The new M6 is the Leica a la carte program reborn

[Matlock]

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2 hours ago, madNbad said:

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

I would never use a sextet as I dislike music when I am taking photos (or did you mean a sextant?)

[madNbad]

1 hour ago, Matlock said:

I would never use a sextet as I dislike music when I am taking photos (or did you mean a sextant?)

I was half awake and autocorrect decided a group of musicians was more appropriate than a navigation device. It would make for a nice outing to have musical encouragement.

[madNbad]

3 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

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

The one meter I always seem to have. I’ll sell one, regret it and buy another. After poor battery life ended my love affair with the Reveni, the Studio Deluxe was back in the bag.

[Matlock]

15 minutes ago, madNbad said:

. It would make for a nice outing to have musical encouragement.

Yes, but six of them? 🙂 

[LocalHero1953]

2 minutes ago, Matlock said:

Yes, but six of them? 🙂 

Why not?

They could stand in a semicircle around my tripod.

[Matlock]

8 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Why not?

They could stand in a semicircle around my tripod.

Yes, but one of them would try and get a selfie.

[Herr Barnack]

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11 hours ago, raizans said:

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

The only reason I can think of is that it was just too time consuming.  Leica can barely stay ahead of customer demand as it is.  Given that fact, I can't really blame them.

I would have loved to have an M10 Monochrome with the hammertone finish, though.  Or a new M6.  Or about any M camera... 😢

Edited December 3, 2022 by Herr Barnack

[lmans]

8 hours ago, Huss said:

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!

No… Not going down a childish route…but I am not understanding you. In yr special camera, then u saying you just shoot by zone/range focus? I can see that and nothing new as that is a real common way to shoot…especially in street photography. So what is your point?

Edited December 3, 2022 by lmans

[lmans]

10 hours ago, Mikep996 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"

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... 😔

 

As you said…. It is a habit and you too can be retrained:) 

[logan2z]

On 12/1/2022 at 10:41 PM, Huss said:

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….

It's the Henry Ford a la carte program.  You can have your camera any way you want it as long as it's black, has an angled rewind knob, a two-piece film advance lever and a red dot.

[mshchem]

Leica has a perfect storm right now. Every film camera is sold before it reaches the Leica store. People come into these stores looking for the analog cameras,may end up buying an autofocus digital camera. Leica is a BRAND now. They are selling watches, everything.  This is good.

[Huss]

1 hour ago, lmans said:

No… Not going down a childish route…but I am not understanding you. In yr special camera, then u saying you just shoot by zone/range focus? I can see that and nothing new as that is a real common way to shoot…especially in street photography. So what is your point?

Some of us embrace pure photography. Some don’t and need crutches like rangefinders to help focus with.

Don’t forget, it was you who started up with this whole nonsense of pure photography.  When actually what you meant is you like your camera.  I like my M-A too.  It is a camera that has conveniences to assist in capturing an image, which is good.

[mshchem]

You have to know what you are doing with the built-in meter. Ask Huss, M7 has auto shutter, but it has provision to lock the shutter speed, then final composition, take the shot.

 

Best thing about metered Leicas, if you leave the lens cap on the leds flash indicating it's too dark 😀

 Mike

[logan2z]

40 minutes ago, mshchem said:

Best thing about metered Leicas, if you leave the lens cap on the leds flash indicating it's too dark 

 Mike

I could have used that a few (dozen) times.  

Edited December 3, 2022 by logan2z

[lmans]

Either way one looks at it… chances are we all adore our Leica, and the entire MA, M6 and MP lineup is a la carte 

[AceVentura1986]

On 12/3/2022 at 3:07 AM, madNbad said:

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. 

I have the same lens. It’s excellent. 

[ktmrider2]

I never got to hung up on batteries until recently.  I bought  a VC2 meter in October to use on my M4 on this trip to Vietnam.  Well, a couple days ago, I lost one of the LR 4 batteries and now the meter is inoperative.  Bought batteries in Hoi An but they may be old as the meter is still inoperative. 

I own a Sekonic L398 which I should have brought.  No batteries and incident metering is my go to.  Live and learn.

[RayD28]

8 hours ago, ktmrider2 said:

I never got to hung up on batteries until recently.  I bought  a VC2 meter in October to use on my M4 on this trip to Vietnam.  Well, a couple days ago, I lost one of the LR 4 batteries and now the meter is inoperative.  Bought batteries in Hoi An but they may be old as the meter is still inoperative. 

I own a Sekonic L398 which I should have brought.  No batteries and incident metering is my go to.  Live and learn.

I downloaded an iPhone app for reflective metering and it works good.

[Huss]

14 hours ago, ktmrider2 said:

I never got to hung up on batteries until recently.  I bought  a VC2 meter in October to use on my M4 on this trip to Vietnam.  Well, a couple days ago, I lost one of the LR 4 batteries….

I own a Sekonic L398 which I should have brought.  No batteries and incident metering is my go to.  Live and learn.

Nah.  You got hit by a fluke series of occurrences.  For all you know you would have dropped the Sekonic into a canal.

(and why didn’t you pack a spare set of those tiny LR44 batteries? Takes up zero space and I’m sure you pack extra film etc)

Edited December 10, 2022 by Huss

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[lmans]

It is always good to have spare batteries. With any lite meter… be it in-camera or a handheld like my Sekonic master ll, how does one know the charge of any given battery?
 

A few months ago I was using my OM-1 and wasn’t quite sure about meter suggestion so I changed the battery. It made a huge difference. So other than knowing to change battery every xx months, what do others do?

for me… I rely on sunny 16 and my MA, but what about others? Or is there no tried/true method other than being aware of sunny 16 and how your meter reading is showing?