wanna change M6 viewfinder, any comments?

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supershang

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the flare problem of M6 now is really annoying me. I inquired the Leica customer services. They told me it's possible to change the viewfinder to the one of MP, and will cost about 300 euro. I am not sure if it's a good resolution. If so, I would like to send my camera during xmas. It might take 2 weeks though.
by the way, personally, i am not really a MP fan. it's not only about the incredibly high price, but also I think there are too many people just take MP because it's an MP. So far, M6 fits me perfectly. kinda love it;)
 
I have the MP finder on one body and am familiar with the M6 viewfinder. My advice is to sell it and get a Zeiss 35. It comes with a viewfinder which is better than both.
 
Except for the M3, the VF of all Leica cameras I have used (M3 3x, M2 1x, M4 2x, M5 1x, M6 1x, M6 TTL 0.85 1x, MP 1x, Hexar RF 1x) flare more or less. With some it is less (MP, M4) with some moderate (M2, M5, M4-P, M6) and with some quit extreme (M6TTL 0.85x)

When I had my M6 "classic" (as my first Leica), I found the amount of flare annoying and swithed to the MP (being praised for its "flare-free" VF) just to find out that the problem became better but still was there...

For me flare is a problem in ~ 10 % of situations but I have learned that slightly tilting the camera and or repositioning of the eye solves the problem. I would not spent 300 euros for the upgrade ...
 
I learned to live with the "defective" finder, as it is a very small price to pay for the camera and lens quality. Just move, ever slightly, and that will cancel the problem.
 
I recently had the finder in my M6 TTL .85 upgraded by Gerry Smith at Kindermann in Toronto. He does it for $185 CDN. The finder still flares occasionally, but far less than it used to.
 
thanks for all replies. Actually, I did some searching on Zeiss Ikon 35mm rangefinder. From the review, it's really an interesting machine. Do you guys have any experience with Zeiss Ikon? How is its performance when it conbines with leica M lenses?
 
Gabor and Francisco are right to say that a little change in eye position takes care of much of the problem. May I barge in with a question that is not related to flare? Is it possible relatively easily -- without replacing anything -- to blank out the 75 and 135 frame lines in a 0.85 M6?
 
There's always a more beautiful woman than your wife, a faster car than the one you drive, new and improved this and better, upgraded that. Spend the 300 Euros or $185 CDN or whatever on film and stop chasing the Will'o'the-whisp. You'll never catch it.
 
payasam said:
Is it possible relatively easily -- without replacing anything -- to blank out the 75 and 135 frame lines in a 0.85 M6?
Click to expand...

Yes - DAG here in the States does it, and I'm sure any competent repair person could do the same. It supposedly involves taping over the unwanted mask framelines.
 
supershang said:
thanks for all replies. Actually, I did some searching on Zeiss Ikon 35mm rangefinder. From the review, it's really an interesting machine. Do you guys have any experience with Zeiss Ikon? How is its performance when it conbines with leica M lenses?
Click to expand...

The Ikon does have an amazing finder but it can take some getting used to. It's large to the point that you sometimes have to reposition your eye to re-find the contrast fairly frequently when you first use one ... also the patch has no parallax movement to match the movement of the framelines when focusing. The metering readout can be extremely hard to see when shooting in bright light out doors!
 
Supershang,
get the finder upgrade and ask for a deal on doing a CLA at the same time, once they have the camera open it's easy to do. I assume your M6 is about 20 years old, so sooner or later a service is a good idea. I did the same thing after I got a MP and the flare on my M6 was getting annoying in comparison. Afterwards the flare issue will be gone.
 
The only flare-free Leica M is the M3. The M2, M4, and M5 flare a little bit, but not too bad. Things got bad with the M4-2, M4P, and M6 because they took out a condensor lens to save, probably, $0.75. The problem is worst with the 0.85 finder. The flare is more subtle with the .58 finder. With the .72 finder, it can be bad enough to warrant correction. I sent my .72 M6 to DAG for the MP upgrade and it ws worth it. I have a .58 M7 with the finder upgrade, and a couple of M6 0.58 without it. I find it hard to see the difference at the .58 magnification. At .72, there is a definite difference. With the .85 finder, I imagine it must be just about mandatory!
 
The main cost for the VF upgrade is Labor, not the parts(plastic junk). I wouldn't bother.
Try to find your own way to compensate the VF problem is most cost-efficient.
 
If your viewfinder is a 0.58 or 0.72 I think it's worth it. My MP-type finder is much better than the finder in the M6 it replaced. I also have a 0.85 M7 with the MP-type finder and the improvement is much less makred, though it is improved. It used to flare an incredible amount, now it only does it occasionally.

Marty
 
I have two M6 classic bodies and I had the finder upgrade on one of them. I did this not because of the flare issue (which I never found to be much of an issue bcs you can just reposition your eye slightly) but because Sherry told me it improves low light focusing. It does improve low light focusing - slightly. The difference is subtle, not major. I'm not paying to have it done to my other M6
 
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