R4p70r Posted July 3, 2022 Share #1 Posted July 3, 2022 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi guys! A few months ago I booked the "Leica Weekend at Leitz-Park" and last weekend I spent there for 2 days (from Friday to Saturday), dropped off my M6 Classic at the Leica Customer Care to fix the peeling off leatherette and asked the Leica staff member there about the M6 Classic repairability and MP black chrome. I wrote my experience on reddit in a 2-parter post attached with photos: Part 1: 2 days at Leitz-Park (more in the comments section) Part 2: Continuation: 2 days at Leitz-Park + M6 Classic & MP black chrome info from Leica staff (more in the comments) Here the excerpt for the relevant part in the part 2 write-up: Quote M6 Classic & MP black chrome There are so many rumours and misinformation (Leica Rumors, l-camera-forum.com & Leica sub-reddit) around the M6 Classic lately and assumptions regarding MP black chrome so I asked all the questions and the Leica Customer Care Service staff member when I dropped off my M6 Classic for fixing the peeling off leatherette. I wanted to know the answers because I am affected with my M6 Classic and I am also looking for a MP black Chrome for a long time now.Today I received all the information via email (the Leica staff member had to gather them from different departments): - Zinc rust on the top plate and back panel: There are no original parts as replacements. However Leica produced new top plates for the M6 classic made out of brass.The bigger issue is the back panel. The MP back panel is not compatible with the M6 Classic. There were no further information if Leica will produce new ones like they did with the top plate. - M6 Classic internal light meter: The MP light meter can’t be implemented in the M6 Classic. Leica is working on a solution! *hooray!* - Leica MP black chrome: If someone wants a MP black chrome you have to purchase it, send it to Leica Customer Care Service and they will customize the MP however she / he wants it. They couldn’t give me any pricing for the customization. Edited July 3, 2022 by R4p70r 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 3, 2022 Posted July 3, 2022 Hi R4p70r, Take a look here New Info Regarding "No more circuit boards in Wetzlar to repair the M6 Classic". I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
250swb Posted July 3, 2022 Share #2 Posted July 3, 2022 2 hours ago, R4p70r said: Hi guys! A few months ago I booked the "Leica Weekend at Leitz-Park" and last weekend I spent there for 2 days (from Friday to Saturday), dropped off my M6 Classic at the Leica Customer Care to fix the peeling off leatherette and asked the Leica staff member there about the M6 Classic repairability and MP black chrome. I wrote my experience on reddit in a 2-parter post attached with photos: Part 1: 2 days at Leitz-Park (more in the comments section) Part 2: Continuation: 2 days at Leitz-Park + M6 Classic & MP black chrome info from Leica staff (more in the comments) Here the excerpt for the relevant part in the part 2 write-up: TLDR Is it not possible to just precis this so people don't have to wade through your links, and then if they are interested get into the detail? 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
R4p70r Posted July 3, 2022 Author Share #3 Posted July 3, 2022 3 minutes ago, 250swb said: TLDR Is it not possible to just precis this so people don't have to wade through your links, and then if they are interested get into the detail? The details with the relevant information regarding the topic is in the quote box below the two links, as I wrote "Here the excerpt for the relevant part in the part 2 write-up:". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
R4p70r Posted July 3, 2022 Author Share #4 Posted July 3, 2022 1 hour ago, Al Brown said: What is the vast multitude of rumors and misinformation? Please do share them here. It doesn't mean I accuse you of any wrong-doing or that your are wrong in any way with your post "No more circuit boards in Wetzlar to repair the M6 Classic". Sorry, if you interpreted it in that way and think that I am arrogant or patronizing. What I meant with "There are so many rumours and misinformation (Leica Rumors, l-camera-forum.com & Leica sub-reddit) around the M6 Classic lately [...]" was there is a collection of different assumptions made on the forums/websites. One website/forum cite another website/forum, which is cited again etc. The readers take those stated assumptions as facts. See some of those comments in the Leica sub-reddit. This is not an accusation: Even some reddit veterans who are quite knowledgable about Leica stuff in that sub-reddit had only assumptions about the M6 repairability and people take them as real. At least now we got the real facts directly from Leica. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anbaric Posted July 3, 2022 Share #5 Posted July 3, 2022 42 minutes ago, Al Brown said: But what are all the misinformation and assumptions? The main false assumption/claim was that the MP board would work in the M6 Classic. Leica are now confirming what DAG correctly stated earlier this year - the stock of M6 main boards has now run out and the MP board can't be substituted. Interesting that Leica are working on a solution! I wonder if they'll re-engineer the M6 board with modern components, as Alan Starkie was intending to do, or if they'll make a board that really is compatible with both the M6 and the MP? This seems to leave open the question of whether there will also be a solution for the M6-TTL. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anbaric Posted July 3, 2022 Share #6 Posted July 3, 2022 42 minutes ago, Al Brown said: Did this claim come from this forum? That sounds like a rhetorical question. It has certainly been discussed here. One source I've previously referenced was a claim on another forum that Sherry Krauter was fitting MP boards to the M6. I now think this was a misconception, and that she was probably fitting the later version of the M6 Classic board to all versions of the Classic. But I suspect this is not the only source of the rumour. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
intangiblethings Posted July 4, 2022 Share #7 Posted July 4, 2022 Advertisement (gone after registration) Here’s what OP means when he refers to rumors (not necessarily on this exact board but in general). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anbaric Posted July 4, 2022 Share #8 Posted July 4, 2022 Much more interesting than these (now corrected) rumours are the claims here that Leica already have brass top plates for the M6, and are working on a replacement for the unavailable circuit board. Though confirmation of the prices they are likely to charge for providing or replacing these parts may make them rather less interesting... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helge Posted July 4, 2022 Share #9 Posted July 4, 2022 vor 20 Minuten schrieb Anbaric: Much more interesting than these (now corrected) rumours are the claims here that Leica already have brass top plates for the M6, and are working on a replacement for the unavailable circuit board. Though confirmation of the prices they are likely to charge for providing or replacing these parts may make them rather less interesting... Yes, they won’t give the boards away for a bargain; development, production, replacement and programming will cost a lot (considering the very low volume), same for the top plates (except programming 😉) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matlock Posted July 4, 2022 Share #10 Posted July 4, 2022 43 minutes ago, Helge said: Yes, they won’t give the boards away for a bargain; development, production, replacement and programming will cost a lot (considering the very low volume), same for the top plates (except programming 😉) And that is the point. Very Low Volume. It spite of the doom and gloom posts we often find on this forum (and others), the failure rate of M6 electrics is very low. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capuccino-Muffin Posted July 5, 2022 Share #11 Posted July 5, 2022 Even the early MP board and door are incompatible with the rest of MP cameras, as they were in fact M6 parts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anbaric Posted July 5, 2022 Share #12 Posted July 5, 2022 On 7/4/2022 at 1:53 PM, Al Brown said: I rather think the whole fuss is about *someone* *somewhere* spreading Chinese whispers regarding MP parts being interchangeable with M6 Classic. There is of course one piece of misinformation that appears to be unique to this forum, which is more or less the reverse of the usual rumour. How an M6 circuit board could be expected to light up a couple of extra LEDs that it was not designed to drive has never been explained, nor will it be this time: 38 minutes ago, Capuccino-Muffin said: Even the early MP board and door are incompatible with the rest of MP cameras, as they were in fact M6 parts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leica001 Posted July 6, 2022 Share #13 Posted July 6, 2022 New evidence that confirms Black Chrome MP, Silver Chrome MP and Titanium MP. Found this on their site yesterday. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Dulu Posted October 30, 2022 Share #14 Posted October 30, 2022 (edited) On 7/3/2022 at 11:02 AM, R4p70r said: - Zinc rust on the top plate and back panel: There are no original parts as replacements. However Leica produced new top plates for the M6 classic made out of brass.The bigger issue is the back panel. The MP back panel is not compatible with the M6 Classic. There were no further information if Leica will produce new ones like they did with the top plate. - M6 Classic internal light meter: The MP light meter can’t be implemented in the M6 Classic. Leica is working on a solution! *hooray!* Wow, looks like both have come to pass - brass replacement top plate (I assume it'll be the one with the new M6) and light meter replacements for older M6s! Edited October 30, 2022 by Homer Dulu Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huss Posted October 30, 2022 Share #15 Posted October 30, 2022 M6 Classic internal light meter: The MP light meter can’t be implemented in the M6 Classic. Leica is working on a solution! *hooray!* The solution will be available on November 2nd. It is called the new M6. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danner Posted October 30, 2022 Share #16 Posted October 30, 2022 So, can they fix M6 Classics, or not? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
raizans Posted October 30, 2022 Share #17 Posted October 30, 2022 According to Red Dot Repair, the MP meter can't be installed in the M6 classic by independent repair shops because calibration is locked out in software. Supposedly, only Leica can do the installation and calibration. On his IG, John Sypal said that "one of the difficulties in bringing the M6 back was sourcing similar parts for the meter's electronics. Great news for anyone with a currently-meterless M6." What does this mean for Leica users? Questions remain to be answered. Will M6 reissue meters be able to be installed and calibrated by independent repair shops? Will they only be able to installed and calibrated by Leica? Was the MP meter ever actually able to be installed in the M6 classic by Leica? Does Leica's new manufacturing capabilities allow them to end the parts ban and begin supplying independent repair shops? Will Leica change their policy and support the right to repair? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anbaric Posted October 31, 2022 Share #18 Posted October 31, 2022 18 minutes ago, raizans said: According to Red Dot Repair, the MP meter can't be installed in the M6 classic by independent repair shops because calibration is locked out in software. Supposedly, only Leica can do the installation and calibration. On his IG, John Sypal said that "one of the difficulties in bringing the M6 back was sourcing similar parts for the meter's electronics. Great news for anyone with a currently-meterless M6." What does this mean for Leica users? Questions remain to be answered. Will M6 reissue meters be able to be installed and calibrated by independent repair shops? Will they only be able to installed and calibrated by Leica? Was the MP meter ever actually able to be installed in the M6 classic by Leica? Does Leica's new manufacturing capabilities allow them to end the parts ban and begin supplying independent repair shops? Will Leica change their policy and support the right to repair? DAG (before the new M6 was released) just said the MP circuit board isn't compatible with the M6 Classic, and the Classic boards were no longer available. Alan Starkie has mentioned that the more complex M6 TTL meter requires calibration by a Leica computer, whereas the Classic board uses potentiometers that presumably any technician can adjust. Maybe the MP board is in this respect like the TTL? I'm not sure quite what John Sypal means. The new M6 doesn't have the same meter as the original, and in fact has the same extra LEDs as the MP. The only reason to care about the Classic meter would be if they really were making something compatible with the old bodies. Maybe he's got the wrong end of the stick, or maybe this really is a positive sign. The MP meter design is itself pretty old by electronic standards at this point and perhaps components are becoming an issue. It would be nice to think that Leica have taken the opportunity to design a board (or a small family of boards based on similar components) that will keep the M6 Classic, MP and the reissued M6 repairable for years to come, but nothing seems clear at the moment. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huss Posted October 31, 2022 Share #19 Posted October 31, 2022 I think this is more "inaccurate" information pushed out by Leica marketing to get people excited. Same like the "all new" under the skin stuff. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamc Posted October 31, 2022 Share #20 Posted October 31, 2022 10 minutes ago, Huss said: I think this is more "inaccurate" information pushed out by Leica marketing to get people excited. Same like the "all new" under the skin stuff. how is our new m6-DAG-tear-down fund going ? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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