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Where to buy my first Leica?


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Of course if you buy from overseas you probably have to pay tax, but it still could be worth it. I am not sure how the Canadian dollar stacks up against other currencies right now, but it could be worth considering. Just buy from a reputable dealer and buy one in the best mechanical condition. The M6 is a great camera; you won't be disappointed.

 

 

I recently bought an M6 (still have not used it) and it is such a nicely made instrument. As David and many others will attest, the M6 is a camera you will be most satisfied with.

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Hey, I looked at Setadel Studios website and it doesn't appear that their selling much of anything really. Maybe there is something I don't know?

 

 

2 dealers I have purchased from in the USA are Popflash and Kurland. I bought the M6 from Kurland. Shipped all the way to Australia in perfect order.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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Hey everyone,

 

So you all should be happy to know I found a nice M6 for $1430 with a high serial # so I scooped it up quickly! Assuming i will need a CLA, where is the best place to do so in Toronto/Ontario? Is Kindermann my best bet? Any info would be great! Thanks!

 

J.

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Hey Jon,

 

I will strong recomand two Shops in Europe- these two are very serious companies.:)

 

1.Meistercamera Hamburg (www.meister-camera.com)

 

2.Leicashop Wien (www.leicashop.com)

 

Bought most of my Leicas + Lenses from Them, very good comunication.I rate both 10 out of 10.

 

Do not even think of Ebay - try them first;)

 

Greetings from Norway

 

Stephan

 

Although I bought my M6TTL on eBay with full satisfaction, I endorse the recommendation for Leicashop in Vienna. They are also of course connected to the Westlich auction, which I was able to attend in november. Very serious Leica stuff.

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The matter is disputed. Please see Tackling M6 "finder flare" cheaply - Photo.net Leica and Rangefinders Forum . As you may not have the patience to read it all, here is my next to last post on that thread:

 

In Leica FAQ — RF patch flare Rob Schneider is quoted as saying, "The rangefinder/viewfinder on the M6TTL .72 is the same as on the M6 "Classic". It's also the same as on the M4-P and, apparently, the later runs of the M4-2. A condenser lens was removed from the frame masking mechanism, making the framelines and RF patch slightly brighter and contrastier..."; and Alexander Kraus is quoted as saying, "Recently, I found an interesting posting in the Leica customer forum, where someone stated that the reason for the whiteout of the rangefinder patch would be the switch from a flat mirror (for brightline illumination) to a parabolic one."

 

In "LEICAVIEW" (SPRING 2003 • LEICA CAMERA INC. • VOLUME 14 • NUMBER 1) we see praise of the MP's "advanced viewfinder which incorporates a reshaped mirror and extra lens element to eliminate ghost images in the rangefinder field and to more evenly illuminate frame lines."

 

That is, when something that was removed earlier was re-installed, it was hailed as a leap forward.

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Hey everyone,

 

So you all should be happy to know I found a nice M6 for $1430 with a high serial # so I scooped it up quickly! Assuming i will need a CLA, where is the best place to do so in Toronto/Ontario? Is Kindermann my best bet? Any info would be great! Thanks!

 

J.

 

Congratulations on your purchase! Did you end up purchasing the M6 from Setadel?

 

David Yau is just as highly regarded as Kindermann for Leica repair and support. His address:

 

Yau's Camera Service

12 Fawndale Crescent Scarborough, Ontario M1W 3K1

Tel: 416-494-8988

 

We are very lucky Leicaphiles living so close to Toronto. I think it has something to do with being the major city so close to the former Canadian manufacturing arm of Leitz (Midland).

 

J, this may be a little blasphemous, but I don't really believe in CLAs unless something is off in the camera's performance. Unless something isn't working, why bother? Others may have a different opinion...if so, I'd appreciate them weighing in.

 

All the best; I hope to bump into you on Toronto's streets in the future. Cheers.

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Thank you Firststream! I actually ended up buying off Ebay, but it is from someone who only sells Leica equipment and has 100% feedback, as well as accepts returns, so I figured how could I really lose?

 

I would also like to hear what other people have weigh in on both the CLA and Viewfinder upgrade situation.

 

Hope to run into you as well Firststream!

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Any suggestions on a good store online that has a descent size stock of summilux's in a range of prices? I cant seem to find anything from a store for a descent price in a Ver.2. Everything is on Ebay, and people without 100% feedback make me nervous! Any suggestions on this or the previous statements above? Thanks.

 

J.

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I would also like to hear what other people have weigh in on both the CLA and Viewfinder upgrade situation.

 

I have two M6 (non-TTL classic) bodies. One has the finder upgrade and the other doesn't. On a rare occasion the patch flares out but it's no big deal to me. I use both equally and have no preferences.

 

The one with the finder upgrade was CLA'd along with the removal of some frame lines. The other camera was bought used and has yet to have a CLA during my ownership. I won't send it in until I feel it needs servicing.

 

Both were purchased from private parties. Both owners knew their cameras well and had taken care of them. I think sending in a recently purchased camera for a CLA depends on the particular camera and what kind of condition it appears to be in. It's not something I'd automatically do unless something wasn't working correctly or I suspected there were some issues with it. Or if I were about to do a big important project; but of course anything can break, even a brand new camera.

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Interesting,

 

Thanks for weighing in! Aparently this camera I got has had little use since 2007 and has probably been used 2-5 times each year since then. I hear that this could be "bad" but the camera looks spotless and is in perfect condition, i have yet to hold it and play around with it. But, Also if I want all shutter speeds to fire correctly a CLA might be in order in this situation correct? Or am I off here?

 

Thanks!

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Why not do a film test first. Get some transparency film and set the camera on a tripod. Go through all the shutter times and aperture combinations for what the meter is reading (or better yet, use a hand held meter.) If the speeds are off, it should be apparent.

 

Lubrication can gum up over time. Leaf shutters seem to benefit from being 'exercised' often. But I'm not sure that's the case with a cloth focal plane shutter. Maybe someone else has a better opinion.

 

Personally, I would use the camera first before automatically sending it in for a service. And check it out via processed film results. Transparency film helps remove doubts due to variables from other parts of the chain, i.e., scanning or prints, etc.. Use a loupe and check out the results directly from the film.

 

Enjoy the camera!

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That is, when something that was removed earlier was re-installed, it was hailed as a leap forward.

 

This made me smile :)

 

Any suggestions on a good store online that has a descent size stock of summilux's in a range of prices?

 

Which focal length?

 

Check the buy and sell section here or over at rangefinderforums. There are several online places. Leicashop (Vienna), Meister Camera (Hamburg and Berlin), Photo Arsenal (Germany, expensive), Red Dot Cameras, Aperture UK, Peter Loy, Harrison Cameras (all UK, reasonable prices), Newoldcamera, Foto Ottica Cavour and Foto Prisma (former two Milan, latter Bologna; all Italians have reasonable prices it seems), Collectcamera and Schouten-Select (Holland, both, esp. the latter, are rather expensive), Kevin Cameras and Tamarkin (both US), Wibergs Foto, Schönherrs Foto, L-Foto (all Sweden), French Camera (Paris).

 

I've so far used Leicashop, Foto Prisma and Red Dot and all have given me very good service, respond promptly to emails and are quick to ship.

 

I have two M6 (non-TTL classic) bodies. One has the finder upgrade and the other doesn't. On a rare occasion the patch flares out but it's no big deal to me. I use both equally and have no preferences.

 

I've just ordered an M6TTL with the .72x. It will be interesting to see how it compares "flare-wise" to my M3. Reading about flare/white-out I've seen one piece of advice often being repeated and that is that recomposing or moving onself slightly seems to fix the problem. The fix of adding the condenser lens is apparently quite ok, too.

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Hi,

I will strong recomand one Shop in Europe - Italy - Milan, this is an very serious, courtesy and pro's company.

 

Newoldcamera - Prodotti

 

You'll not regrets this choice.

 

Kind regards

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