Lightmeter for M6 TTL

[Telemetric]

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Good night,

I bought a Leica M6 TTL AND i sent it to Paepke in Germany for a CLA. . 
Yesterday I received this email and... bad news:

Enclosed you will find a repair quotation for the faults you have indicated in your Leica M6 TTL. 

As a further complaint, we have found that the exposure meter does not work reliably. The circuit board shows moisture damage. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to repair the light meter. The damaged component is no longer available.

 

German text

In der Anlage erhalten Sie ein Reparaturangebot über die von Ihnen angegeben Fehler Ihrer Leica M6 TTL 

Als weitere Bemängelung haben wir festgestellt, dass der Belichtungsmessung nicht zuverlässig arbeitet. Die Leiterplatte zeigt einen Feuchtigkeitsschaden. Eine Reparatur der Belichtungsmessern ist leider nicht mehr möglich. Das beschädigte Bauteil ist nicht mehr lieferbar.   

 

 

But surfing the net I found this:

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So I think if I send it to Leica they will repair it. 
 

Today I have written to Leica Germany. I will let you know if they can repair it. 
 

 

[Telemetric]

I have news. 
They answered me that they will repair the M6 TTL lightmeter (well, they will install the lightmeter of the “new” M6) starting this next july and the cost will be about… 1.600€ 

So, we will be able to repair it but at a very expensive cost. 

Edited February 24, 2023 by Telemetric

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[Anbaric]

4 hours ago, Telemetric said:

I have news. 
They answered me that they will repair the M6 TTL lightmeter (well, they will install the lightmeter of the “new” M6) starting this next july and the cost will be about… 1.600€ 

So, we will be able to repair it but at a very expensive cost. 

Bad news about the price, but very interesting that it may be possible to install the new meter in old cameras, something there has been a lot of speculation about but no definite answers. I wonder if you could post the text of their reply, or is it the conversation with the social media rep you posted above?

I imagine you won't get TTL flash metering back (which the new M6 does not have), unless perhaps that function is on a separate board that can be preserved and used in combination with the new meter.

Edited February 24, 2023 by Anbaric

[Danner]

4 hours ago, Telemetric said:

I have news. 
They answered me that they will repair the M6 TTL lightmeter (well, they will install the lightmeter of the “new” M6) starting this next july and the cost will be about… 1.600€ 

So, we will be able to repair it but at a very expensive cost. 

Wondering if TTL flash metering will be functional after the swap?  I think, probably not.  Or, does the new M6 support TTL flash metering?  In any event, this is very good news for M6 TTL owners.  

[Telemetric]

Well, at the end I spoken with them by phone and the man who answered told me that. So I don’t have a written answer but maybe I will have it because I sent a mail also. 
 

I asked Leica because I found this conversation in Reddit. 
 

I don’t care if I don’t have TTL flash. I am not gonna use it. In fact, if I have to use it I use a manual one

[Anbaric]

18 minutes ago, Telemetric said:

Well, at the end I spoken with them by phone and the man who answered told me that. So I don’t have a written answer but maybe I will have it because I sent a mail also.

It's promising that they mentioned a specific timeline, which suggests that this is a definite plan. We've heard contradictory things from various people at Leica before, with someone saying it would work, another that they were looking into it but there were no guarantees it would ever happen, and someone else stating that there were no compatible parts. Most of the discussion has been about the Classic rather than the TTL - I would hope that both would be supported if either is, at least for ambient metering (neither the Classic nor the re-release have flash metering). But perhaps a camera like the TTL that already has 3 exposure LEDs would actually be easier to adapt to the new meter? The shutter speed dial on the TTL rotates in a different direction to the other M6 variants, but that might not be a significant issue.

Edited February 24, 2023 by Anbaric

[Telemetric]

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I rung them up just today at 9 am (Germany time). 
At first, he said me that the electronics of my old M6 can’t be repaired but then I asked “is there the possibility to install the “new” M6 lightmeter electronics in my “old” M6?

And he exactly said: “We will do it but not soon and will be expensive. We are planning to give that option in july for 1.600€”. 

Exactly like that. 
 

He told me also to ring again on july to know of there is already availability. 

[250swb]

This is very good news, it would be good if Leica can officially announce this so more people can hear about it. 

It's even more of a shame then that Leica dropped the A la Carte programme, imagine how cheap a new M6 would be if you ordered it without its €1600 light meter and called it an M4-P. 😄

Edited February 24, 2023 by 250swb

[madNbad]

9 hours ago, Telemetric said:

I have news. 
They answered me that they will repair the M6 TTL lightmeter (well, they will install the lightmeter of the “new” M6) starting this next july and the cost will be about… 1.600€ 

So, we will be able to repair it but at a very expensive cost. 

If you were to do the upgrade to the MP finder and windows at the same time, it would be expensive but less than the cost of a new MP or M6. Also, the camera will have a meter that last for years. 

[Mikep996]

1.600€   ?  Holy Moly!!!

There is no way I would pay that to repair a light meter in an M6.  If the light meter quits on my original M6 and I still wanted to shoot with it, it I'd use the Lightmeter Pro app on my phone, which I use when shooting my Bronica SQAi.

[Anbaric]

3 hours ago, 250swb said:

This is very good news, it would be good if Leica can officially announce this so more people can hear about it. 

It's even more of a shame then that Leica dropped the A la Carte programme, imagine how cheap a new M6 would be if you ordered it without its €1600 light meter and called it an M4-P. 😄

That must be why the M-A is €1600 cheaper than the MP! 🙂

[Huss]

I'll believe this when I see it that they can repair the meter in the TTL.  There has been so much conflicting information disseminated.

If they could, that would suggest that those same parts may now be made available to other repair shops.

If it is true, and I had an M6TTL w a broken meter, sure 1600 EUR is nuts.  But how much is an M6 worth w/ a broken meter?  Right now in the US M6s are being sold for $2500.

With a broken meter, I would say it is worth maybe $1800.  If you look at it from a financial perspective, selling the broken M6 and buying a working one will cost you $700.  Getting your M6 repaired would be more than double that.  The other advantage is that you will have a working M6 now, instead of waiting till July and then finding out if they will do it, and then who knows, another 6 months before they fix yours?

[Anbaric]

32 minutes ago, Huss said:

If they could, that would suggest that those same parts may now be made available to other repair shops

Hopefully, though I think that the more recent meters have to be calibrated by connecting the board to a computer running Leica's proprietary software, which might limit what can be done outside the factory. It's one of the things that Alan Starkie suggested he would change if he reverse-engineered a replacement metering board for the M6-TTL. The M6 Classic board just has potentiometers you can adjust with a screwdriver.

[250swb]

You’d hope that Leica would stick by M6 owners where the light meter has failed and make some accommodation in pricing since they dodged the warranty because it timed out and in not keeping a sufficient stock of spare parts. But 1600 Euro is a price to put you off because they can’t really be bothered.

[Jeremy Bunting]

Did you know the meter was broken when you purchased the camera? Sounds like grounds to return it. 
 

I would be very sad if the meter in my TTL went out. Moisture damage? I understood it’s a pretty bulletproof camera. Obviously I wouldn’t shoot in pouring rain, but do I need to be concerned about a light drizzle?

[Huss]

2 hours ago, 250swb said:

You’d hope that Leica would stick by M6 owners where the light meter has failed and make some accommodation in pricing since they dodged the warranty because it timed out and in not keeping a sufficient stock of spare parts. But 1600 Euro is a price to put you off because they can’t really be bothered.

When Leica charges $110 for a thread adapter so you can use your 1.4 vf magnifier from your M240 on an M10, no price is too high for Leica to charge!

[Telemetric]

4 hours ago, Jeremy Bunting said:

Did you know the meter was broken when you purchased the camera? Sounds like grounds to return it. 
 

I would be very sad if the meter in my TTL went out. Moisture damage? I understood it’s a pretty bulletproof camera. Obviously I wouldn’t shoot in pouring rain, but do I need to be concerned about a light drizzle?

No, I did not. 
The lightmeter was “working” and the cam was (is) like new. 
The seller said me that I tested it (without film) and I agreed personally and, besides, he has spent the money already. He agreed to pay half the money of the new lightmeter so, 800€ each whch I think is ok if I have a new cam. The moisture is not because the cam got wet, os because the guy is from Mallorca and, being an island, is easy to reach 90% of humidity but the cam is like new. He only shooted a couple of rolls with it. 

[Telemetric]

Well, is official. 
I just received this mail from Leica:

At the moment we can not carry out any repairs on the M6 and M6 TTL concerning electronic parts because they are not available anymore.

We will offer un upgrade by the middle of this year to the new M6. The top cover including all electronic parts will be exchanged.

Please contact us again later this year.

 

I am sorry for not heaving a more positive answer right now.

 

 

 

[plaidshirts]

6 hours ago, Telemetric said:

Well, is official. 
I just received this mail from Leica:

At the moment we can not carry out any repairs on the M6 and M6 TTL concerning electronic parts because they are not available anymore.

We will offer un upgrade by the middle of this year to the new M6. The top cover including all electronic parts will be exchanged.

Please contact us again later this year.

 

I am sorry for not heaving a more positive answer right now.

 

 

 

So the entire top gets replaced? Justifies the hefty price I guess...

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[Telemetric]

I hope they will keep my speed dial because the TTL one is bigger and better…