Is £2500 to much for a mint as new M6 Classic, Black Chrome

[Guest]

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Got 2 M6TTL (0.85 that I‘ll never part with) and a M6 „Classic“ , that looks for a new home locally, among friends (because I find the time-dial annoying, just like my venerable M3 -which will also go soon because of that- ).

One of the M6TTL is from the last 999 (good thing I haven‘t used it yet, don‘t know if I will, because having reached MP prices it is now too good for little old me), while the other is an early model. In full sunlight the top plate looks a bit different from the other two. I made a tiny scratch on the inside of the bottom plate and yes! „Trompetengold“ became visible. I regard the brass-hype with a pinch of salt, my spotless Nikkormat I got for 50,- € out of nostalgia has a brass top plate, too.

If trying hard to see the difference, one can see that the viewfinder of the M6 and the early M6TTL do have a little glare, when compared with the „last 999“ or a MP of a friend. Didn‘t bother me but I asked in Wetzlar and the exchange would not be costly, also because it is offered by independent workshops, too.

 

The recent steep appreciation of all good film M-camera prices (except MP, which was always expensive) may have imo more to do with:

much less people, who in the past stated: „I‘ve inherited a Leica from my (grand-)father, uncle etc. and want to get rid of it“

versus

quite a bit more people, who discovered digital M-Leicas years ago, enjoy using them and the results

and (as many people are not static, but evolve in different directions) opt now not for the i-phone, but

for the challenge of using film = there are more buyers, who want to photograph on film with a M-Leica, but who don‘t want to go to the store and buy new.

 

Regardless of my views, the obvious is that prices augment.

 

[Guest]

vor 12 Minuten schrieb Keith (M):

As a slight aside but related to film camera rising prices, three years ago I put a tentative step into the Hasselblad world by purchasing (from a reputable dealer that I had previously dealt with) a 1969 500C + Planar C 80mm. It was listed as "serviced, six months guarantee" and I paid £540.  Looking to move to a more modern model, last month I bought from a different dealer a 503CX with Planar 80mm CF T* .  Sight unseen they offered £500 for my 500C in part-ex, then suggested they sell it on commission as they would list it at £790, potentially netting me £632.  Well, nothing ventured nothing gained so I sent it off and next day received a call saying that the 500C was in such good condition they had listed it at £920 - and that it was already sold.  Fourteen days later (after the period of grace for return had expired) £736 was paid into my bank account. A very welcome Christmas present!  

Yep! Most of the hipsters, who as students and interns had a 50 buck film camera as part of their outfit around their neck, now have jobs and discovered „real“ film cameras and the fact, that it was a misconcept to regard old = cheap or go Holga.
The notion of vintage cameras for every connaisseur not only the aficionados and the rich has reached the young professional middle class.

[250swb]

£2500 is far too much for a camera that's going to be used, maybe not if it is for an air conditioned display case and is in every way as it left the factory.

But there are Leica dealers who just throw a price out and hope it sticks, I'm mean it must be worth it, it's a Leica dealer selling it, no? In truth the pricing is intended to make it look normal for M6 Classic cameras to go for £2500, and it pulls up the prices of all other cameras in a similar ballpark, the M7 etc. and at the same time making them look cheap in comparison to the £2500 M6. So the dealer is on a win-win, somebody may bite for the M6, but more people will bite on the 'cheap' stock frightened to be missing the boat on a sound Leica investment. LoL!

[wattsy]

35 minutes ago, tri said:

I made a tiny scratch on the inside of the bottom plate and yes! „Trompetengold“ became visible.

All M baseplates are made from brass.

[Guest]

Gerade eben schrieb wattsy:

All M baseplates are made from brass.

You scratch your last 999 top plate, I won‘t  

[wattsy]

1 minute ago, tri said:

You scratch your last 999 top plate, I won‘t  

I haven't got one but it was a stated fact at the time that the "last 999" bodies had a brass top plate. Those “Die letzten 999" bodies have an inscription on the top with an edition number and came in a wooden presentation box. Whether a so-called "late" M6TTL that isn't one of the official 999 has a brass top or not is just conjecture. Scratching the baseplate will tell you nothing about what the top plate is made from.

[wattsy]

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52 minutes ago, tri said:

there are more buyers, who want to photograph on film with a M-Leica, but who don‘t want to go to the store and buy new.

I think it is more a supply driven price rise. There are very few good condition film bodies available nowadays. The days of people offloading perfectly good film cameras to buy a digital camera have long gone and those who bought good film cameras in recent years prefer to keep them.

What is interesting about the price rise in question is that it seems to be favouring metered bodies like the M6 and M7 more than unmetered bodies like the M4 or even M-A. What doesn't help used prices (from the buying perspective) is that the MP is rarely ever in stock (Leica build them only in small batches) presumably leading buyers for metered M film bodies to look at M6 bodies as the next best thing.

Edited January 3, 2020 by wattsy

[Guest]

2nd hand MP prices haven‘t changed much, though. When new, à la carte is over and 0.58 / 0.85 viewfinders for many years now, as we all know and regret.
 

I can confirm the wooden box. First time I bought a photo article in one, but I wanted another M6TTL 0.85 body back then and it arrived right before my birthday.

[Frase]

I only paid £2000 a year ago for my black paint M4, at the time nice chrome ones were going for £500-700 and black chrome were selling for £1200-1500. Maybe I should start buying up all the Konica Hexars as they will surely start going up in price once all the M6ttls and M7s have got too expensive for most people.

[Guest]

Konica M lenses are interesting (to very interesting: 1.2/60).

[james.liam]

6 minutes ago, tri said:

Konica M lenses are interesting (to very interesting: 1.2/60).

...to very absurdly expensive for unjustifiable reason (praise by one renewer). 

[M9reno]

I think the **black paint** M6TTL Millennium and LHSA cameras (and similar variant special edition: Dragon, Hong Kong Millennium, etc. etc.), all had brass top and bottom plates.  All were millennial cameras aimed at a niche market of wealthy collectors and fashionista users.  No surprise: Hermès had a 36% share of Leica from 2000 to 2006.  With a partner like that, Leicas with plain-jane zinc tops would no longer do.

See:

https://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/Leica/Leica-M6/M6TTL-Dragon2000/index.htm

This was the road to the "mechanically perfect" MP of 2003.  It's immediate precursor was the black paint MP-6,  a trial-run Japanese MP.  Brassy tarts or beauties?  Depends on your taste.

[Guest]

vor einer Stunde schrieb M9reno:

 

https://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/Leica/Leica-M6/M6TTL-Dragon2000/index.htm

What a beauty! Thanks for the link 

Look what Bellamy showed from Tokyo 7 years ago:

https://www.japancamerahunter.com/2012/12/leica-m6-ttl-millennium-nsh-special-edition-review-by-ebb-bayarsaikhan/

Both have M6TTL time wheel.

Who knows where they might be now?

 

Edited January 3, 2020 by tri

[Reini]

The most beautiful M6? ... M6j

https://jerrybei.com/reviews/2019/2/24/leica-m6j

[plasticman]

Indeed the Millennium M6 has a brass top plate.

For some reason (i think I felt I was babying the camera too much, but I don’t exactly recall), I attempted to sell mine a few years ago - in pretty much perfect condition with all the boxes, papers, signed certificates of authenticity, and so on. As Ian might remember, I was dropping the price quite precipitously - but there were no takers.

Now I’m incredibly glad I didn’t sell it. It’s the most beautiful camera I’ve ever seen or used.

edit: incidentally not just Leica film cameras are spiraling in price - pretty much all quality film cameras are increasing crazily fast.

Edited January 4, 2020 by plasticman

[james.liam]

Yet an R8 can still be bought for about US$500. Pretty damn good deal. Just sayin'.

[Guest]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb james.liam:

Yet an R8 can still be bought for about US$500. Pretty damn good deal. Just sayin'.

This is SLR territory. Neither Nikon F1-6 nor Canon F1new & 1V experience the present analog Leica-M windfall. 
Where it‘s coming from, how far and for how long it‘ll go, who knows?

[james.liam]

The FM2/3 have risen in value and as far as I can tell, so have the Olympus OM series. The Nikon F6 is still in production. 

[plaidshirts]

Shop around and buy wisely.

I bought a mint M6 TTL .85 with an MP viewfinder and a recent CLA by DAG for $1300US just last year.

I also got lucky 3 years ago with a mint M3 with an equally new looking rigid 50mm Summicron and an MR4 meter for $1000US.

It pays to buy from Leica-loving individuals, who want their babies to have good homes, rather than profit-driven retailers.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[james.liam]

11 hours ago, plaidshirts said:

Shop around and buy wisely.

I bought a mint M6 TTL .85 with an MP viewfinder and a recent CLA by DAG for $1300US just last year.

I also got lucky 3 years ago with a mint M3 with an equally new looking rigid 50mm Summicron and an MR4 meter for $1000US.

It pays to buy from Leica-loving individuals, who want their babies to have good homes, rather than profit-driven retailers.

Lucky bastard