What to buy M6 or M7?

[thebarnman]

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12 hours ago, TomB_tx said:

I've used both Leica M and SLRs since the 1960s, and find them good companions with different strengths. I find the RF much faster and easier with 28-50 lenses and especially in dim light. I find my R8 best at longer lenses or macro. I have M6, M7, & M10, adding the M7 most recently. Using the M7 & M10 is identical as I use them, and I'm now lazy enough to use aperture priority most of the time. On M6 & earlier I was the opposite: start with an appropriate shutter speed for the lighting then adjust the aperture. M10 advantage is high ISO and convenience of not waiting to use a full roll of film - just pop the card and pull off the few shots I want.

That's very interesting.  Thanks for your incite on how you use shutter priority with the M6 and earlier... Never thought of it that way since I've mostly always used aperture priority. 

For reasons I don't know why, the M6 seems to be more popular than the M7.  Besides the fact M7 can be set for aperture priority, if you don't mind me asking, except for the fact one has aperture priority with the other being shutter priority, what do you prefer to use if you wanted to pick from the M6 and the M7 and why.  

Thanks! 

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[TomB_tx]

A lot more M6 were made than M7 (which was introduced later) so it's more available. I find them equal in use, except the M7 has an on-of switch around the shutter button, and the M7 speed dial is larger and reversed direction from the M6 - same as the M10. Since I've used film Ms since the 1960s the shutter dial doesn't bother me. If you prefer aperture priority you may like the M7 better, and if you have both M7 & 10 they match well.

I just added the M7 to my collection a year ago - I had the Zeiss Ikon ZM which has similar features first and like it also (great viewfinder), but I like the M7 controls better - especially being able to lock exposure (shutter speed) by holding a half-press of the shutter button while shifting view after measuring exposure.

[colonel]

M7 no question

faster for street. Newer, so more likely to be trouble free. Brass top so no zinc corrosion. 
 

[otto.f]

The only thing I still meet in having my M7 is its weight. When I stepped over at the end of the nineties from M6 to M7 the difference was noticed very well and sometimes it results in leaving my M7 at home. The best way to get rid of this weight 'problem' is going back to the M4, I 'sold' it to my son, but I find the price to high at the moment. Working with the M7 is a bit more comfortable and faster because of the A function which also gives a more precise exposure. I bought it at that time especially for slide films. If you intend to do B&W and/or C41 films only, the choice for an M6 is very logical. If you choose for M7, be alert to buy the most recent version where the flare in the viewfinder is gone: serie numbers above 2788...

[thebarnman]

12 hours ago, otto.f said:

 

Why is the M6 better for black and white and C41?

And why is the M7 better for slides?

Edited August 18 by thebarnman

[otto.f]

5 hours ago, thebarnman said:

Why is the M6 better for black and white and C41?

And why is the M7 better for slides?

See post #25. The shutter speeds are continues on the M7 and slides require more precise exposure than negatives do. On the M6 you can only attain that precision by changing the aperture which is fidgeting, takes time and changes the depth of field which is strictly not what you ask for. 

[TomB_tx]

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Interesting change from M4 to M6: The M4 manual notes intermediate shutter speeds (between click stops) may be used except for a couple of ranges, but the M6 states intermediate speed cannot be set. I wonder if the shutter changed, or if it's just that the meter only reads at click stops?

[otto.f]

2 hours ago, TomB_tx said:

or if it's just that the meter only reads at click stops?

Not to my knowledge. The red lights for exposure are pretty exact as a light meter but the available times are in whole stops. So you have to use the aperture range to get precise exposure or stick to your intended depth of field and trust that the film has enough tolerance to correct the tonal scale in pp. Which is not the case with all films btw.