Leica M6 Classic

[charles tay]

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I have placed an order for a second hand Leica M6 and its on its way on courier.

As a first time Leica M6 Film user, what are the things i should pay attention to. I have watched multiple youtube videos and read articles ... i am wondering is there any particular youtuber or website i need to go and read before i start using it?

I do use Q2 and M10 Monochrom but all are digital bodies. This is my 1st film body... quite excited for its arrival. 

[AndreasG]

Just load film and shoot, as you do with your digital Leicas, but be aware it costs more money - film, developing, printing, scanning. Furthermore, there is no post processing, unless you develop and print yourself, and even then it ist limited, therefore, exposure setting should be more accurate right from the beginning. But, and that is most important, you will be rewarded with a lot of joy again and again when you hold your successful photos in your hand!

Edited November 12, 2021 by AndreasG

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[LocalHero1953]

There will be exposure metering differences: a digital sensor is easily blown out by highlights, so it is often safer to underexpose. Negatives suffer more from blocked shadows (irrecoverable detail) so it is safer to overexpose. 

[Anbaric]

Do you have the manual?. I'm assuming you have the M6 Classic:

https://www.butkus.org/chinon/leica/leica_m6/leica_m6.htm

When setting the shutter speed to follow the exposure meter arrows on an M6 Classic, think about the direction the back of the dial is moving in (it may help to imagine the dial as a thumbwheel). The M6 TTL is the other way round.

Use a single lithium or 2 silver oxide batteries. Alkalines are more likely to leak.

When not using the camera, set the shutter speed on the M6 Classic to B, which switches off the meter and prevents battery drain if there's pressure on the shutter release in your bag. The M6 TTL has an 'off' position.

The 50mm framelines are about right close up at 0.7m, but you'll capture a fair bit outside the frame at infinity.

If the rangefinder patch flares out, reposition your eye relative to the camera.

The original Leica nylon strap 14312 is surprisingly good, and the connectors are less likely to damage the finish of your top plate than some third party alternatives with bare rings.

Print film, especially colour print film, tends to be more tolerant of overexposure than underexposure. Slide film is the opposite.

Edited November 12, 2021 by Anbaric

[plaidshirts]

3 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

There will be exposure metering differences: a digital sensor is easily blown out by highlights, so it is often safer to underexpose. Negatives suffer more from blocked shadows (irrecoverable detail) so it is safer to overexpose. 

Good advice. This may be the most important difference between digital sensors and film. To put it another way, with digital, expose for the highlights and with negative film, for the shadows.

Oh and make sure the rewind lever is turning when you advance the film. Otherwise it’ll all be for naught.

[Danner]

Expose for the shadows, develop for the highlights.  Enjoy!

[BradS]

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RTFM - especially the part about how to load film. It is designed to be extremely easy. Do not over think it....and do not give much heed to the many idiots on YuouTube. Get a copy of the actual Leica manual and read it - even now, while the camera is in transit.

Edited November 12, 2021 by BradS

[charles tay]

31 minutes ago, BradS said:

RTFM - especially the part about how to load film. It is designed to be extremely easy. Do not over think it....and do not give much heed to the many idiots on YuouTube. Get a copy of the actual Leica manual and read it - even now, while the camera is in transit.

Thanks Yes i am reading the m6 manual on this site: https://www.cameramanuals.org/leica_pdf/leica_m6.pdf

[charles tay]

4 hours ago, Anbaric said:

Do you have the manual?. I'm assuming you have the M6 Classic:

https://www.butkus.org/chinon/leica/leica_m6/leica_m6.htm

When setting the shutter speed to follow the exposure meter arrows on an M6 Classic, think about the direction the back of the dial is moving in (it may help to imagine the dial as a thumbwheel). The M6 TTL is the other way round.

Use a single lithium or 2 silver oxide batteries. Alkalines are more likely to leak.

When not using the camera, set the shutter speed on the M6 Classic to B, which switches off the meter and prevents battery drain if there's pressure on the shutter release in your bag. The M6 TTL has an 'off' position.

The 50mm framelines are about right close up at 0.7m, but you'll capture a fair bit outside the frame at infinity.

If the rangefinder patch flares out, reposition your eye relative to the camera.

The original Leica nylon strap 14312 is surprisingly good, and the connectors are less likely to damage the finish of your top plate than some third party alternatives with bare rings.

Print film, especially colour print film, tends to be more tolerant of overexposure than underexposure. Slide film is the opposite.

I saw a second hand M7 camera was available and was i wrong to pick M6?

Edited November 12, 2021 by charles tay
edit

[charles tay]

7 hours ago, AndreasG said:

Just load film and shoot, as you do with your digital Leicas, but be aware it costs more money - film, developing, printing, scanning. Furthermore, there is no post processing, unless you develop and print yourself, and even then it ist limited, therefore, exposure setting should be more accurate right from the beginning. But, and that is most important, you will be rewarded with a lot of joy again and again when you hold your successful photos in your hand!

Right now i am shooting with Q2 and M10 Monochrome Digital Bodies... i have ordered Kodak Gold 200 film rolls and cant wait to insert into the camera. Yes i am reading about the shutter control to ensure i have the control exposures. 

[Pyrogallol]

26 minutes ago, charles tay said:

I saw a second hand M7 camera was available and was i wrong to pick M6?

No, the M6 was the last mechanical shutter body before changing to an electronic controlled shutter. The battery in the M6 is only used to power the exposure meter. So it doesn’t really matter if the battery dies.

[Anbaric]

45 minutes ago, charles tay said:

I saw a second hand M7 camera was available and was i wrong to pick M6?

No, it depends what you prefer. The M7 gives you semi-auto (aperture priority) exposure, which for some photographers is a significant plus, but others prefer mechanical cameras. One reason is potential longevity. Hopefully most M7s will continue to work for many years to come, but Leica doesn't have a great record of supporting their electronic products if they go wrong a few years after production has ended. The M7 was only discontinued 3 years ago and parts are still available, but it's almost completely battery dependent. If an M7 dies in a decade or so it may not be possible to repair it if the electronic components can't be sourced. An M6 will still be a useful camera even if the meter doesn't work, and there will probably be people who can repair the mechanism for as long as 35mm film is available.

[charles tay]

3 minutes ago, Anbaric said:

No, it depends what you prefer. The M7 gives you semi-auto (aperture priority) exposure, which for some photographers is a significant plus, but others prefer mechanical cameras. One reason is potential longevity. Hopefully most M7s will continue to work for many years to come, but Leica doesn't have a great record of supporting their electronic products if they go wrong a few years after production has ended. The M7 was only discontinued 3 years ago and parts are still available, but it's almost completely battery dependent. If an M7 dies in a decade or so it may not be possible to repair it if the electronic components can't be sourced. An M6 will still be a useful camera even if the meter doesn't work, and there will probably be people who can repair the mechanism for as long as 35mm film is available.

Thanks and glad i made my choice with M6. 

[charles tay]

6 minutes ago, Anbaric said:

No, it depends what you prefer. The M7 gives you semi-auto (aperture priority) exposure, which for some photographers is a significant plus, but others prefer mechanical cameras. One reason is potential longevity. Hopefully most M7s will continue to work for many years to come, but Leica doesn't have a great record of supporting their electronic products if they go wrong a few years after production has ended. The M7 was only discontinued 3 years ago and parts are still available, but it's almost completely battery dependent. If an M7 dies in a decade or so it may not be possible to repair it if the electronic components can't be sourced. An M6 will still be a useful camera even if the meter doesn't work, and there will probably be people who can repair the mechanism for as long as 35mm film is available.

with Film the ISO is fixed by the film roll i choose like 200 ISO or 100 ISO otr 800. Leaving me to figure out the proper exposure shutter speed and aperture control. 

[Anbaric]

27 minutes ago, charles tay said:

with Film the ISO is fixed by the film roll i choose like 200 ISO or 100 ISO otr 800. Leaving me to figure out the proper exposure shutter speed and aperture control. 

Yes, though there's a margin of error, especially to overexposure with colour print film or Ilford XP2, a special black and white film that uses the same (C41) chemistry as colour film. XP2 is sold as an ISO 400 film, but you can treat it as anything between ISO 50 (3 stops overexposed) to ISO 800 (1 stop underexposed), even changing from frame to frame on the same roll, and still get usable results. Conveniently, it can be processed alongside colour films even by a lab that doesn't otherwise do black and white. Conventional black and white films have rather less latitude when processed normally, but if you meter and expose an entire roll at the 'wrong' speed, you or a good processing lab can adjust for this in development.

Best to start out just by shooting at the speed on the box, maybe with a 400 ISO film (don't forget to set this on the ISO dial on the back). Getting the exposure right is easy on the M6 - you just rotate the aperture and/or shutter speed dials until the metering LED arrows balance. Check that the values are sensible (e.g. that you have a fast enough shutter speed) and you are good to go.

Edited November 12, 2021 by Anbaric

[charles tay]

5 minutes ago, Anbaric said:

Yes, though there's a margin of error, especially to overexposure with colour print film or Ilford XP2, a special black and white film that uses the same (C41) chemistry as colour film. XP2 is sold as a 400 ISO film, but you can treat it as anything between ISO 50 (3 stops overexposed) to ISO 800 (1 stop underexposed) and still get usable results, and it can be processed alongside colour films by a lab. Conventional black and white films have rather less latitude when processed normally, but if you meter and expose an entire roll at the 'wrong' speed, you or a good processing lab can adjust for this in development.

Best to start out just by shooting at the speed on the box, maybe with a 400 ISO film (don't forget to set this on the ISO dial on the back). Getting the exposure right is easy on the M6 - you just rotate the aperture and/or shutter speed dials until the metering LED arrows balance. Check that the values are sensible (e.g. that you have a fast enough shutter speed) and you are good to go.

Thanks i shall go check out Ilford XP2. For color film, there is Kodak Gold 200. What color film do you use?

[Anbaric]

1 minute ago, charles tay said:

Thanks i shall go check out Ilford XP2. For color film, there is Kodak Gold 200. What color film do you use?

I like Fuji Superia 400 for general use. Otherwise Kodak Ektar 100 for fine grain or Portra 400 for skin tones.

[andrew01]

Congratulations, the M6 classic is one of the best Leica film cameras in my opinion.  My tips are as follows:

- I recommend using a 3V 1/3N lithium battery, since alkaline and silver oxide batteries are more prone to leaking/swelling.  The lithium battery will last many years.

- maybe pick up a dirt cheap film to practise loading instead of something expensive.  I have a roll of Fomapan for testing purposes.  The loading is foolproof if you follow the instruction manual exactly and not some of the youtube hacks.

- I like to use a leather half case to keep the camera in top condition and make it a bit more comfortable to hold.  The genuine Leica cases are superb quality and can be found quite cheaply on ebay.

[charles tay]

2 minutes ago, andrew01 said:

Congratulations, the M6 classic is one of the best Leica film cameras in my opinion.  My tips are as follows:

- I recommend using a 3V 1/3N lithium battery, since alkaline and silver oxide batteries are more prone to leaking/swelling.  The lithium battery will last many years.

- maybe pick up a dirt cheap film to practise loading instead of something expensive.  I have a roll of Fomapan for testing purposes.  The loading is foolproof if you follow the instruction manual exactly and not some of the youtube hacks.

- I like to use a leather half case to keep the camera in top condition and make it a bit more comfortable to hold.  The genuine Leica cases are superb quality and can be found quite cheaply on ebay.

Thanks for the tips on a leather half case to keep the camera in top condition. 
Yes i read that to avoid alkaline battery as it may leak. 

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Hallo,

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[Danner]

9 hours ago, charles tay said:

I saw a second hand M7 camera was available and was i wrong to pick M6?

No.  M6 is one of the best models, many say the very best.