Using new Leica lenses with a M6 TTL

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Hello!

I recently bought a Leica M6 TTL. 

I have 3 Leica lenses:

- Elmarit 21mm f2.8 ASPH

- Elmarit 28mm f2.8 ASPH

- Summicron 50mm f2

They are quite new and I don’t know if I can use them with my M6. 
 

The manual says that old Elmarit 28mm can give lightmeter mistakes and the 50mm summicron has to be mounted in the camera with the focus to infinity so my doubts are:

- My 28mm is new so I guess no problem to be used in the M6. 
- My 50mm needs to be mounted with focus to infinity? If yes and I forgot it, can I damage the cam somehow?

- What about my 21mm? Is ok to use it with my M6?

- I also have a new Voigtlander 35mm f2 Ultron lense (M mount, of course). Can I use it too on my M6. 
 

Sorry for that many questions. I am a newbie on film M cameras and I prefer to ask and do things right than break something

Thanks in advance!

[dem331]

You can use any M Lens without a problem on the analog Ms. The collapsible 50mm and 90mm have to be mounted with the focus locked at infinity. These collapsible lenses will damage the sensor if collapsed when mounted on a digital M. Enjoy. 

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Thanks a lot!

[Anbaric]

The issues are only with the old lenses explicitly mentioned in the manual. The Hologon and the Super-Angulons project too far back into the camera, which doesn't damage anything but interferes with metering. The later 21mm Elmarits are fine. The 28mm Elmarit was redesigned after serial number 2314921; more recent lenses are fine, including your ASPH. The 'Summicron with close focusing' is I assume a reference to this specific variant:

https://www.cameraquest.com/m50dr.htm

You don't have to do anything special with a normal 50mm Summicron.

Edited February 1, 2023 by Anbaric

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Thank you!

[spydrxx]

And you can use LTM (Leica Thread Mount or Screwmount) lenses from Leica and lots of other manufacturers with a simple LTM->M adapter ring (made by Leica or cheap Chinese ones). This opens the arena for lots of additional fun. At certain times in Leica's history other manufacturers, especially in Japan, made lenses for Leica bodies which were as good or better than their Leica equivalents of the day. So enjoy your M6 with the endless possibilities.

[UliWer]

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vor 15 Stunden schrieb dem331:

These collapsible lenses will damage the sensor if collapsed when mounted on a digital M

No, they won't. You may measure the distance between the camera's flange and the shutter for an M3, an M6 and a digital M. Then you may find out that the M3 has the shortest distance - and it was the camera which usually came with collapsible lenses, like the 50mm Elmar, the first version of the 50mm Summicron and even the collapsible 90mm Elmar: nobody had problems with these lenses. So when the distance between the flange and the shutter of a digital M is a little bit longer than for the first M, it is physically impossible that any collapsed lens will ever hit the shutter, leave alone the sensor which is far behind the shutter.

The M5 is the only M-body where you cannot collapse any lens and you cannot use some wide angle lenses which have a long protruding rear lens element, like the 21mm Super-Angulon. The lightmetering for the M5 worked with a little lever in front of the shutter, which would crash if you collapsed one on these lenses. 

The "problem" with collapsible lenses - for all other cameras with rangefinder coupling, be it an early screwmount Leica II, an M3, M6 or digital M - is the roller which activates the rangefinder. The rear part of a collapsed lens may hit this roller - but this is true since the times of Oskar Barnack and Max Berek. Both men and some hundreds of thousands users of collapsible lenses  on Leica cameras could live with this "problem". The M6J came with a collapsible 50mm Elmar and nobody saw any problem. 

With digital bodies there may be another problem since the camera's "mouth" is much narrower while the models for film have much more space. So theoretically the rear of an collapsed lens might scratch something on the sides of the camera's mouth. That's also the reason why the old collapsible 90mm Elmar cannot be collapsed in a digital body: not because the lenses rear tube is too long, but because it is too broad. It does not fit into the narrow camera's "mouth". So do not even try to collapse an old 90mm Elmar in a digital body, it will certainly damage the interior of your camera - but not the shutter or sensor. All other collapsible lenses should be attached or released only with the lens extended to avoid this danger. If one follows this guideline, one can collapse a lens also into a digital body without any harm, but there is no real necessity to do so, as nobody would try to carry a heavy digital body with lens in his vest pocket. 

As has been said already in #5 older - non collapsible - lenses like the 21mm Super-Angulon or the first version of the  1:2.8/28mm Elmarit-M below serial number 2314921 can be attached and used but the lightmetering of an M6 (M7, MP) will not work, since the lenses rear element covers the little sensor for lightmetering.  This is explicitly said in all the manuals. The M11 has a different lightmetering than all earlier models which works via the sensor, so lightmetering is not impeded by any lens.

 

Edited February 1, 2023 by UliWer