My personal biases:
Konica Hexar RF: a no-brainer, given that I have two of 'em. However, while the shutter itself is very quiet, the motorized advance/rewind is somewhat less so - definitely not crazy-SLR-loud, but if Leica-M-quiet is your gold standard, it's a touch loud (this is why I now have added a non-motorized Konica Auto S3 to the mix; the ultimate in 35mm quiet of course would be the quieter-than-a-Leica Hexar autofocus, but you can't change lenses on it). Battery dependency is another issue, but mostly a non-issue with the HRF since that pair of CR2s it uses will last a year of very spirited shooting. I've used assorted Leica glass on both of mine, and, thus far, had no compatibility issues. High maximum shutter/flash sync speed (1/4000 and 1/125 respectively). Since I do shoot with flash on occasion (yeah, I know, boo-hiss...but these are my first-line shooters for both work and personal stuff, and the former sometimes requires flash), the higher sync speed is nice to have. Beautifully built...I like to think that the gang at Konica saw what was likely in store for them a few years down the road, and decided to go out with a bang instead of a whimper. They succeeded, IMO.
Leica M6 "classic"/M6 TTL: Having said all the above, and despite having gotten the aforementioned Auto S3 for "quiet work", I'd really, really like to have an M6 alongside the HRFs. They're cousins of a sort - almost a Patty Duke/Cathy Duke sort of thing (well, Patty not being quite so loud in this case...man, I'm giving away my age here), and the next time I think I can swing a grand without courting financial disaster elsewhere, that's likely what I'll get (with one possible exception...see last item on list). I lean closer to the TTL because, yes, I'm not allergic to clipping a flash atop it when necessary, and although TTL is hardly a must-have (to my delight, I've managed quite well without this feature on the HRF), if I can get an M6 with it, it sure wouldn't hurt. I suppose the one minor nagging thing is that, as other Leica folk have pointed out, the TTL's shutter speed dial, while easier to manipulate than on the Classic, operates in a counterintuitive direction from earlier Ms; even the HRF's dial follows Leica tradition, but since the HRF's dial is actuated by one's thumb, instead of index finger, in an odd way it actually seems compatible with the TTL's when switching between them. Honestly, I could live with either M6, as long as it was black, and in user shape rather than collector-mint - it's going to get used a lot, after all.
Leica M5: Kind of big, IMO, but quite nice and usable. Unfortunately, the time to have bought one was at least eight years ago, when you could still find one at a halfway-sane price. Collectors have decided the Ugly Duckling of Wetzlar is now a desirable swan. I'd pass.
Leica M4: nice, but since it's also coveted for its made-in-Wetzlar-the-old-fashioned-way-ness, it costs too much, sometimes way too much, even for a really-worn-around-the-edges black body. As can be assumed from my love of the Hexar, I'm particular, but hardly a purist.
Leica M3: Fantastic, so long as you shoot 50mm or longer. IMO, needing to use an external VF for 35mm lenses is a bit much. For others, this doesn't seem to be much of a liability. And if you're fond of 90mm lenses, the M3 is killer.
Leica M2: Got the 35mm frameline...but why, oh why the manual-reset frame counter?
The CV Bessas: They got the build quality under control as of the R2 (the original R that I worked with was a bit scary in that regard). Great VF, decent control layout. Don't care much for the manual frameline-setting thing (yep, I'm spoiled), though I suppose I could learn to live with that (but how come the Z-I, also built by Cosina, appears to have auto framelines, huh?). What I can't learn to live with is the shutter noise, which is Dogawful loud for a non-motorized rangefinder (probably because it uses a double-shutter system to prevent stray light from reaching the film). The R2a/R3a shutter is somewhat quieter, but it ain't no M. Depending on your needs, this may or may not be a biggie. Last issue is an anecdotal one, by way of a colleague using an R2a with optional trigger-wind: the trigger-wind mechanism, at least on his Bessa, had a habit of creating "roving" framelines, which quickly got on said colleague's nerves. He still has both, but since he recently got hold of an M3, that combo isn't getting much mileage now.
Zeiss-Ikon: To quote Batman (c. 2005), "Can I get one in black?"
- Barrett
