Solid feel, beautiful look,great optics (50mm summicron) and the fact that it is dead scilent which is really good.

Awfully hard to focus on moving objects but you´ll get used to it, I hope. I was only using it for two days. You´ll need a lot of practicing with this camera due to its difficulties with focusing,especially moving objects. But I´m sure that you can be a terrific photographer with this camera after practice ! The history with many great photograpers shows that !

I borrowed this "macic" camera for a weekend. I put in a Fuji Reala and went out. The camera feels very good and is very well crafted. After a few shots I began to get more used to the focusing. I was mainly photographing my 26 mts old doughter in a park. When she stood still it was hard to focus but still OK. But when she was running around it was very difficult to focus and I was´nt able to take any shots, I mean I was able but not to take any sharp shots. But I also took scenery picturtes of things I the autumn park. These pictres turned out very good. I used a 50 mm f/2 summicron lens. The size of the camera are great and the feel and the confidence you get is all good. But I prefer my EOS 1N when taking pictures of kids. I take wedding portraits and I would have to practice for a long time if I wanted to use this system before I had the confidence to shoot with a LEICA M6. If anyone gave me this camera I would be very pleased but Leica M6 is too expensive and overrated. I would use it for travel and stills. I think that I should go for HEXAR RF but most likely for CONTAX G2 if would have to change system.

Customer Service

None experience !

Similar Products Used:

None

Body Durability
Shutter Durability
Image Results

Price
Finish
Price
Narrow range of Usability
Price

The best value of the entire Leica M-Series line. Can find nearly new bodies at between $1250-$1450 (Approximate cost of a new F100 for an absolute tank of a camera). If you are on the fence as to whether to go with an M6 classic or newer M6-TTL, the choice is obvious - M6 Classic. The TTL is uglier and who needs a higher flash sync? If you are buying a rangefinder for flash photography, save your money and get an SLR. The quality of the lenses is unsurpassed, and really difficult to describe - Images are sharp, but not bitingly so; in fact, portraits can sometimes have a kind of soft sense to them, its as if the object in focus simply stands out from the background. Take some images of your own - you'll see. Practically indestructible body, with electronics that are not vital to the camera's operation. Like a fine swiss watch, an M6 is a mechanical marvel and a lifetime investment. With mint bodies running six to seven hundred dollars off new, a practical bargain in the world of leica optical systems, and well worth it. (Value rating represents as new prices today, not brand new prices several years ago).

Customer Service

Not needed yet

Similar Products Used:

SLR's/Rangefinders/P&S's

One can't help but to appreciated what all the fuss is all about with this camera. For years I had heard about the Leica and its precision and engineering, but had never experienced one. As a dedicated SLR user I was amazed by what the significantly smaller and lighter weight camera allowed me to do. No doubt its biggest strength is its timelessness... no matter where the state of photograpy leads, which appears to be towards digital, the M-6 or its successor will always have a place and a loyal following.

Difficult to utilize telephoto lenses due to the small focusing area in the rangefinder. Wish I could utilize a faster flash synch speed.

Anyone who can possibly afford one should own one. Although I continue to use my SLR primarily, there have been times and circumstances in which I've used my Leica and obtained incredible results. It probably cannot be beat for the combination of being inobtrusive and getting tremendously sharp results.

Customer Service

No need to use it so far.

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I've not tried to most recent offerings from Contax, Konica, Voigtlander etc.

Built like a tank. Wonderfull shape. Very silent. Comftible to carry. Low weight. It's like a jewel

not easy to use. film loading.

with this camera you are always obblidge to think before shooting. just do like me, no fear, buy a lot of film and go. make a lot of mistakes, show the fotos to others fotografs, share the informations and learn every day something new. its fantastic! but it takes time and a lot of love

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I use the following lens: elmarit 28mm
summilux 35mm
summilux 50mm
summicron 90mm

Viewfinder clarity
Lenses
build
fit and finish
mechanics
light meter
feel
wieght and size
handling

none

So you were expecting a BAD review?? Look, people who buy these cameras are NOT objective. They are in love. It's sick and twisted, yes. It's cultish and weird, yes. But what other camera will do that to you? A Sigma? Fact is, if you like fine mechanical instruments you are crazy NOT to buy this camera for yourself. Some high quality point and shoots will help you take pictures that are just as good but they are appliances, not cameras. An M6 isn't very convenient or fast but it is a pleasure. If you are into ONLY final results, this isn't for you. But if you enjoy the machine as much as what it produces, go for it. It's like buying a fine mechanical watch or an old sportscar - it just feels good. Leica lenses are great, by and large, and also fun to use. There are cameras out there which may be able to give better results but not with as much style. The M6 "classic" looks great, (the TTL looks a little top heavy to me and flash? flash?!!! please) and after using one for awhile, even the best Japanese cameras feel a little klunky. I love my G1 and my Hexar and especially my Xpan but the M6 will be with me long after I've traded the others in. Okay, so I'm brainwashed. Not objective. Don't care.

Customer Service

SLOW but good

Similar Products Used:

Contax G1
Hasselbald Xpan
Konica Hexar RF
Voigtlander Vitessa L

- Excellent lens quality
- Quiet
- Fit and finsh
- Compact
- Simple

- Black paint scratches too easily
- Can't rush with an M6....
- Constantly having to explain to schoolmates why a $2800 camera (w/50mm f/2.0) is a good investment
- Doesn't do macro photography too well

Not cheap, but the high price tag certainly wasn't a secret, so I can't complain about my lighter wallet. Needless to say, you get what you pay for. Ever since purchasing an M6, I find myself shunning my F5.

Customer Service

Not me...but my grandfather had to have the shutter on his M3 SS shutter fixed after 40 years of use.

Similar Products Used:

Leica M3 SS, Nikon F5, Canon A1, Canon AE1 Program, Nikon N90S, Mamiya 645 TL Pro

Solid, quiet, beautiful feel in operation, top image quality, bright viewfinder.

Film loading slow but easy to get used to. Viewfinder eyepiece too small for eyeglass users! Too expensive new.

OK - I've wanted one for years, but could only afford an M6 recently when I had some cash left over from a house remortgage! Spending so much money scared the hell out of me (grin) - even used, prices are over the top. BUT now I've gotten to grips with it, the M6 seems well worth it. It's a camera for the thinking photograper - if you have a bit of Ansel Adams in you, this camera is for you (and you won't get a rupture from carrying all that excess hardware around!). Actually ideal for walking, landscape and record photography, as well as the traditional people photography. Bought used with mint 35/F2 and 90/F2 (non-aspheric) - don't feel the need for anything else but I guess a 28mm might be useful - though a new 12mm Voigtlander lens might be a better buy! Not a complete replacement for an SLR (ex-Nikon F, F2, F3, F4 owner speaking here!), but a very serious alternative for those with no use for macro or long telephoto - and who do not want a bad back! Only real problem is it sets you thinking lustful thoughts about old M4's and Barnack Leica's... Oh the pain, the pain!

Customer Service

Not needed.

Similar Products Used:

Contax G2, Pre-war Contax, Russian rangefinders, Hexar RF.

Incredible durability Incredible lenses
Super quiet
Unobtrusive
Simple to use

No auto focus (don't need it)
No auto wind (too noisy anyway)

This camera will last forever. It is truly the finest piece of equipment I have owned. Makes you think about your shot, teaches you faster. Being a range finder, no mirror shutter ever blocks your view of the one moment you are trying to capture, which also keeps the movement very quiet. People don't pose or shut down in front of this camera! It is for the purist.

Customer Service

The best warranties in the business, by far!!!

Similar Products Used:

Contax G2
Hassleblad 35mm Rangefinder

Optics
Quiet
Strong

Price
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If anything this is in response to the posting by Don Farra.
Don....you'll notice this is an equipment review web-site. It is not 'the zen of photography'!! Reviews should be kept to the merits of the camera as a piece of equipment so people can evaluate it for their own uses. Expounding on your personal reasons for photographing and the equipment that works for you has no place here.
I may not need a Ferrari, but it's a fine motorcar.
On this basis alone I rate the M6

Customer Service

Excellent

Similar Products Used:

Canon RF
Nikon and Olympus SLR

solid well built camera, none better built.
optics are very good and lenses is excellant mechanically.
focusing is dead on, but slow compared to modern auto focus cameras.

Like superman this camera has its weaknesses, one of which is the film loading which is slow at best. The other problem is lack of information in the viewfinder. But the major weakness is value, for the money it is one of the most expensive 35mm camera systems on the market today. Yet lenses are limited in focal lenght and there are no 'real' zoom in the lineup. But that is a given going into the Leica M-system. You are paying for the Leica name.

At one time one could say this was the best 35mm rangefinder on the market, because it was the only one on the market. But now there is a renewed interest and other camera(s) are on the horizon, with new features which enable 'better' picture taking.

But where is the bottom line here?

The problem is not with the camera or the optics it is with you, the person behind the camera. If you sit and wonder why you are not creating the great noteworthy photographs of the world today it is not because of your camera. And if you own an Leica M6 or other M series cameras you have no excuse at all.
So instead of singing praises to the Leica company for a piece of hardware you should be remorseful of the fact that your photographs are not any better. That you are weak link and your creativity is limited if not non existant. That given the advantage of using the best equipment avaialable you work still ends up in the trash can. But don't dispair 99.9% of Leica (and other camera) owners are in the same boat as you.
It is time to rethink the problem and to grow beyond the technical side of the equation, to learn to see the world with the eyes of a child, only then can you create that which expresses what is seen by and in your heart.

One star each, not because it is a poor camera but because it limits your creativity with the myth that it is the means to an ends, to a great picture, which it is not.

Customer Service

no need for it outside of annual checkup and shutter speed adjustments.

Similar Products Used:

M7, M6 TTL