Buying M6J KIT vs MP à la carte

[Stealth3kpl]

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This one is in London and probably doesn't have fogging of the viewfinder. I bet they would check it over and run a film through it before your arrival in Europe (are you in Argentina?). This retailer is very highly regarded by UK Leica users, and they occasionally post on this forum.

http://www.reddotcameras.co.uk/m-bodies/8825-leica-m6j-camera-50mm-28-elmar-boxed.html

 

in fact, you could take the train Paris to London. I bet you could be there and back in a day.

Pete

[Guest]

Thanks, but that's more €4,900 — over €1,000 more than the one in Italy: too expensive for a non-collercotr like me.

[arno_nyhm]

this M6J is not meant for you.

 

but there should be an M6 with .85 viewfinder available in Paris somewhere in good condition and for less than 4 Grand. albeit black or silverthen. good users should not be over 2 grand maybe closer to 1. with a price like that you wouldnt have to worry about warranty. just try it out in the store and take it home if it fits. make your testfilms and when back in the states you can have it serviced if it needs it. you have leftover 2-3 Grand to have this done. there should still be enough of your budget left over for some decent glass or some rolls of Tri-X in addition to this.

 

or is it -against all you are saying- that you are looking for something special, with nice choming shine. a nice set that is not all that commonly available and even comes with the luxury of an additional Elmar-M that you may not need but wich has an awesome reputation and might become handy someday? then buy the M6J and dont worry about the fogged finder wich cannot be cleaned before when you return to europe next time. it will be done. that is what counts. and if you cant wait: having that done in the states wont set you back more than a hundred. that is not all that bad if you compare it to what it might cost to get your new-to-you M6J through the customs. and if the fogging really is fungus, you can still return the camera from Paris or when you come back in a few months. but that sure is no fungus, i'd bet...

 

or is it, that you adore a new Leica? you want it for shooting and for its easyness? well, then get a new one and dont bother for that collectors item "M6J" wich is determined to cause you  trouble with fogged finder, with customs and whatelse you didnt even think of!

 

oh, and by the way: having a leica shipped from italy to france is not like sending a postcard from Chicago to L.A.:this freight goes at least 3 working days and it is not uncommon that it might take a week or two if something goes wrong. after all you cross at least one border between italy and france somewhere in the mediterrainean area. neither french nor italian Postal services are known for their special reliability. i have my own experiences on sending items from germany to france with way more things going wrong than you would imagine. so it is not as sure that you will get your M6J while you're in Paris at all!

[otto.f]

Thanks, but that's more €4,900 — over €1,000 more than the one in Italy: too expensive for a non-collercotr like me.

 

Are you aware that if you just want an M film-camera to use, the whole idea of an M6J is in itself utterly expensive? This IS a collector's item with the corresponding price. 

Btw, I like the Leica store in Paris that's located at avenue or boulevard Beaumarchais very much, it is around the corner of Place des  Vosges, which is a photogenic place 'par excellence'. 

Go for an M7 occasion, with an Elmar50 with it you are done and ready for €2000

[Guest]

Otto - I've dealt with Jean-Marc at La Maison du Leica for many years and bought my MM and M9-P there, both on special deals. Indeed, I went there this morning to buy a replacement hood cover for the Summilux-35 FLE that I recently lost. Last time I was there was in October but, since then, Jean-Marc no longer works there: apparently he'll be working at Leica-France in a new job dealing with locating and dealing with used cameras; but he's not reachable now.

[Guest]

...that is not all that bad if you compare it to what it might cost to get your new-to-you M6J through the customs...

 

or is it, that you adore a new Leica? you want it for shooting and for its easyness? well, then get a new one and dont bother for that collectors item "M6J" wich is determined to cause you  trouble with fogged finder, with customs...

 

oh, and by the way: having a leica shipped from italy to france is not like sending a postcard from Chicago to L.A.:this freight goes at least 3 working days and it is not uncommon that it might take a week or two if something goes wrong. after all you cross at least one border between italy and france somewhere in the mediterrainean area. neither french nor italian Postal services are known for their special reliability. i have my own experiences on sending items from germany to france with way more things going wrong than you would imagine. so it is not as sure that you will get your M6J while you're in Paris at all!

 

Well, customs on cameras is not an issues on still cameras in the States: there is no import duty: it's only UPS that charges a $75 handing fee; some of the others courier services don't.

 

I wouldn't be as pessimistic about ordering in the EU. While I have never ordered anything from Italy for delivery in France, I bought some things from Germany and the UK without any issue or delay whatsoClearever. The only issue for me is whether I want to go through the "botheration" factor with regard to the finder on this MgJ. Clearly, I could get an M6 with the 0.85 VF from Tamarkin for about $1,500 if the timing is right.

[otto.f]

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Just one final question: tell us what you decided

[jaapv]

this M6J is not meant for you.

 

but there should be an M6 with .85 viewfinder available in Paris somewhere in good condition and for less than 4 Grand. albeit black or silverthen. good users should not be over 2 grand maybe closer to 1. with a price like that you wouldnt have to worry about warranty. just try it out in the store and take it home if it fits. make your testfilms and when back in the states you can have it serviced if it needs it. you have leftover 2-3 Grand to have this done. there should still be enough of your budget left over for some decent glass or some rolls of Tri-X in addition to this.

 

or is it -against all you are saying- that you are looking for something special, with nice choming shine. a nice set that is not all that commonly available and even comes with the luxury of an additional Elmar-M that you may not need but wich has an awesome reputation and might become handy someday? then buy the M6J and dont worry about the fogged finder wich cannot be cleaned before when you return to europe next time. it will be done. that is what counts. and if you cant wait: having that done in the states wont set you back more than a hundred. that is not all that bad if you compare it to what it might cost to get your new-to-you M6J through the customs. and if the fogging really is fungus, you can still return the camera from Paris or when you come back in a few months. but that sure is no fungus, i'd bet...

 

or is it, that you adore a new Leica? you want it for shooting and for its easyness? well, then get a new one and dont bother for that collectors item "M6J" wich is determined to cause you  trouble with fogged finder, with customs and whatelse you didnt even think of!

 

oh, and by the way: having a leica shipped from italy to france is not like sending a postcard from Chicago to L.A.:this freight goes at least 3 working days and it is not uncommon that it might take a week or two if something goes wrong. after all you cross at least one border between italy and france somewhere in the mediterrainean area. neither french nor italian Postal services are known for their special reliability. i have my own experiences on sending items from germany to france with way more things going wrong than you would imagine. so it is not as sure that you will get your M6J while you're in Paris at all!

I'm sure this shop does not ship by mail but by a courier like UPS. 24-hour delivery.

[Guest]

Just one final question: tell us what you decided

 

Otto - this morning I spoke again with the store in Milan. It seems the VF haze is really minor and certainly not caused by fungus, That made me want to go ahead and buy the camera, but that became impossible when I learned that the store does not take credit cards, only bank transfers: my schedule today was such that I had no time to arrange the transfer, in any case not for today — and, if it was tomorrow, the funds were likely to reach the account of the store late tomorrow: that would delay shipment until Friday. Hence, the store could not assure me that the camera would reach me by next Thursday.

 

Reviewing everything now, it's obvious that the beauty of the camera was what attracted now, and I don't really need another M6 right now. I mentioned in the original post that I might make a full return to film and sell both my M9-P and MM: I'm now more firm on selling these cameras The reason is not only that I want to shoot film with my M6, but also that I generally find that, in post-processing, I find I fight the "exquisiteness" of the M9-P and MM. After seeing the Moriyama Daido color exhibition at the Foundation Cartier in Paris, I'm thinking that, if I shoot digital as well as film, I'll probably get a small camera like the the Ricoh GR or the Fuji X30, or something new that comes out in this Photokino year.

 

I just mention the Moriyama Daido exhibition in passing here because it's not directly relevant to this thread, but I see it as a major and important exhibition — and you may want to see the short videos on it, including an interview with Moriyama with English subtitles, which you can find on the Fondation Cartoer website.

[otto.f]

Thanks for informing us.

You see: it was not meant to be and the credit card issue was the third sign for that

I might be interested in your M9P btw

[Matlock]

I'll probably get a small camera like the the Ricoh GR or the Fuji X30, or something new that comes out in this Photokino year.

 

 

 

I have a Fuji X30. Small but has a certain "Leica" feel to it and a very good EVF.

[Guest]

Just one final question: tell us what you decided

 

Thought I'd come back to this thread, as I just ordered a clean-looking single-stoke M3 from an eBay seller in Japan; it should arrive here in Chiang Mai in a few days. No idea how I came to this decision: somehow a link in something I was reading brought me to the M3 listing.

 

One thing that I recall is that last week I was shooting on the street with my M6 at midday — bright, harsh tropical light with areas of deep and medium shade: so there were at least three different exposure situations. I found I was looking at the M6 light meter LEDs too frequently — I missed some shots —  and thought that I'd do better using a handheld incident light meter. That made something click into place when I saw the M3 listing.

 

If the M3 is as good as it looks, particularly the condition of the viewfinder, and I keep it, I'll have to get a light meter. Normally, I would get a little Sekonic L-208 because I like the analogue aperture and shutter speed scales; but, as these scales are too small to see without reading glasses, I'll probably get a Sekonic L-308s because of the large readout.

 

Now, I haven't sold my M9-P and MM. One the one hand, I hate selling cameras; on the other I've been using the two digital Leica's to digitalize color and B&W negatives using the Leitz BEOON stand with a Focotar 2 lens. The quality is close to that of the scans I made some years ago with the Imacon Precision III scanner (6300 dpi and 4.2 dynamic range). Also, the BEOON is practical for me because it's so small and light that I can take it with me on my annual nomadic movement between Washington DC, Paris and Thailand. Not a solution that I expected...

 

_______________

Alone in Bangkok essay on BURN Magazine

[Sergius]

 

One thing that I recall is that last week I was shooting on the street with my M6 at midday — bright, harsh tropical light with areas of deep and medium shade: so there were at least three different exposure situations. I found I was looking at the M6 light meter LEDs too frequently — I missed some shots —  and thought that I'd do better using a handheld incident light meter. That made something click into place when I saw the M3 listing.

 

You could remove the battery from M6. It was cheaper :-)

 

[Guest]

Of course that would be cheaper but, as I mentioned earlier in this thread, I wanted a second film camera.