New Leica M6 Film Camera

[andrew01]

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20 hours ago, charlesphoto99 said:

Would be nice to see a new M6 with a rechargeable battery, perhaps non-removable via USB-C. There's lots of little things Leica could do to 'modernize' it. But perhaps it's all vaporware? We'll see next week...

I don’t think that is necessary given that the meter only uses a tiny amount of power.  I am fine with using the standard 3V lithium cell that lasts 3-5 years.  

The reason why the M6 is a classic is because Leica has not felt the need to constantly mess with a design that is pretty much perfect already. I don’t think they will start now.

[ianman]

20 hours ago, derleicaman said:

Leica is not allowed to use the black dot logo. Leica Microsystems owns that. I specced the black dot for the LHSA Black Paint. Leica used it on the M8.2 and Microsystems made them stop. That’s why you can’t get them from Leica Parts dept.

Well yes, that’s what I wrote! 🤪

And why I was quite surprised to get my M9 back with a black dot when it came back from the sensor replacement in 2016. They included some replacement black dots too so I’ve got a few in stock

[Graham (G4FUJ)]

58 minutes ago, ianman said:

And why I was quite surprised to get my M9 back with a black dot when it came back from the sensor replacement in 2016. They included some replacement black dots too so I’ve got a few in stock

Beginning to sound like the start of Treasure Island!  

[Huss]

7 hours ago, Matlock said:

Power rewind (auto or manual with option to leave the leader out). Lovely camera but probably a good idea to use ear plugs as it is rather noisy.

Speak up sonny!
 

Yes this camera is not whisper quiet.. it does not sound like a gentle hush murmuring over the night tide….(hold on, I need to write that down to use later..). It goes VWIFFT, click, BKSHZIT whirrr. Just like all my other p&s cameras.  The difference being the ‘click’ is louder as it uses a focal plane shutter to achieve that incredible speed range vs leaf shutters in lesser p&s cameras..

All joking aside, is there actually a quiet p&s camera?  They all are loud, just on different levels.  If you want sneaky, then a film rf or a compact camera w no af or auto wind.  Like my lovely Konica C35 EF3s.  I would have said Olympus XA but the problem is its thumb wheel advance is noisy compared to the near silent lever wind on the Konica.  Or, for that matter, the Ricoh FF1 which is a tiny compact 35mm camera in the Minox 35 mold, except it is reliable!  That Ricoh also has a very good lens.

Anyway, back on topic!  Leica! Woo hoo 4 more days before we are all shocked and stunned by the revelation!

[a.noctilux]

1 hour ago, Huss said:

is there actually a quiet p&s camera?

my wife's Leica Mini was so quiet that I purchased another Mini to continue with Minilux as quiet with better Summarit 2.4/40mm lens.

Leica Ms are loud comparing to those.

[willeica]

On 10/15/2022 at 5:37 PM, derleicaman said:

And who might these older white men be? Stefan Daniel? The M and Photo department managers? They are in their 30’s, 40’s and at most early 50’s. They don’t own Porsches and worry about their wine cellars. They are a young group. Kaufmann is 69 and into Alfa Romeo. Harsch is in his late 50’s.

The marketing people are even younger. 

Yes, let’s call them out!

 

I agree 100%, Bill. Bill and I were with both Stefan Daniel and Peter Karbe all day yesterday here in Dublin. They were speaking at the Leica Society International Annual Conference, which I was chairing here. All I can say is that they are both superb at their jobs and very down to earth. That 'older white men' comment is an overused and worn out slight by now. Making baseless assumptions about others is always dangerous.

As for the new camera and other items, all I can say for now is that they are very nice. I will comment further when they are announced.

William 

 

[Huss]

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3 hours ago, willeica said:

I agree 100%, Bill. Bill and I were with both Stefan Daniel and Peter Karbe all day yesterday here in Dublin. They were speaking at the Leica Society International Annual Conference, which I was chairing here. All I can say is that they are both superb at their jobs and very down to earth. That 'older white men' comment is an overused and worn out slight by now. Making baseless assumptions about others is always dangerous.

As for the new camera and other items, all I can say for now is that they are very nice. I will comment further when they are announced.

William 

 

Can you ask them why no women are represented with the limited edition cameras?

[Huss]

3 hours ago, a.noctilux said:

my wife's Leica Mini was so quiet that I purchased another Mini to continue with Minilux as quiet with better Summarit 2.4/40mm lens.

Leica Ms are loud comparing to those.

I had no idea!  And this is another reason why I wish Leica reintroduced the CM

[willeica]

42 minutes ago, Huss said:

Can you ask them why no women are represented with the limited edition cameras?

I'll pass this on to some of our people who will be in Wetzlar next week for the Oskar Barnack Award for 2022 next week. We had Ana Maria Gosen, the 2021 Oskar Barnack  speaking at our conference yesterday https://anamariaarevalogosen.com . Ana won our grant in 2020

Also yesterday in Dublin we presented our grant for 2022 to Monika Bulaj https://www.monikabulaj.com . See her stunning photos on that link. As well as a cash grant of $5,000, Monika received a Leica M10-R and a special edition 'scalloped' 50mm Summicron lens, courtesy of Leica USA. We have presented 6 grants to date and 4 of them have gone to women photographers. 

I presume that you are also aware of this project https://www.leicawomenfotoproject.com/submit . I would like to see this competition extended to more countries.

William 

[Huss]

23 minutes ago, willeica said:

I'll pass this on to some of our people who will be in Wetzlar next week for the Oskar Barnack Award for 2022 next week. We had Ana Maria Gosen, the 2021 Oskar Barnack  speaking at our conference yesterday https://anamariaarevalogosen.com . Ana won our grant in 2020

Also yesterday in Dublin we presented our grant for 2022 to Monika Bulaj https://www.monikabulaj.com . See her stunning photos on that link. As well as a cash grant of $5,000, Monika received a Leica M10-R and a special edition 'scalloped' 50mm Summicron lens, courtesy of Leica USA. We have presented 6 grants to date and 4 of them have gone to women photographers. 

I presume that you are also aware of this project https://www.leicawomenfotoproject.com/submit . I would like to see this competition extended to more countries.

William 

I understand that, but it does not explain why no women have ever been associated with a limited edition Leica camera.

[Daniel Behrens]

7 hours ago, Huss said:

I understand that, but it does not explain why no women have ever been associated with a limited edition Leica camera.

I can explain it pretty easily, there are no massive female celebrities who provide Leica with free advertising to the same degree that Daniel Craig, Lenny Kravitz, or Seal have.   

[willeica]

8 hours ago, Huss said:

I understand that, but it does not explain why no women have ever been associated with a limited edition Leica camera.

Correct. I will ask about this, as I indicated already. I was just broadening the picture. The Leica organisation, particularly Mrs Kaufmann, does a lot to support women photographers. She was delighted when I told her that, in addition to the Oskar Barnack Award winner, I was presenting Sarah Lee, Leica Ambassador, https://sarahmlee.com in Dublin. Sarah's presentation in Dublin won her many plaudits and invites to present elsewhere, including the US.  I would much rather see Leica doing this to support women photographers who are developing their careers than produce another special edition. I am also assuming that you are thinking of women in general rather just women photographers - see my other comments below - which could apply equally to men and women. For what it is worth, when I first met Sarah Lee earlier this year, she insisted on being called a photographer and not a woman photographer.

1 hour ago, Daniel Behrens said:

I can explain it pretty easily, there are no massive female celebrities who provide Leica with free advertising to the same degree that Daniel Craig, Lenny Kravitz, or Seal have.   

I would not be attracted to any such editions as I am not in the 'target market' for such items, given my age and other collecting interests. Daniel Craig is a very fine actor, but it is his screen persona as James Bond that has caused him to have his name on a Leica. I cannot really relate to such items, but I do understand that there is a market for them and that is why Leica produces such items.

William 

[Mikep996]

Hmmm...so my M6 is is going to be the "hot new Leica?"  Cool!  I'll have to take it out this week and see if it still works!  Oh, right, I'd have to buy some film.  Looking on line - silly prices for that nowadays.  Uh, and then I'll need developer/fixer/stop bath.  Then there's the  darkroom/equipment or at least a changing bag and a good scanner.

Yeah...sounds like a great plan!  

Edited October 17, 2022 by Mikep996

[logan2z]

55 minutes ago, Mikep996 said:

Hmmm...so my M6 is is going to be the "hot new Leica?"  Cool!  I'll have to take it out this week and see if it still works!  Oh, right, I'd have to buy some film.  Looking on line - silly prices for that nowadays.  Uh, and then I'll need developer/fixer/stop bath.  Then there's the  darkroom/equipment or at least a changing bag and a good scanner.

Yeah...sounds like a great plan!  

Yes, much more cost effective to buy a $9K digital camera that'll be a door stop in five years - and keep me chained to my computer for even more hours per day.  Sounds like a great plan 😉

Instead, I could buy 1100 rolls of Ilford FP4+ ($7.95/roll) and, at my current rate, shoot pictures for the next 30 years 😄

[Mikep996]

Well..maybe I needed to work on my efficiency!  It took me way more hours/day to develop/process/produce a print from film than it does to do the same with digital.  I spent many years building/using darkrooms and to get one good print probably took me 10x the time it takes to do the same thing with digital.  I am NOT criticizing the enjoyment in the actual manipulation of film and the semi-magic of watching a print show up on a "blank" piece of paper.  And I am not criticizing the results, just saying the time it takes ME to achieve it is not practical nowadays.  

Re obsolete... TBF, the same thing happened with film cameras.  Photogs I knew were constantly buying the latest hi-tech film cameras, selling their "obsolete" ones to people like me... 

I went through MANY different film cameras over the years - far more of them per decade than I have with digital...

 

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by Mikep996

[charlesphoto99]

19 hours ago, willeica said:

I agree 100%, Bill. Bill and I were with both Stefan Daniel and Peter Karbe all day yesterday here in Dublin. They were speaking at the Leica Society International Annual Conference, which I was chairing here. All I can say is that they are both superb at their jobs and very down to earth. That 'older white men' comment is an overused and worn out slight by now. Making baseless assumptions about others is always dangerous.

As for the new camera and other items, all I can say for now is that they are very nice. I will comment further when they are announced.

William 

 

Ok, ok, you got me! Let's just say white men who drive Alfa Romeo's, not Porsche's. And I'm sure they're all super nice (why wouldn't they be?), but their choice of promo of their product still reflects their class and gender, imo. And I didn't say they were intentional in their oversight, it's just the world they live/operate in. 

FTR I'm 58 years old, and I consider myself an old(er) white man (well, at least my 10 and 13 year olds do). I drive a 2011 Honda CRV.

Edited October 17, 2022 by charlesphoto99

[charlesphoto99]

2 hours ago, logan2z said:

Yes, much more cost effective to buy a $9K digital camera that'll be a door stop in five years - and keep me chained to my computer for even more hours per day.  Sounds like a great plan 😉

Instead, I could buy 1100 rolls of Ilford FP4+ ($7.95/roll) and, at my current rate, shoot pictures for the next 30 years 😄

This is IF you do your own processing. Otherwise, at approx $25-30/roll for film AND processing and scanning (or proof sheet), one is looking at closer to 300 rolls of film, maybe 400 if you stretch it. I realized that after shooting 3500 pics on vacation the first summer I had with the M8, I would have had a lab bill for almost half the cost of the camera if I'd shot film. It all depends on how much one shoots I suppose. 

[verwackelt]

Expensive film also teaches self-criticism and modesty. I just press the shutter button when i think the picture will be good.
However, I often don't even scan half of a film because the negatives look lousy.
With a digital camera and continuous fire, I often only import 10-12% of the total yield into C1 and then throw away more than half

[maxfairclough]

Without assumptions or making judgement about anyone or anything, we can all agree that it is surprising, and disappointing, that there has not been a limited edition camera associated with a woman. That is not to say one should be released to fulfil a quota, but to think that there is not a female who is influential enough to have a limited release, is bonkers to me. We have the designer of rag & bone who has a limited edition camera for gods sake haha. Plenty talent out there. 

My two cents. It will happen.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Anbaric]

2 hours ago, logan2z said:

Yes, much more cost effective to buy a $9K digital camera that'll be a door stop in five years - and keep me chained to my computer for even more hours per day.  Sounds like a great plan 😉

Instead, I could buy 1100 rolls of Ilford FP4+ ($7.95/roll) and, at my current rate, shoot pictures for the next 30 years 😄

Spare a thought for us colour snappers. For colour negative film + commercial processing and scanning at a decent resolution, I don't think I could do it for much less than £25 a roll these days, so for the price of about 150 rolls I could buy a used M10 instead (or an M240 for about the price of 90 rolls). And with availability as bad as it has been recently, I might have to pay significantly more to a scalper, or just wait until the film comes back into stock (whenever that is) at a mainstream supplier. I think we've basically returned to the 1950s, when B&W was the cheap and readily available option that most people shot. I had a look in a large branch of Boots the other day (a UK pharmacy chain with a long association with photography). They had plenty of XP2 and the odd roll of FP4 in 35mm, and some HP5 in 120. There was no colour film in either format. Even the specialist suppliers are struggling to keep colour film in stock, and it's expensive when they have it. There's hardly any Fuji around, and something like Kodak Portra 400 goes for £17.50 and up at shops that actually have stock.