Lens quality. It''s d*** quiet.

Focus patch flare out. Film loading.

Sigh..., either you "get it" and buy the M6, or you don''t "get it" and buy something else. Nuff said. Other reviewers have elucidated the camera''s fine points (and faults) much more than I can or will in this review, so suffice to say that I couldn''t appreciate 35 mm photography''s potential until I got this camera. It got me back to the "roots" of photography and composition and I wasn''t alienated or distracted by electronics on my "do all" SLR (F100)I was "unplugged". So, if just getting an M6 can do this for me think what it can do for you. Buy one now and save your soul.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

G1, F 100 T3

Love the small chromed brass solid lenses. I bought the system on the glass alone and have been vindicated by the results. Quality across the board, even with their older glass not just the eyes of odd examples of other brands as often quoted. So good I now only shoot 35 and 4x5 foregoing medium altogether. Viewfinder shows most framing options. Overall a physically smaller outfit than comparable SLR outfit.

Lenses of many diameters making filtering complex, so just run straight. TTL meter a waste of time, not impressed, smacks of SLR. Find a hand held incident meter preferable, and more accurate. Any way if you can''t expose correctly then this camera is probably not for you. Can''t fit 24mm viewfinder and flash at same time, don''t use flash but the plastic finder won''t take a whole lot of handling. The old metal one is better. It would be nice if the framing lines were identified some how to make instant lens selection quicker. It would be nice to have ALL framing lines visable in the viewfinder. This is a hand held camera but even so some times one wants to steady the rig with a mono or tripod. Any quick release plate if used must be removed to facilitate the removal of the bottom plate for film change. Very hard to opperate tiny rewind knob peddal with arthritic hands.

I bought the M6 only after being dispointed with mainstream products. I use an F4 in the studio but find Nikon optics ordinary. Some have said that highend lenses are as good as Leica but they also are very expensive and considerably larger physicaly than Leica. I''ve traveled o''seas with a Nikon oufit and found it got quite tiresome lugging about the camera bag. Two bodies big glass and bag came to 11 Kg. The results were less than anticipated. I determined to obtain the finest lenses I could, the camera didn''t matter, a box browny would have done. Enter Leica. Now 5 lenses and body all go into a bum bag, belly bag in my case and I feel liberated, hands free I can now access a scene with confidence of the outcome. It''s not a camera for everybody. You need to know you want one. Requires a different approach to image making. Instead of hiding behind an SLR fiddling and adjusting, loosing your clients attention one now shoots both eyes open maintaining that valuable interaction. It''s a more interactive tool. The camera is only a tool to work with and to that end find no emotion in ownership. Bit like an archaeologist''s scraper to work in your hands with care. If you would rather not create the photo then a generic SLR built for the masses might be more suitable for you. Price? well anything any good costs, anyway, like property if you buy right you sell right and Leica seems to hold it''s value. Value is in the beholder. Any way check out other top line outfits, I haven''t seen too many Mamiya 7''s given away. This camera seems to be created for B&W photography. The lens quality speaks through the prints. If quality is not your bag then Leica''s probably not for you. It''s not a camera for every one. People who are more comfortable with a pleblian SLR that does every thing for them may find this system awkward, bit like a manual car if you are an auto driver. Something must be wrong because I find the film loading quick and easy. The F4 could sometimes require 3 or 4 goes to get the film to strike. There is no need to feed the leader into a slot that you can''t see in the dark, just drop in and wind. I wish all my cameras were as easy as this.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Various RF''s SLR''s and 4x5

Compact body and lenses, easy to carry. Famous name. Accurate focussing with wide angle lenses even in low light. Very basic specification, auto nothing, you do everything style of operation.This is a strength if that is what you want, a weakness if you like more automated features.

I experienced variable quality control in new units. I rejected two bodies with misaligned accessory shoes and one with out of vertical alignment rangefinder. These were new cameras straight out of the box. Having to use a separate viewfinder with wide angle lenses is a problem. I found the process of focussing and setting exposure through one window then having to view through a different window very slow and awkward. Using the longer lenses is slow with framing and focussing requiring much care. Having bodies with three different viewfinder magnifications is daunting. Which one to buy? They are awfully expensive. Too bad if your choice now doesn''t match your lens choices a couple of years later. No really long lenses and no macro or close up ability. Body , lenses and accessories very very expensive.

This is a difficult camera to review. In some ways it is beguiling, in others frustrating.I suspect people end up loving or hating it. I struggled for two years to establish harmony with the M6TTL and failed. This is not necessarily the camera''s fault. I just found my Canon EOS system so much more user friendly and the lenses just as good in most picture taking situations.

Customer Service

Leica is serviced by Adeal in Australia.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EOS system. Other 35mm cameras.

Solid construction, wonderfully sharp lenses,--maybe some of the best in the world. I love the optics and strive to exploit the designs features of these lenses,--something I rarely did with my Nikkors. Absolute corner to corner sharpness.

Expensive puppy. As an old Nikon F user for decades, I am used to a shutter speed selector going one way,--this M6 TTL goes the other. Likewise, the aperture scale and focusing scale go opposite as well. These things have made the M6 a much harder transition for me. It''s really not an EASY camera to learn. My Nikons are virtually simple cameras,--my F5 is the world''s most expensive point and shoot. The M6 is a "take your time" instrument. The ISO scale seems impossible to set exactly right. So, I may be 1/3 EV off each time. Generally the meter is right on the mark, though.

Bought the Leica M6 .58 TTL because I wanted to see what the great mystic was about "Leica." I bought only two lenses for it so far,--the 35mm f/2 Summicron ASPH, and the 50mm f/1 Noctilux. These are the first two lenses I have ever bought that I DON''T put any protective filters on. Nothing. Being a rangefinder (without a mirror) I''m very careful to keep the lens cap on until I''m ready to fire. You know,--sun and cloth curtains... The thing is silky smooth,--I can only imagine how the M3 SS cameras performed when new if this M6 has so many production shortcuts in it. It is still a precise camera. I virtually NEVER use the flash,--although I have used my Nikon SB-28DX on it a few times with success. The camera is wonderfully compact,--with the 35mm Summicron ASPH you have a tiny package. As a compact, it goes with me many times when my 17-35mm-equipped F5AE sits at home. This is the piece that comes along in the hostile environments, and where battery issues are non-issues. I''m not obsessed with keeping this camera unscarred,--I use it every day. Bottom line,--if I could have only one camera, it would be the M6, with the 35mm f/2 Summicron ASPH!

Customer Service

Always responsive with the right answers. Involk great confidence with their no-fault protection and coverage.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F, F3T, F5, Hasselblad 903SWC, Canon IIB, Nikon Coolpix 950, Nikonos V, II.

Wonderful people camera. It''s so small that people think it''s just a point and shoot camera. They don''t duck out of the way when they see you standing there aiming this camera. I''ve even had people ask if it was a digital camera, must be the lens hood. As I work on location for a television station, this is the only camera quiet enough to use. No mics will pick up the almost inaudiable click of the shutter. Producers, talent and videographers don''t cringe with this camera around as they would with a bigger motorized SLR. Lastly it''s all about the optics. No doubt that Leica has the sharpest, purest color and best contrast availble for any 35mm camera system. Agsin the only drawback is the price. Try to find used gear. Usually, since it''s a Leica, it''s been treated like a family heirloom and only used for holidays and special occassions.

Way over-priced. Accessories are expensive too. The hand grip is about the only one you really need, and even it will run a hundred bucks. Why no AF Leica''s yet?

This is a rather over-priced, antiquated little box to hold film. That said, there are reasons to own and use this camera if you have the need and finances to support it.

Customer Service

None

Similar Products Used:

Nikon FM2,F, Pentax K1000, MX, MF 67.

Old-world quality, precision, and metal! Shooting hand-held at 1/8th sec. Incredibly sharpness with lenses wide open.

Slow flash sync, yada, yada, live with it! You don''t need the things it doesn''t have.

This is a different animal. It will change the way you think about and take photographs - and the way you think about quality. This is definitely the extreme of "quality over quantity" in 35mm photography. Yes, you could get a Nikon SLR setup with 3 lenses for what you pay for an M6 and one lens. But do you really want to be the person lugging the huge, noisy, plastic, electronic camera annoying everyone you point it at? Or do you want a camera that you will carry with you every day and into many situations where you never considered taking an SLR? There are very few things in this world that are still made with such precision and attention to detail. It forces and enables you to make fantastic photographs. You may not get one every roll, but when you do, it will knock your socks off. It is very gratifying to know that you are responsible for that photo, not some matrix metered autofocus gizmo.

Customer Service

Excellent. I dropped it (doh!), so sent it to Leica Service in NJ. Had it back in 3 weeks with a brand new top plate - free!

Similar Products Used:

Nikon gear - similar? Not!

The strongest point of owning Leica M series is the lenses. Then the strength of the camera body, the compactness and the Leica Feel (once you held the camera, you will notice it immideately, the smooth mechanical, buttery feel of film advance winder, focusing smoothness, the click sound, the f-stop click sound). It sounds that I make this things up, but surely you will addicted to Leica Feel once you own it.

The first weaknesses is the price of the body. Second the price of the lenses. But considering you might use it for as long as your life, the value will be increasing. The film loading also needs to be mastered, or you might encounter retrying several times before the film advance to frame no. 1.

Leica M is always be my dream camera. I wanted it since 1985, and bought it on 1999. Owning it is like an obsession and passion. And I learn from Leica mailing list, it is not only me to feel like that. For a new Leica buyers, as in mailing list always jokes, beware of the addiction of getting more lenses. Prepare after owning the Leica M6, your next dream will be the Summilux, Noctilux, then all those special editions of M6.

All in all, once again, owning it is an obsession and passion.
Please visit my site in tributing the photograph that I made using Leica M6 TTL: http://LeicaM.Homepage.Com

Customer Service

My advice is to buy from reputable dealer. Since this is an expensive/jewel camera, you need a good support and smile, don't buy from a big discount store. You ain't gain anything from it. Satisfaction is more imporatant.

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I have tried Contax G. But this camera can't be compared with Leica M. Leica M is not a P/S, it takes time to mastering it.

Quiet, unobtrusive, a joy to use. Mysteriously imparts confidence to the user like no camera I know of.

Talk to the hand! - some people gripe about the focus and film loading, but they are easily and quickly mastered if you have a functioning brain.

In my time I have used Contax 35mm cameras (S2, RTS3, 167MT), Mamiya 645 Pro, Mamiya RZ67, Ebony 4*5, and currently use Contax 645 and T2 (as well as the Leica M6). I love the M6. Mortgage your home and sell the mother-in-law to camel traders - just find the cash and buy one - new or s/h

Customer Service

Not needed yet

Similar Products Used:

G2 - don't go there. I adore Contax, but they boobed here, and it pains me to admit it.

Small, unobtrusive, easy to focus in low light. Brilliant optics. Is an extension of my hand.

Film Rewinding and changing.

I own a Nikon F5 which I love, but as time goes by I tend to be using the M6 more and more. The best results I have got ever, some people argue that I am using medium format... absolute brilliance in a well package timeless, compact design

Customer Service

Excellent in South Africa.

Similar Products Used:

None

Surprisingly small, portable and tough. People react much more positively (i.e., they are less intimidated and distracted) to a Lecia rangefinder than to any other camera (with the possible exception of a Minox 35). Superior and quick focusing (with 0.85 model) relative to any SLR for focal lengths below 90mm. Wonderful lenses. Super quiet. Makes you think about the photos you are taking instead of about electronic doo-dads flashing and lighting up in the veiwfinder. The M6 TTL is a definite improvement over the M6 "classic".

Very expensive. Limited selection of focal lengths (peters out at 135mm). Very expensive.

Buy one and keep it -- you will never regret having bought a Lecia M camera.

Customer Service

Seems pretty good.

Similar Products Used:

Contax G1 and G2 (nice lenses but crappy autofocusing mechanisms -- if you like lots of blurred photos or continually m