The new M6 is the Leica a la carte program reborn

[Huss]

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Think about it.  What did Leica’s a la carte program offer?  A current M that you could change some bits on it to make it yours.

Well, the M6 and MP are basically the same camera.  To make an M6 - take an MP, change the top plate, change the film advance lever and rewind knob. Change the ISO dial.  Add a red dot and some engraving. End result?  A la carte MP aka the new M6.

If only they could figure out how to turn the new M6 into an MP….

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[Anbaric]

I do wonder how many people specified a black MP with 'modern' wind/rewind when the à la carte programme was available. It would be a closer cousin to the new M6 than the original is, despite the engravings.

[lmans]

Or...the MA...Let's do the feature on the M6 (light meter) and have the balance of not having that particular feature (light meter) on the MA... The cosmetic part is between the M6 and MP. jim

[Anbaric]

The inside story of the MA is that Leica were running low of meter components and, rather than allowing production to grind to a halt, someone in Marketing had the bright idea of running a campaign to persuade purchasers that Real Photographers didn't need the device that had been giving them perfect exposures for the previous 30 years. Much like those disposable cameras that only have one shutter speed and a fixed aperture, the MA relies on the extensive exposure latitude of negative film to give acceptable results (and with Kodachrome gone, there is of course no longer any point in shooting slide film). The campaign was successful, Leica ran off a batch of MPs with no circuit boards and their battery compartments blanked off, and the rest is history.

🙂

[lmans]

Funny for the true inside story is what I heard.... After the built-in light meter came about in the early 80's  (Leica era of M6), it was naturally accepted as 'improvement' over the M3 / M4 etc and yes, who wouldn't initially look at it as such, as when technology advances it is always for the good, right? Thus the seemingly tech improvements were bestowed upon the M6, the MP, M7 etc...all seemingly better.

But after the introduction of the M7 and MP, a growing number of photographers wanted more purity in their photographic experience which involved less distraction...less reliance upon the light meter and more dependence on their human cognitive skill of 'reading the light'. During the years prior to the MA, this group of photographers who had that particular thought process could and did rely upon used M3 etc stock for years... But Leica got smart. Marketing smart..... ....  Leica wanted to draw that 'pure' crowd back into the fold of new camera sales, thus the MA came about.  

The built-in light meter was similar to other tech advancements, seemingly an improvement, which no doubt it was for a time.... But the world doesn't always treat technology advancements as true advancements over the long haul. Thus the case.... for the MA. The MA takes the best from all previous M versions (cosmetically and guts) and advances the film industry by having an alternative for those that prefer the basics, no whims....no gadgets....no (egads) battery..... no crutch. 

[Huss]

5 hours ago, lmans said:

.. The MA takes the best from all previous M versions (cosmetically and guts) and advances the film industry by having an alternative for those that prefer the basics, no whims....no gadgets....no (egads) battery..... no crutch. 

Still has the crutch of the RF mechanism and VF.

The pure experience is the MdA.

[raizans]

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The end of the a la carte program is a painful memory. Why did they stop it? Why?

[lmans]

3 hours ago, Huss said:

Still has the crutch of the RF mechanism and VF.

The pure experience is the MdA.

I think there is a huge difference between the crutch of a light meter…… as opposed to a focus mechanism… after all,  we are speaking of a camera designed to take photographs of natural occurrences/ events. The MdA is simply impractical. It is using a scientific instrument/tool and applying it to the real world. Do you use a microscope to read a book? Do you eat off a petri dish? Do you heat your house with a bunsen burner? All scientific instruments, just like the MdA.

So we need to apply the same level of sanity here. The MdA was never meant to take casual or professional shots. That wasn’t the purpose. It was a great overly high priced tool , sold to scientists. If you decide to use it now as a casual / professional photographer, then go ahead and eat your dinner with a pair of tweezers and surgical knives too. Get real dude! 
 

The focus mechanism of a camera… be it a rangefinder or the Canon AE-1 / Olympus OM-1… are just part of the makeup of a camera… nothing overly technical. But the true crutch of a light meter is brought forth when : 

I ask everyone of you light meter folks to turn off your light meter on every roll of film you shoot and trust your knowledge and skills as a photographer to take pictures…. And yet…. You don’t! Why? Because you lack the risk taking/ skills needed to do just that.  Keep your MP or M6 but lose that light meter crutch. I dare you….. then tell me there is no difference in skill set needed to shoot film. 

[Mikep996]

 

"I ask everyone of you light meter folks to turn off your light meter on every roll of film you shoot and trust your knowledge and skills as a photographer to take pictures"

I admit I got into the crutch of using a separate or in-camera light meter when I first started out; I can't shake the habit!  I blame the bad influence of reading about/seeing photos of Ansel Adams using one... 😔

 

[jukka]

1 hour ago, lmans said:

I ask everyone of you light meter folks to turn off your light meter on every roll of film you shoot and trust your knowledge and skills as a photographer to take pictures…. And yet…. You don’t! Why? Because you lack the risk taking/ skills needed to do just that. 

Why would anyone take unnecessary “risks” in photography? To live on the edge? What’s the point in that? 

I much rather focus on creativity and the process of filling the frame with something interesting.

2 hours ago, lmans said:

Get real dude! 

Oh, the irony  

[madNbad]

I have a Voigtlander 15mm Heliar LTM. It’s a scale focus lens and not coupled to the rangefinder. I use a shoe mounted finder to compose and never look through the viewfinder on my M4. In the case of ultra wide angle lenses, a camera like the MDa makes perfect sense for backpacking and are using a wide angle to capture vistas. 

[LocalHero1953]

I'm feeling slightly ashamed of myself. I walked home last night from an event in the city with no camera other than my iphone 13. I took photos with exposure times up to a second that were tack sharp and with vibrant accurate colours*. These crutches are very seductive. In the end, do you want the photo or the experience?

 

* If I interpret the EXIF data correctly, the '1 sec' photos were composites of multiple shots, not a single exposure. The longest single exposure looks like 1/5 sec. And of course they were all electronically stabilised.

Edited December 3, 2022 by LocalHero1953

[Huss]

3 hours ago, lmans said:

I think there is a huge difference between the crutch of a light meter…… as opposed to a focus mechanism… after all,  we are speaking of a camera designed to take photographs of natural occurrences/ events. The MdA is simply impractical. It is using a scientific instrument/tool and applying it to the real world. Do you use a microscope to read a book? Do you eat off a petri dish? Do you heat your house with a bunsen burner? All scientific instruments, just like the MdA.

So we need to apply the same level of sanity here. The MdA was never meant to take casual or professional shots. That wasn’t the purpose. It was a great overly high priced tool , sold to scientists. If you decide to use it now as a casual / professional photographer, then go ahead and eat your dinner with a pair of tweezers and surgical knives too. Get real dude! 
 

The focus mechanism of a camera… be it a rangefinder or the Canon AE-1 / Olympus OM-1… are just part of the makeup of a camera… nothing overly technical. But the true crutch of a light meter is brought forth when : 

I ask everyone of you light meter folks to turn off your light meter on every roll of film you shoot and trust your knowledge and skills as a photographer to take pictures…. And yet…. You don’t! Why? Because you lack the risk taking/ skills needed to do just that.  Keep your MP or M6 but lose that light meter crutch. I dare you….. then tell me there is no difference in skill set needed to shoot film. 

It seems that I have touched a nerve.  It’s ok if you need the crutch of an rf.  
My Brooks Plaubel Veriwide 100 does not have an rf.  It makes gorgeous 6x10 pics on 120 film.

My Noblex 135 does not have an rf.  It makes beautiful pano images on 35mm film.

My Nikonos V does not have an rf.  It makes beautiful pics w its 35mm lens.

My Ricoh FF1 does not have an rf. It makes beautiful pics w its 35mm lens.

All the pics below were taken with these cameras.

Some of us like pure photography.  Others need crutches and use things like an M-A.  But that’s ok if that is what you need.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[Huss]

Forgot to mention.  The Leica MdA, Noblex and Brooks also do not have lightmeters.

Pure photography.

Edited December 3, 2022 by Huss

[LocalHero1953]

My Leica Standard has no RF, nor does my avatar (a Gandolfi) or Chroma Carbon Adventurer 4x5.

Edited December 3, 2022 by LocalHero1953

[Huss]

2 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

My Leica Standard has no RF, not does my avatar (a Gandolfi) or Chroma Carbon Adventurer 4x5.

Pure photography!  Love it.

[LocalHero1953]

1 minute ago, Huss said:

Pure photography!  Love it.

But I'm risk averse when one shot takes half an hour to set up (and costs an arm and a leg), so I use an exposure meter.

[madNbad]

31 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

But I'm risk averse when one shot takes half an hour to set up (and costs an arm and a leg), so I use an exposure meter.

A meter! With a battery? I always thought the large format  crowd use a sextet and rune stones to calculate exposure. 

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[LocalHero1953]

23 minutes ago, madNbad said:

A meter! With a battery? I always thought the large format  crowd use a sextet and rune stones to calculate exposure. 

Wash your mouth out!🙂 I use a Sekonic L-398 - no battery in sight.

[Mikep996]

I just watched Sekonic's video on that meter...I'd have to have my IQ raised quite a few points to figure it out...even WITH the video.  😱

 

I use an iPhone app - I think it's just called "Lightmeter" and I select the "classic" view.  The "Pro" view is too complicated. 🙄