M6 light meter correct exposure range

[Anbaric]

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19 hours ago, jaapv said:

I would return the camera, as the electronics are irrepairable due to parts being unavailable.

I haven't heard that about the M6 Classic. I have heard it about certain failures of the M6-TTL, which has more complex electronics.

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[a.noctilux]

Just a thought, maybe wrong 😉.

This is M6 made 1986 and after the "Leitz" red logo had never been CLAed correctly.

In that case, otherwise the Leitz would be replaced by Leica red logo.

 

[caffeineorme]

@a.noctiluxThat’s very well possible. but then again there are so many out there with a leitz logo still. Which would mean all of them haven’t be CLAed. Who knows

Edited April 27, 2022 by caffeineorme

[jaapv]

23 minutes ago, Anbaric said:

I haven't heard that about the M6 Classic. I have heard it about certain failures of the M6-TTL, which has more complex electronics.

It goes for all M6 variants. The electronic print "board ( it is more like a flex)  is unavailable.

[a.noctilux]

42 minutes ago, caffeineorme said:

@a.noctiluxThat’s very well possible. but then again there are so many out there with a leitz logo still. Which would mean all of them haven’t be CLAed. Who knows

You are right.

I just checked my M6 (serial 170xxxx) bought new still with Leitz logo.

This M6 had been repaired many decades ago.

Maybe the Leitz logo needed not to be replaced if the RF vertical adjustment behind the logo not required to be done.

 

Anyway, for some years now I use external meter, so no batteries in M6.

Poor man M-A for so long !

Edited April 27, 2022 by a.noctilux

[Anbaric]

1 hour ago, jaapv said:

It goes for all M6 variants. The electronic print "board ( it is more like a flex)  is unavailable.

This post mentions an M6 Classic meter circuit board being replaced by DAG as recently as Oct 2019:

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/270500-help-no-one-can-fix-my-leica-m6-ttl-light-meter-not-even-leica/page/3/#comment-3920847

And in this thread and elsewhere I've seen the claim that the M6 Classic board can be replaced by the MP board, which is still (presumably) in production:

https://www.photo.net/discuss/threads/m6-built-in-light-meter-dead.290963/

Neither DAG nor Leica could replace the M6-TTL board in 2017:

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/270500-help-no-one-can-fix-my-leica-m6-ttl-light-meter-not-even-leica/#comments

Edit: I just came across this post, where a repairer I hadn't heard of before managed to fix an M6-TTL meter more recently:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4A19BVHAMl/?igshid=xnd4coijav20

The feasibility of repair may, of course, depend on exactly what the fault is. If some chip has died that can no longer be replaced, that's a very different situation to fixing some loose wiring or a bad contact.

Edited April 27, 2022 by Anbaric

[Matlock]

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31 minutes ago, Anbaric said:

The feasibility of repair may, of course, depend on exactly what the fault is. If some chip has died that can no longer be replaced, that's a very different situation to fixing some loose wiring or a bad contact.

Exactly. 

[jaapv]

1 hour ago, Anbaric said:

This post mentions an M6 Classic meter circuit board being replaced by DAG as recently as Oct 2019:

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/270500-help-no-one-can-fix-my-leica-m6-ttl-light-meter-not-even-leica/page/3/#comment-3920847

And in this thread and elsewhere I've seen the claim that the M6 Classic board can be replaced by the MP board, which is still (presumably) in production:

https://www.photo.net/discuss/threads/m6-built-in-light-meter-dead.290963/

Neither DAG nor Leica could replace the M6-TTL board in 2017:

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/270500-help-no-one-can-fix-my-leica-m6-ttl-light-meter-not-even-leica/#comments

Edit: I just came across this post, where a repairer I hadn't heard of before managed to fix an M6-TTL meter more recently:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4A19BVHAMl/?igshid=xnd4coijav20

The feasibility of repair may, of course, depend on exactly what the fault is. If some chip has died that can no longer be replaced, that's a very different situation to fixing some loose wiring or a bad contact.

There might be spare parts from broken cameras around. Quite a few were trashed because of zinc rot. The MP trick might work, but I am doubtful whether Leica supports it. 

[Matlock]

56 minutes ago, jaapv said:

There might be spare parts from broken cameras around. Quite a few were trashed because of zinc rot. The MP trick might work, but I am doubtful whether Leica supports it. 

That is interesting as, although I have read about the zinc rot (mostly on this forum), I have never come across an example. Also it is only cosmetic in any case.

[a.noctilux]

3 minutes ago, Matlock said:

That is interesting as, although I have read about the zinc rot (mostly on this forum), I have never come across an example. Also it is only cosmetic in any case.

See some here :

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/leica-m6-finish-bubbles-corrosion.116250/

[Matlock]

7 minutes ago, a.noctilux said:

See some here :

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/leica-m6-finish-bubbles-corrosion.116250/

Yes I have seen those before (and others) but, as I said, I have never experienced it myself. I have one M6 at the moment and have owned another which I traded in but neither had that problem. I have a couple of friends with M6s and neither of them have experienced it. As I understand it, the problem was confined to a relatively small number of early M6s and was cured by Leica fairly quickly. Incidentally, that post is from 2014 so not really relevant today.

 

[a.noctilux]

Peter,

I never saw that "rot" myself after seeing so many M6 over years.

Having used about a dozen of M6, I think that the ratio of these "faulty M6 " comparing to all 132k units made is rather thin.

[Anbaric]

Of around 20 M6s on sale in the UK right now, a quick glance at the photos suggests at least 4 have some obvious evidence of zinc 'bubbles', though they are only extensive in one case. All are Classics, two are early (Wetzlar), three are black and one is silver chrome.

Digging a bit further on M6 circuit boards I just found this from DAG. Looks like the situation has changed recently :

https://www.dagcamera.com/store/p166/Leica_M6-_Classic-_No_More_Main_Circuit_Boards.html

"As of March, 2022 Leica no longer has main circuit boards for the M6 Classic, about 2 years ago they ran out of M6-TTL main boards. Not good."

That still leaves open the question of how interchangeable the M6 Classic and MP electronics are ('main circuit board' and other components), but 'not good' doesn't sound, well, good.

[caffeineorme]

So. Finally got feedback from the camera service guy.. it's the photo diode for metering that's just not doing its job anymore and he tells me to send it to Leica cause that's not something he could repair. Wonder if it's worth it though cause in general I'd be fine without the working light meter (gotta talk to the seller though). Any other options / suggestions to consider to get this fixed (in Europe ideally)?

[caffeineorme]

Well. Talked to the seller. He's refunding me the money and even the extra shipping costs. Happens rarely that someone's so helpful in ebay transactions especially when it's not a commercial seller. So.. looking for another camera then. Considering the TTL maybe or M7. Probably not the MP just too expensive and actually I feel in love with how the M6 feels.

[caffeineorme]

So..  plot twist.. a little at least. We agreed on a partial refund. Cause i really fell in love with the camera. Reason for this might be the (low res) scans I received today from my first roll of film after about 20 years. Guess I can live without a light meter and negative film still is very forgiving. Shot on Kodak Ultramax 400.

Oh and addition to my previous post.. it's photo resistor not diode. Ha.

 

 

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[grahamc]

Really Nice photos

[davidmknoble]

It’s the passion for photography that always wins in the end.  I hate / love to have my cameras serviced.  Hate it when they leave, love it when they return.  Kind of like having kids in college?

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[caffeineorme]

@grahamcthank you very much. first roll. kinda random shots in the neighbourhood. but very happy so far. now on a roll of ilford hp5. and taking more time for that one. 

@davidmknobleoh i can see that. even though i only received the camera on monday this week and took it to service the day after, after seeing the first scan of the film i shot with that one i had to keep it. it’s weird.. drawing more parallels to life.. guess we got the be more acceptant sometimes. love it for what it is. and the what one would consider a flaw at first (or not perfect according to our idea up to that point of what perfect means) as an opportunity to grow and look at things and situations from a different perspective. 

[Anbaric]

I checked with DAG about the M6 main circuit board - apparently the MP board can't be substituted, so the M6 Classic (as others have suggested in this thread) is from 2022 no longer a fully repairable camera, at least by standard methods. This doesn't of course mean that no electronic repairs are possible - I'd encourage the original poster to enquire with some specialist Leica technicians to see if this is still a fixable issue.