Tried an M6

[braver]

it would be kind of "waste" if I can employ my remaining time to choose carefully the model I need and may get later. I have no rush at all.

The problem I see right there is that pondering the choice of an M doesn't get you any closer to getting the choice right the first time. You just can't really weigh what's important without actual experience, because the differences are so small. Small enough that, aside from a built-in meter or the frame lines, it does not really matter at all. For instance, rom reading and thinking about it, you may think you would not like the old style rewinder, but it's just as likely you don't. Same goes for every other little detail that is different between models.

Seriously, I like discussing cameras online, but I just want to warn you there might not be much to learn from just talking 😉

So, in stead of thinking about an M, get one you think you might like! Play it smart and if you change your mind you might actually made a profit. Leica's can be cheap like that: I didn't pay a dime for my M2, including CLA, just put in the effort watching classifieds and trading around. I'm not sure I'll like a meter on top instead of inside the camera, but there is no other way to find out than trying.

 

[filmtwit]

No one has said it, but you might try the M5.
It's slightly bigger then the M6, but you get a good set of 35mm lines even with glasses on and you getter a better metering then the M6.

 

[Stravinsky]

Stravinsky, Keep the M3.

Thanks for your advice! Actually now the M3 is ahead in the game. But that was predictable since it is the "new toy". I need to give'em some more time... but at the moment I am totally in sync with M3's "back to basic" neatness.

 

[bwcolor]

I see the suggestion that the M5 has better metering than the M6. Sherry told me that the M6TTL had a better meter than the M6.

 

[sazerac]

I had tried a friend's M3 & M6 before making my decision to buy my first Leica. I'm a 50mm kind of guy so I went with a .85 MP. I wanted a new M3 with a meter and got exactly what I wanted. I was initially bothered by the 75mm framelines, but that soon subsided.

I recently purchased an M2 as a spare body thinking that the .72 would be better for shooting the 35mm lens. I know this is blasphemy but so far I haven't been that impressed. I remember from shooting the M6 that a .72 is difficult for me to shoot withboth eyes open. Although the 35mm framelines are hard to see on the .85 I much prefer it.

 

[Chris101]

All of my Leicas sound *exactly* the same. Well, all one of them that is!

... shortly I'll have more important expenses to deal with (international adoption with a double trip to Ethiopia), but later I know I have to get a certain amount of money, enough eventually to afford an M; this means that even if I could purchase one right now, it would be kind of "waste" if I can employ my remaining time to choose carefully the model I need and may get later. I have no rush at all. ...

CONGRATULATIONS Dino! I have a couple of kids from another country, and I love them to pieces. I forget if you already have kids, but they DO tend to soak up the time and money that used to be available for photography.

But I am not sure of this concept of the right vs the wrong one. All M cameras are much more similar than are, say Nikon slr cameras. Basically your choices are meter/no meter, viewfinder magnification and film loading/rewinding. If you are into looks, the markings also come into play.

 

[RFluhver]

Hello guys. Speaking of M6, have a gander at 190491935780 (search for it on ebay). It's an M6 with engraved top plate. I had no idea that early M6's had the engraved top plates or that they were made with the same buttery smooth gears as earlier M's.

Geez...learn something new everyday.

 

[Rezultz]

I'm in the same camp as the OP. I've been searching for my first M mount camera but my wife will hang me by my balls if I bring home a $2500 M7. Yes, I have like 6 cameras. But I NEED a Leica. She just doesn't get it.
Anyway, I've been changing my mind every day and can't settle on one choice between a used M6, a new Bessa R2A, and a used Zeiss Ikon. After reading all the Leica passion here on RFF, I immediately ditch the idea of any non-Leica camera. Then I begin to think of the features that the ZI has and that beautiful finder and then I start to think of the accessible price AND features of the Bessa. Ughh. So confused. I'm not going to rush it...will just marinade on this decision for a while to avoid an impulse buy.