make up my mind which M6 model to buy.
Most users of M6 stated their preference for the M6 0.72 for more versatility, but I went for what I needed most for critical focusing.
It also didn't hurt that this model is relatively collectible due to the relatively small production quantities.

I noted that most of my lenses are in chrome, so I placed a [black] 40mm/2 Summicron-C on the M6.

Anyways, I am a happy dude.


Raid

 

[Rafael]

Congratulations Raid. It's beautiful. I look forward to seeing some new images from you.

 

[raid]

Marc: Thanks, I will start maybe tomorrow taking photos with the M6.

Raid

 

[Trius]

Raid: I don't know how it is possible to feel joy so remotely, but I do! It's gorgeous, and it has a good home.

 

[back alley]

black is beautiful.

it looks very nice raid!

my black zi says hi to your black m6😉

joe

 

[FrankS]

I wish you many memorable images with your new camera, Raid!

 

[raid]

Thank you, Friends. Little things liks this make it all worth it.

Raid

P.S. Joe: My M6 says "Hi" to your Zi.

 

[Leicabug]

I believe that the more rare M6 0.85 deserves the softer Italian coat.

 

[Todd.Hanz]

Very nice Raid!

 

[ghost]

yesss, give in to the built-in meter, give innnn!!!

 

[Gid]

Congratulations Raid. They are lovely pieces of engineering. I wish you many happy hours in her company and look forward to some new images soon.

 

[raid]

I have just completed my first roll of film with the M6. The meter works well, but I prefer match needle metering like in a Canon F1N SLR. It lets me more quickly choose the appropriate aperture setting than the arrows left and right in the
M6. The film advance lever feels less solid than the one in the M3. Else, this is a great camera. Focusing is a snap, and the camera balance is excellent. I tried out three lenses on the M6:

Leitz Hektor 135mm/4.5
Canon 50mm/1.2
Nikkor 50/2

All allowed me quick focusing, and all felt good on this camera. The built-in meter allowed me to move faster while taking photos of my children.

Raid

 

[B_Algood]

Congratulations Raid, looks like a beautiful setup, I wish you much success with your new camera..

 

[akptc]

Raid, this is one good-looking M6, congrats.

Btw, can I ask a quick question? - since you must have spent some time pondering the purchase, I assume you probably considered the M7 as well at some point? If so, I'd be curious to know what swayed you towards the M6. I ask because I've considered an M6 myself but was lured to the M7 by the availability of AE. Is AE something that most experienced photogs just don’t feel they need? I am just plain curious... This may be a dumb question, sorry.

 

[flipflop]

The reason I would not buy a Leica M7 and would choose the M6 is because if the battery dies in a M7 the camera is worthless. If the battery goes dead in the m6 all you loose is the meter...I like the all mechanical aspect of the m6...

Im interested in Raids answer...Congrats on a great camera.

 

[raid]

Raid, this is one good-looking M6, congrats.

Btw, can I ask a quick question? - since you must have spent some time pondering the purchase, I assume you probably considered the M7 as well at some point? If so, I'd be curious to know what swayed you towards the M6. I ask because I've considered an M6 myself but was lured to the M7 by the availability of AE. Is AE something that most experienced photogs just don’t feel they need? I am just plain curious... This may be a dumb question, sorry.

Andy: I never considered the M7 because I don't need in a Leica any AE operation. I just wanted the last M model with a meter. It is amazing how little changes are apparant in the M models and over so many years.

As for AE, it is a great feature to have when you have to move quickly and when lighting conditions are average and stable. I use aperture priority most of the time with my Canon T90 SLR camera, but I also love the fully manual operation of the Canon F1N.

I used to shoot only two types of film in the past; my "fast film"was always the Fujichrome 100 slide film and my slow film was the older type
Fujichrome 50. With slow slide film, it is very important to use the most appropriate exposure setting, with usual need to adjust the speed/aperture from what the meter is showing to be used.


I should add that a camera that needs a batteries to work is not dependable in some applications. For this reason, I always had a manual Canon body, such as the F1N, when traveling with the Canon T90.

Raid

 

[raid]

The reason I would not buy a Leica M7 and would choose the M6 is because if the battery dies in a M7 the camera is worthless. If the battery goes dead in the m6 all you loose is the meter...I like the all mechanical aspect of the m6...

Im interested in Raids answer...Congrats on a great camera.

Thanks.

Another important reason [to me] is the fact that all Leica M bodies are great, so I don't see any reason to pay more money for an M7 when I can get a mint M6.

Raid

 

[akptc]

Raid and flipflop, thank you, these are good points that I should have thought about myself, especially battery-dependence (duh!)

The more I shoot the more I end up switching my AF/AE camera to manual to get the picture that I want. Still, I rarely have the courage to venture without an AE body in the bag. But that's me being chicken 🙂

 

[ampguy]

hi Andy

hi Andy

there is still a place for AE and autofocus with pros, sports, action, wildlife, even street, where you are tracking something, and have no idea if the exposure will change in the split second before you shoot.

Batteries? they're as important as carrying film. If you can't stuff a couple of extra batteries in your bag or pocket with some film, well ...

Raid and flipflop, thank you, these are good points that I should have thought about myself, especially battery-dependence (duh!)

The more I shoot the more I end up switching my AF/AE camera to manual to get the picture that I want. Still, I rarely have the courage to venture without an AE body in the bag. But that's me being chicken 🙂

 

[akptc]

there is still a place for AE and autofocus with pros, sports, action, wildlife, even street, where you are tracking something, and have no idea if the exposure will change in the split second before you shoot.

Batteries? they're as important as carrying film. If you can't stuff a couple of extra batteries in your bag or pocket with some film, well ...

Hi Ted, sometimes I wish for an MP with on-demand automation and a pancake Elmarit f1.5 28-200mm zoom 🙂. Until Leica makes one, I have a Crumpler bag that fits my DSLR and the M7, with room for film and spare batteries 🙂