Carl Posted May 13, 2007 Share #1 Posted May 13, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi, I've had my Leica M6 for about eight years now and I've always wondered why it says only "M6" and not "Leica M6" on the front. I upload a picture of my camera to illustrate. I've been looking around a bit on the net and in this forum, but I've never found any real explanation. Just being curious, maybe someone here knows. Best regards Carl Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/24032-leica-m6-engraving/?do=findComment&comment=253905'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 13, 2007 Posted May 13, 2007 Hi Carl, Take a look here Leica M6 engraving. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
engelfangen Posted May 13, 2007 Share #2 Posted May 13, 2007 Hi! Is there perhaps anywhere marked MADE IN RUSSIA ? :-) don't worry. The first M6 haven't had the "Leica" name beside the M6. But Leica had problems, with Olympus I think because they had a "M"-line too, so Leica had to add "Leica" after some months. best regards Marc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted May 13, 2007 Author Share #3 Posted May 13, 2007 Hi Marc, Thank you for your quick response! Sounds like a logic explanation. So, now my eight years of wondering is finally over... But what I still don't understand is if that is the case, why does it say "Leica" and not "Leitz" in the red dot on my camera? I'm not that good on Leica-history, but as far as I know the early M6 still had "Leitz" in their red dots. In all case, thank you! Carl Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_j Posted May 13, 2007 Share #4 Posted May 13, 2007 I posted the same query about my "Big M6" You may be interested in the thread http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-collectors-historica/15371-m6-logo-only.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
josephgalilee Posted June 28, 2007 Share #5 Posted June 28, 2007 On rear side you can read "Leica GmbH Germany". 1989/1990 era, after Leitz period new society have changed look and words on his camera. Best regards giuseppe Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc_braconi Posted June 28, 2007 Share #6 Posted June 28, 2007 Hi, May be you will learn something here and more about the 21st production M6 Leica M6 Early Production best regards jc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tummydoc Posted June 30, 2007 Share #7 Posted June 30, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) When the company name changed from Leitz to Leica a decision was made to eliminate the redundant labelling. It was quickly decided that was a mistake and reverted to the original scheme. Departmental politics perhaps. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbro Posted July 2, 2007 Share #8 Posted July 2, 2007 tummydoc is essentially correct. Prior to 1988 M6 cameras were made by the company "Leitz" and the camera was called a "Leica". The red dot said Leitz. In 1988 Leitz company devested itself of some of its businesses and Leica GMBH was born. Now the camera was a Leica and the company was Leica. So, a few M6 cameras made at about the time the factory moved to Solms were marked just "M6" in larger characters. Since the red dot now read Leica it was thought the Leica engraving over the M6 was redundant. For whatever reasons (I had not heard the Olympus conflict, but it has some logic) Leica went back to the old style engraving (Leica over M6) after a very short time. It is interesting to note that one of these "big M6" cameras appeared in the photos in the owners manuals well after that style of marking was discontinued. Hope this helps. Cheers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted July 3, 2007 Share #9 Posted July 3, 2007 But what I still don't understand is if that is the case, why does it say "Leica" and not "Leitz" in the red dot on my camera? I'm not that good on Leica-history, but as far as I know the early M6 still had "Leitz" in their red dots. Haven't Leica routinely taken the liberty of replacing the Leitz dot with a Leica dot whenever an old 'Leitz' M6 is sent in for service or repair? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbro Posted July 3, 2007 Share #10 Posted July 3, 2007 Yes, they do that simply because there are no more Leitz dots. If they adjust the rangefinder during a service, the red dot must be removed to gain access to the adjustment screw. The red dots are self-adhesive and are just pulled off a strip of paper and stuck in place after the adjustments are made. I suppose one could try asking them to re-use the Leitz dot to maintain originality. Who knows, it might work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted July 11, 2007 Author Share #11 Posted July 11, 2007 Hi, Thank you for all the answers! It seems to be several different ideas and reasons to why it only says "M6" on my camera. However, I was just curious and as it is a brilliant camera I'm happy to use it wheter it says "Leica M6" or just "M6" :-) Best regards Carl Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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