M6 TTL or M7?

[zimboom]

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I need some help to decide, I’ve just sold my M4-P with M6 top-plate, and now I want to upgrade but which one is best, a used M6 TTL for $1750 (Canadian dollars) or a used M7 for $1000 more? Thank in advance

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[Riccis]

If you want/need to use Aperture priority, then you need the M7, otherwise the M6 is all you need.

 

Cheers!

[Penzes]

I would buy the M7, even when you are not thinking of Aperture priority usage at the moment. If the M7 has the MP finder and the condition is good.

[bill]

...alternatively, you could use the search function and read all the other answers to this question that have been given over the years.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[johnmoeleker]

I used both M6 and M7, and prefered the M7, but $1000 is a lot

[fotohuis]

A mint M7 can be bought for around Eur. 1500,- and has better options then the M6 TTL. Bright view finder, AE priority, optical DX-reader, quartz controlled shutter. Just to mention some......

[johnbailey]

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I was in a similar dilemma 5 years ago and opted for the M6TTL over the M7 because I felt it was a 'for life' purchase and (meter aside) wouldn't become difficult to repair if electronic gremlins set in many years later.

 

I quite like the all manual approach but if semi-auto is important to the user the M7 is the only choice.

[jgeenen]

I would look for a M6 without TTL - same size as the M4 you had. The TTL is just useful for (some) flash photography but to my experience especially in macro or multiflash mode - no real M domains.

 

The aperture mode of the M7 does not really extend the reach of M cameras. Ok, it add's convenience, but if you expect better results than before, you will be disappointed. Does it add speed? Not really - at least in my photographic experience, aperture priority requires the intelligent use of either exposure override or exposure lock - features that are of similar complexity and time as just dialling in aperture and time on the M6.

 

What's then on the positive side of the M7? Yes, there is the finder improvement. Everything else - DX coding, Quartz controlled shutter etc. are just features that do not give any value-add in reality (DX coding e.g. needs to be overridden for many B&W films)

 

Just my two cents.

 

Johannes

[andybarton]

The Auto exposure meter on the M7 is absolutely first class and delivers consistently excellent results

[noah_addis]

I'd go for a pre-ttl M6 or better yet an MP if you can find one for a good price. But really it's a matter of personal preference.

[menos I M6]

The M7 would be preferred by me hands down over the M6 TTL.

Additional to all facts being listed above and elsewhere already, it does give you new possibilities of doing fantastic, spot on auto exposures and long time exposures with a very convenient second count in the display, the M6 TTL does not give you.

 

You might not use a tripod (as did I - I hated them), but there is the chance, you explore this nice feature and fall in love with it.

 

The M7 is slightly more silent.

 

I am a manual exposure user mostly, but when shooting in hectic situations (from a moving car, etc. ) AE mode is invaluable.

 

I use AE lock a lot otherwise, the same way, I would meter, set expose without it otherwise, but faster (check the scene for lighting, point the center of the frame to your preferred exposed area, lock the meter, focus, recompose shoot - I love it!).

 

I just payed for a Motor-M, which will arrive in the end of the month - can't wait, to combine this with the AE of the M7 ;-)

 

I have a classic chrome silver M6 also and love it to bits - it is also smoother as the M7, but I do prefer, to shoot the M7 for it's speed and better finder in low light.

[pico]

[...] I just payed for a Motor-M, which will arrive in the end of the month - can't wait, to combine this with the AE of the M7 ;-)

 

You are probably going to like it a lot. One of my M7s (dedicated to the 75mm Summilux) has the late motor winder and a Thumbs-Up (#1), and the handling is amazing. Exceedingly steady and robust. Enjoy!

[SteveYork]

I've used "mechanical" Leica rangefinders since the mid-1990's. The whole reason I got into Leicas in the first place was to get away from the electronics. An electronic whiz-bang; do-it-all camera failed in my hands. I've since learned to appreciate the near instantaneous shutter, the lack of vibration and the superb optics of their modern lenses.

 

Recently, I picked up a demo M7 at a great price. I've put about 50 rolls of slide film and color negative through it, and it has performed flawlessly. The AE has allowed me to grab some candids that I would otherwise probably not been able to get. I find myself grabbing this camera, instead of the MP, strictly for convenience (and I'm trying to shoot a bunch of Kodachrome before the end of the year).

 

I did end up selling my other mechanical M (can't have too many toys) and now I just have the M7 and MP. If I was to have only one, I would keep the MP (more memories, better durability, ect.)

 

In the final analysis, it doesn't matter what you get. They're both great and you'll enjoy both.

[zimboom]

This is great input guy's, thank a million. I think I'm more incline to go for M7 or maybe MP if I can find one for a good price.

Merci!

Bernard

[menos I M6]

This is great input guy's, thank a million. I think I'm more incline to go for M7 or maybe MP if I can find one for a good price.

Merci!

Bernard

 

Bernard, exploring your website, I truly think, that from a functional perspective, you would benefit more form the M7.

 

I see it like this:

The M7, you buy for its functionality, the other film M cameras do not have.

 

The MP, you buy for your heart - it is technically refined, but offers less than a M7, which can be had for a lower price as well. It is the most simple, but refined camera for a life time or another trophy in a glass cabinet.

 

All themes and photographs in your blog can be done with an film M, including your HDRs, Formula 1 and candid shots.

Your HDRs or fine art shots with lot's of dof can be made wonderfully with that bulb setting and counting display - even with fantastic auto exposures timed up to 32sec.

Formula 1 can be shot very nicely with a 135mm (if you don't do much wide angle, shorter than 35mm and wear no glasses, you could even go for a x0.85 viewfinder ).

For the candids, you got the idea already (I use AE a lot in such situations).

 

When you shoot low light a lot (I didn't see that on your site), the AE feature of the M7 diminishes greatly, as you want to use primarily manual shutter speeds, as you constantly surf on the edge of exposures and bright light sources often fool the meter anyway.

 

Do yourself a good thing and try, to find a dealer, who has both cameras for you to hold, fondle and play with.

If you're the functional guy, get the M7, if your heart beats faster, when holding the MP, get the MP.

 

Beware with second hand M7 cameras, that there are older and newer models, which differ slightly (difficult, to check) in their viewfinder (newer models have an upgraded rangefinder, which is improved in strong back or side lit situations, where the older finder gets less contrasty). If you plan, to use the Auto DX film function of the M7 and NOT always want ot set your film speed manually (I do this), then it is safer, to find a body with the upgraded DX reader (look inside the film chamber, you should not see electrical "golden contacts" and the film can should fit and drop out of the body just by itself).

 

Often, these upgraded features are advertised by the seller - the DX reader is easy to check, the viewfinder upgrade should be verified with papers (if it is a late model with DX reader and high SN, it probably has).

 

Good luck, you soon will find, that your DSLR cameras get less and less use ;-) (but don

't dispose of them, they make up a good film scanning rig with a macro lens for your Leica negatives).

[piblondin]

I don't have much to add to the discussion except another endorsement of the M7. I picked up a used one earlier this year and expected to downgrade to an M6, but it's performed flawlessly, and I find AE much more useful than I had anticipated. Mine is an older version with the DX reader. The only issue I've had is that there's a dot (not the one in the middle) that blinks occasionally in the shutter speed display (like a decimal point). Turning the exposure compensation wheel a couple times seems to make it go away for a while. I'll probably send it in at some point and have Leica upgrade it to the optical reader. ISOs and shutter speeds have always been right on, though.

[colin_d]

Not sure why you've skipped the best M of all. People bang on about the size of the M5, well if that is the only thing going against it that is not much to worry about because in every other way it excels.

[spero pa]

Which one to purchase M6 ttl or M7. I am fed up with my M3 D/S, the rear door plate persists in letting in the odd 2 or 3 light leaks on the side of my B & W film it is so annoying ( I suppose age has something to do with it) and is it true the M7 uses more battery power than the M6 ttl ? and will my 35mm Summaron Lense with specs be Okay on either of these Cameras ? CHEERS---

spero pa

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[fotohuis]

I am using my M7 in a regular way. The battery consumption are two Lithium batteries in 2 1/2 years.

[pico]

[...]  is it true the M7 uses more battery power than the M6 ttl ? and will my 35mm Summaron Lense with specs be Okay on either of these Cameras ?

 

True that the M7 uses two batteries, but not likely because it draws more current, but that it has greater reserve, lasts longer. It is so easy to pop a couple spares in the pocket along with an SD card. I do not worry. In my mind, the M7 is the penultimate Leica M.

 

...other than my M2