Reliability
Simplicity
Outfit, while a bit heavy, fits into a small bag.
Quality of photos if you can find a decent film lab these days.
Enjoyable to use.
Batteries not essential.
No stupid displays and bleeps to distract you.
Leica table-top tripod is great.

They are NOT bullet-proof - drop it and you're in for a BIG bill (I've done it twice!).

A great camera, but it does take a while to get used to it. I've had mine 13 years but the first of those was extremely frustrating - persevere and you won't regret it.
The M6 and Contax G series are not equivalent; they only look it. It depends on what you like: lots of automation or lots of manual intervention. The Leica lacks any aids apart from the rangefinder and exposure meter (a strength in my view).
I have 35mm F2, 50mm F2 and 90mm F2.8 - only the body and 35mm were new. The only thing I've thought about adding is a wider angle lens for architectural shots.

Value for money is highly subjective. Could you take equivalent pictures for less? Very probably. Would I change it now? Definitely not.

Customer Service

The quality of repair work at Leica is top notch. I haven't tried any independent repairers.

The service is slow and expensive and Leica are a touch arrogant when you challenge the cost and delay.

The quick turn around was not available in the UK in 2009, you have to send your camera back to Germany for that.

Similar Products Used:

Leica Minilux
Minolta XD7 SLR

Bullet proof, precise tool
Great lenses
Simple, timeless design

Old design, too expensive, weak loading process

I have used many cameras. In rangefinders, everything from an Argus C-3 up to an M6, I finally got the M6 after many happy years with a Leitz (Minolta) CL and had some Leitz lenses. I thought this was the pinicle of cameradom! In time, I had many Leitz lenses (all used) and found the quality of the lenses to be the best of any SLR system, but the equal of Zeiss.

After a year of use, I found I preferred the small, easier way of the CL, Minolta CLE and the much more modern Contax G. I had loading issues with the M6 where I shot some phantom rolls of film. In a hectic situation I droped the bottom plate. Once, the shutter froze and cost me a fortune to repair after a 3 month wait. Flash synch of 1/50 a throwback to the '50s. I found the viewfinder prone to glare. For the money, especially the lenses, I just didn't find the M6 all it was cracked-up to be. I found the CL and CLE to be easier to use, never a problem and the G to be a truly modern rangefinder

Customer Service

Long wait and expensive

Similar Products Used:

Minolta CLE. CL, Contax G2

Another issue for me was not feeling conspicuous. I don't care if I am actually conspicuous with whatever camera, it's weather I feel conspicuous that makes the difference. The M6 is cures this problem for me.

Size
Weight
Build quality
Handling
Rangefinder
Brand
Simple controls

There are some types of photography I find this camera is not really suitable for, but don't take that as reason not to try them or discount the system:

Macro - Though there is a special adapter
Telephoto - There are some options but no like with SLRS
Sports

The manual focus can be an issue. If there is little light or you have a medium length lens then hyperfocal distance focusing can be difficult if not, just not practical.

When I decided to get serious about my photography I bought a Nikon F80 and spent a year taking at least 1 picture a day. I took a lot of photos but there weren't a lot of keepers. It was however immense fun. Then I got a medium format camera, I got a lot more keepers after that, the camera slows you down, and I'm sure I learned a lot in that year with the F80. The MF was too big though, too slow, and too conspicuous. Not as much fun. I needed something between the size and ease of use of the F80 and the pace and quality of the Medium format (Bronica ETRSI).

Enter the Leica M6. Honestly, it was an impulse buy, I only knew of the name Leica, but not much else other than they were up there with Contax. I bought it from a local shop rather than online, I chatted with the previous owner about the camera (the shops owner), Leica lovers are usually nice people I've found. It's like joining a club. If and when you buy a Leica you'll know why..

This quiet, little, solid, beautifully engineered camera changed my photography literally overnight. Taking a picture becomes a personal experience with an M rangefinder. There's not so little action on your part that shooting a frame seems trivial and not so much that you over think the situation. The manual focus slows you down but only to the point that it makes you really identify what you want focus on.. that said it can be faster than any auto focus too when using hyperfocal distances. I really worried about the manual exposure but I beleive that too made me pay more attention to what I needed to do, which needs an answer to another question first.. what do you actually want, what are you seeing, why have you raised the camera. It takes it beyond the impulse to the refinement of the desire which for me has ment better photographs.

So why not a manual SLR? They're not much bigger, they are a lot cheaper! For me it's the rangefinder part, the fact that when you raise the camera to your eye you don't cut out what's going on just outside frame. You can see if there's an object that could be part of the shot, some action about to enter frame, but most of all it makes you feel less behind a camera. We all see pictures before we raise the camera, I find a rangefinder is less of a transition from that initial vision to framing. It's almost like framing with your finders. I've seen whatever picture it is unaided, minus the camera, the lens, when I look through a rangefinder it's no different. To me at least looking through an SLR suddenly changes everything, NOW I am taking a picture. I'm becoming a picture editor before I take the picture! With a rangefinder, there's still that feeling of the natural freedom of seeing something with your own two eyes.

Perhaps these are subtleties some people won't understand, but that doesn't mean they're not valid.

So why not a Voigtlander or a Zeiss Ikon or an M7 or an M3 etc etc.. Well some of those are more expensive (M7), some don't have a light meter (M3 way too manual).. and the others? I can't speak for the Ikon, but I sure wouldn't mind one. My girlfriend on the other hand has a Voigtlander. It's a really nice camera, but weather it's just because I appreciated finely engineered machines.. high quality.. or that I'm a snob!!? I don't know. Go see an M6, pick it up, it's as close to perfect as you can get.. it's beautifully solid, small and very pretty. It's the difference between a Volvo and a Mercedes, Epiphone and Gibson, some of them are differences that are subjective, like shutter noise and handling. Some differences are more pronounced like size, weight, reliability, auto frame switching. Leica is a brand where you get what you pay extra for, some people who can't tell that extra, don't like it, or sometimes who just can't afford it, will love to tell Leica fans they're wasting their money. Sure you don't need one to do rangefinder photography, that's different, but it doesn't mean the systems engineering quality doesn't make the camera feel like it's a limb you've been missing for years.

Customer Service

Never needed it, but I know you can pay extra to have your camera fixed etc within 2 days.. regardless of the extra cost, that's great service and shows how confident these people are about their cameras.

Similar Products Used:

Just before I was introduced to the Leica M6 I found the Contax G2, which was nearly THE camera for me. But the focus was noisy and the viewfinder too small.

Voigtlander Bessa
Contax G2
Leica M3
Leica M8

Accurate framelines
Heavy weight
Silent shutter
Easy to use and accurate meter
Easy to load film

You got to be kidding. NONE

All I have ever heard about the Leica cameras is true. My M6 is built like a tank and is a pleasure to use. Fully manual and simple design it is photography at it's grass roots. The framelines are easy to see and the Voigtlander 40mm lens I use is easy to focus through the finder in any light. Because of the heavy wieght of the camera with it's silent cloth shutter combined with the 40mm 1.4 Nokton lens I can shoot in very low light, hand held without a tripod. I also have a Leica IIIa that is 75 years old and is a better performer than my Bessa R. So with the M6 I feel I have a camera for a lifetime and one I can pass down to my daughter once I am gone.
I chose the M6 because of the built in meter and it really is one of the first in the M line to have one. The M5 was the first but I read some reviews that there were issues with the meter in it.
I also like how the film loads from the bottom. It is almost as if Leica goes their own way designing cameras with little attention to what other manufactors are doing.
As long as they make film I will use this camera. If you are thinking of getting one, and if you are reading this you must be. Go for it. The myth and legend is true.

Size. I can fit all three of my M bodies and glass into a very small bag!

If your budget is $1500 you could get a real nice setup like a M3/M6 and the underrated 40mmSummicron. With careful shopping, iIf you don't like the RF way of life you can sell and recoup most if not all of your money.

Not a Nikon F5 though focus accuracy is quite suprisingly quick. But for movement I personally can't risk it so I lean on the autofocu Nikon bodies during weddings.

Film loading can be a pain, but less so on the M6. For the M3 I keep a couple extra spools already loaded, wrap the leader and insert into camera. Loading takes some time to master, but after a few times it's simple enough. Not fast, but not hard either.

I've had the joy to own the M3 and now the M6 ttl (.72) versions. My favorite is the M3. The viewfinder, when you can find a good sample, is the best as far as magnification. Coming from the .91 VF of the M3 I can see a stark differnece when comparing it to the M6 (.72) version.
However, when shooting, I tend not to notice such things. I use my M6 (.72) typically with the 35mm Summilux and have had nice results. Focus is easy, the meter accurate, and it it is so light it is almost a toy compared to my D200/17-55 combo I use for weddings. Mastering focus in quick moving situations is tricky.
Though I prefer the bodies of the M3 (and M2 for that matter) I love shooting with two bodies and two focal lengths and it compliments my M3/50Lux combo. Considering a cheaper body like the M2 or M3 when factoring in the cost of a probable CLA, the M6 is a no brainer. Just choose the appropriate viewfinder and enjoy!
Really brings you back to the basics. Quiet, unobtusive, and astounding images. I shoot mainly wedding detail and getting ready shots with my M 6 body. I leave the telephoto stuff for the more accurate focusing of the the M3.

Build Control layout Size Rangefinder viewfinder Simplicity

Slight frame line inaccurasy (slr's are typically only 90% coverage and the G2 is out so on a par with other systems) System cost (expensive lenses etc but you get what you pay for)

I've gone through almost all of the camera manufactures the penultimate being Contax, who I really though would be the one for me. Unfortunately it was not to be and so I began looking at Leica. When I first picked up the M6 in my local ye old camera shoppie it reeked of quality of build, and when I looked through the finder it was lovely and bright and clear. I can't really compare this rangefinder to others because I haven't used any others and comparing it to a SLR would be like comparing a yacht to a power boat, in other words pointless. What I can say is if you're into your photography and you're pondering about a rangefinder and specifically the M6, you will at the very least find yourself experiencing a way of photography that you'll never have experienced before. It's a whole other world; I was frightened by the lack of aperture priority, now I don't care if I never use it again, I was also fearful of the money it cost, but, you really do get what you pay for. More likely however is you'll find yourself photographing in a purer, less cluttered, more subject in tuned way, or at least it will be possible to shoot this way. Last observation is on the everything in focus viewfinder. When shooting in a mode somewhere between casual observer and photographic explorer I find it is much easier to imagine what will be out of focus in the viewfinder rather than imagining what the out of focus areas in an SLR viewfinder will look like in focus. It's the principle of it's easier to get rid of information than to get it. True on an SLR you can depth of field preview, but the screen goes dark and for the most part your looking at the picture with the aperture wide open. By the time you've done this your shot will probably be gone or at least your being distracted from you subject. So basically don't worry about this aspect, you'll love it. But it's definitely not for every application in photography and neither will it suit everyone.

Customer Service

Never experienced.

Similar Products Used:

Mamiya 7 Mk2 = very large 6x7 camera, can't really compare, although a rangefinder medium format might cut down on size but it's not the best for long thought out and considered landscapes. Contax T2 = a compact of rangefinder design (like most) some early proof to myself that I'd get along very well with rangefinders.

Style, simplicity, status, excellence of engineering, superb quality of lenses, manages more than most to make real virtues out of necessity, results that are unequalled is certain circumstances when everything works properly.

Cost, limitations of basic design, cost, unreliable shutters, cost, viewfinder characteristics, cost!

Leica M6 M Leicas are superbly styled. Classic understatement, form following function. They turn heads by a sort of inconspicuous ‘presence’. But the quality is not consistent. At best they are unrivalled. But there are M6s with blistering black chrome (a manufacturing problem) and the black chrome finish is not as durable as some claim. A camera is a light-proof box with a viewfinder and shutter. M6s are light proof. But the viewfinder is an attempt to make a virtue out of a necessity. The rangefinder may be a miracle of engineering but they easily shift out of alignment. And while they cope well with parallax error they cannot change the field of view as the lens focuses. In use this may not matter. But it is a weakness. They perform best where it is least need. Excellent in focusing a wide-angle lens (where you don’t need absolutely accuracy) but very difficult with anything over 75mm (where accurate focus is essential)! Shutters are quiet but not the ‘whisper’ Leica claim. Shutter speeds are almost always inaccurate. Half the 6 Leica Ms I’ve used had serious shutter faults. By ‘serious’ I mean the camera couldn’t be used! Someone said using the leverwind of a Leica M is ‘like a religious experience’. Which says something about the idolatrous attitude the camera attracts! But they are not completely reliable and they have serious limitations. They are ludicrously expensive (compare what Nikon offers for this money!). They are a tool. But for most people too expensive to use without worry of damage (repairs can be prohibitively expensive). But despite all that, in some applications, when everything goes well, no other 35mm camera can equal the superb results of a Leica M with a recent Leica lens!

Customer Service

Excellent attention to customers, but fearful cost of parts and repairs.

Similar Products Used:

Voigtlander Bessa R2a, Contax G 1 and 2 Kiev, FED, Zorki, Leica R, etc.

Viewfinder, finish, precision - immediate trigger reaction - almost no delay and picture taken. No noisy winder

slighty noisier than all the hype had suggested

Bought for a 6 week trip coming up going around the world and wanted to travel light. Gave up Mamiya 7 and pretty crappy lenses (and badly paid picture library work) to return to the basics with light shooting gear 2 nice lenses (35mm 1.4 and 50mm 1.4 summilux 1969 1972 and still as new wow - although some leica diehards hate these lenses) and just shooting for myself and exhibition work. Started rangefinders with Contax G1 - it does have its place as a stepping stone ... then Xpan (for catch your eye panoramics) then MAM7. Mine is a M6 titanium (yes I know it isnt really titanium) but liked the look and paid $200 premium to be a fashion victim. Fantastic viewfinder and love the way you see what is going to be in the picture before it steps in .... other review says he doesnt shoot as quick but didnt mention whether he shot better. I always worked on 25+ per roll being technically perfect but feel that I have improved - which is a good feeling after all these years. You pays your money you gets your quality .... but please if you buy one USE IT. Camera arent meant to sit on shelves .... be proud of your scars.

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

lots of slrs - then rangefinder 1988 old Yashica electro 35 - aperture priority only .... then Contax G1, Xpan and Mamiya 7

What you need right under your finger tips, nothing that you don't. You know what you're doing, the Leica lets you do it better than any other camera. No higher quality in its category. Good value. Makes you realize how much you have yet to learn about photography.

Limited telephoto and close up ability.

If you're reading this you're not a beginner. For some reason an SLR is unsatisfying. You didn't know about Leicas before you spent thousands on your SLR gear. It's OK, don't blame yourself. But now you're ready. You know a lot about photography and all you want to do is to compose the image, and make your manual settings with as little fuss as possible. You want quality and fast lenses. Welcome. My view on price: Any serious gear costs money. This is professional gear, and by comparison to any other pro-quality precision gear in any category- musical instruments, bikes (to name a couple) the Leica is a good value. And it's never going to wear out! (What'd you spend on that piece of junk 4 year old computer in the basement?) An F-100 is cheaper but it should be! I the Leica suits your style of photography, save up and buy one. Then practice a lot. Not necessarily shooting, just practice focusing until you subconsciously know wich way to turn the focus ring. Until you just know your camera-subject distance and how far the dof extends. Until you can set the exposure settings by heart and the meter is always right on. You don't need the viewfinder to tell you your aperture and shutter speed, it's in your head all the time. Bracket any way you want without having to consult the manual because you have it all in your hands- so simple. So fun.

Customer Service

No experience with them.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon SLR, Sigma lenses.

- it's quiet, but I don't need quiet - solid feel - great picture quality

- it's too expensive - rangefinder focusing not particularly fast

I bought a used M6 a while back on eBay to see whether I would like it and especially whether I would prefer it over my Contax G2. I was impressed with the overall quality of the Leica. I loved the images coming out of it. But I didn't find that I could work faster with this camera than with my Contax G, which has equally beautiful lenses for a much lower price. Since I'm not prepared to pay the prices of Leica's F1.4 lenses - the ones Contax doesn't offer - I decided to sell the Leica.

Customer Service

never dealt with them

Similar Products Used:

Contax G1 (sold), Contax G2, Voigtlander Bessa R (sold), Voigtlander Bessa L