The New M6 and its redesigned parts

[lefse]

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Having read on multiple sites that the new M6 has redesigned parts, I wonder if anyone here knows which ones?

Apart from the obvious, namely electronics for the light meter, what mechanical parts have been redesigned?

To me the camera feels just like the M-A and MP. Whatever they did must have been carefully considered.

I wish they just stated this outright, rather than some repair guy lore eventually becoming the story.

Edited September 11, 2023 by lefse

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[Al Brown]

Someone here (do not remember who) wanted to pay DAG $500 to open up the new M6 and check if it is just a MP inside. Not sure if that has manifested.

[lefse]

2 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

Someone here (do not remember who) wanted to pay DAG $500 to open up the new M6 and check if it is just a MP inside. Not sure if that has manifested.

Goodness. Well, I suppose that’s better than someone starting a rumour about how the camera now contains 80% plastics.

[Huss]

19 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

Someone here (do not remember who) wanted to pay DAG $500 to open up the new M6 and check if it is just a MP inside. Not sure if that has manifested.

T'was me.  But after the film scratching debacle which took Leica months to fix I lost interest in sending my camera out again.

There definitely is a new part, comparing my M6 to my MP.  The rangefinder patch has rounded corners on the M6 vs squared off ones on my MP.  If someone has a new 2022/23 MP, can they confirm if their RF patch is rounded or squared off?

[Helge]

vor 19 Minuten schrieb Al Brown:

Someone here (do not remember who) wanted to pay DAG $500 to open up the new M6 and check if it is just a MP inside. Not sure if that has manifested.

I‘m pretty sure it is an MP inside 😉

There is no reason why not!

Its just different on the outside (crank, wind lever)

[Bronco McBeast]

Mine, one from the first production batch, does not scratch film. And even if it did, I wouldnt have made a Mega Dramatic Opera out of that.

i’m still not sure any M6 has faulty backs. 
 

The new M6 has a Black paint Door, which shall Brass at some point, as opposed to the MP door which is Black chrome.

The inside? Why in the world would it be different than MP/M-A? What defines the MP/M6/M-A is the outside, not the mechanism...

[250swb]

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3 hours ago, lefse said:

 

I wish they just stated this outright, rather than some repair guy lore eventually becoming the story.

I think it's entirely unreasonable for Leica to tell you in a public announcement if they are making minor improvements to one of their products. Tell me, which other manufacturer does this that isn't covered in 'actual specifications may change'? It's like nailing a manufacturers feet to the ground if every time they want to improve something they've got to announce it.

Edited September 11, 2023 by 250swb

[Huss]

19 minutes ago, Bronco McBeast said:

 

i’m still not sure any M6 has faulty backs. 
 

 

Of course.  Just ignore what Leica has said.

https://www.35mmc.com/05/06/2023/psa-leica-acknowledges-batch-of-faulty-pressure-plates-in-new-leica-m6-rangefinder/

[Esleepy]

2 hours ago, Huss said:

T'was me.  But after the film scratching debacle which took Leica months to fix I lost interest in sending my camera out again.

There definitely is a new part, comparing my M6 to my MP.  The rangefinder patch has rounded corners on the M6 vs squared off ones on my MP.  If someone has a new 2022/23 MP, can they confirm if their RF patch is rounded or squared off?

Complete opposite here, my '85 M6 has the square patch and my '23 MP has the rounded corners.

[Huss]

Just now, Esleepy said:

Complete opposite here, my '85 M6 has the square patch and my '23 MP has the rounded corners.

Then I'd say the current MP and M6 share the same rf stuff.  My MP is a .58 with sharkskin leatherette so it is several years older than my 2022 M6.

[Bronco McBeast]

17 minutes ago, Huss said:

Of course.  Just ignore what Leica has said.

https://www.35mmc.com/05/06/2023/psa-leica-acknowledges-batch-of-faulty-pressure-plates-in-new-leica-m6-rangefinder/

My personal opinion on this is they simply wanted to calm the internet Drama BS without changing anything in their actual production.
 

A lemon here and there, happens on exactly 100% production runs, Toyota, rolex, Pez candies... you nam it. Nothing to get excited about, except when a customer goes drama intergalactic berzerk. 
 

[lefse]

36 minutes ago, 250swb said:

I think it's entirely unreasonable for Leica to tell you in a public announcement if they are making minor improvements to one of their products. Tell me, which other manufacturer does this that isn't covered in 'actual specifications may change'? It's like nailing a manufacturers feet to the ground if every time they want to improve something they've got to announce it.

Fair point. But what other camera boutique manufacturer is there? And how often do they “improve” the analogue M? Once every other decade?

No one needs a film M. You get one because you want one. You want one because of the history, prestige and supreme mechanics.

They choose not to reveal whatever the changes were specifically - but I still think they’d benefit from it.

[Bronco McBeast]

4 minutes ago, lefse said:

Fair point. But what other camera boutique manufacturer is there? And how often do they “improve” the analogue M? Once every other decade?

No one needs a film M. You get one because you want one. You want one because of the history, prestige and supreme mechanics.

They choose not to reveal whatever the changes were specifically - but I still think they’d benefit from it.

What “improvements” would Leica brag about when the M6 sells for 200$ less than the MP?

If anything, they’d pull the old trick of cancelling the condenser as they did with the original M6. That would actually explain the cheaper price, but I doubt they’d announce it. 
 

 

[250swb]

18 minutes ago, lefse said:

 

No one needs a film M. You get one because you want one. You want one because of the history, prestige and supreme mechanics.

 

I've always bought one because it's a camera, but I know many people buy one as a status symbol and fashion accessory. And I guess it's that aspect of buying a camera, for history and prestige, that can lead people to concentrate on the wrong things. Leica have never 'pulled the old tricks' (whatever that means), they've improved the product as and when necessary, it shouldn't require customers to first sign every damned thing off. If you don't like it sell it.

Edited September 11, 2023 by 250swb

[Bronco McBeast]

The cost saving measures, also known as the “old tricks”, Leica have pulled QUITE A FEW, over time.

 

[Anbaric]

34 minutes ago, Bronco McBeast said:

What “improvements” would Leica brag about when the M6 sells for 200$ less than the MP?

The M6 is £20 more expensive than the MP where I live. I expect the premium is for that advanced 1960s rewind crank technology.

[Bronco McBeast]

28 minutes ago, Anbaric said:

The M6 is £20 more expensive than the MP where I live. I expect the premium is for that advanced 1960s rewind crank technology.

So it looks like they pulled another trick, also known as charging more for a product in a higher demand.

For the record, The M6 was announced with a cheaper msrp. 

[Anbaric]

The price disparity varied by country, I believe, which we discussed when the M6 was (re)launched. The M6 has officially always been a bit more expensive in the UK than the MP. No idea what the logic of that is, other than charging what they think the market will bear. The M6 is actually cheaper before tax in the UK than it is in the US, too, so some people in the US have imported them. But domestically Brits always pay an additional 20% VAT, equivalent to over $6000 USD (!) in total for the M6.

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Hallo,

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[LocalHero1953]

1 hour ago, lefse said:

No one needs a film M. You get one because you want one. You want one because of the history, prestige and supreme mechanics.

Well, few people actually need a camera of any variety, let alone a film camera. But I have bought six Leica M's in my life (four film, of which I retain two, and two digital, which I sold); the reasons included only the last of your list, but also included great associated optics/lenses, an immense range of lenses and other accessories, compact cameras and lenses, simple and intuitive operation, and ruggedness in use. And I shoot film because the results look different from digital.

Edited September 11, 2023 by LocalHero1953

[250swb]

9 hours ago, Bronco McBeast said:

The cost saving measures, also known as the “old tricks”, Leica have pulled QUITE A FEW, over time.

 

If you are fully qualified to say how design changes are different from cost savings list them instead of making sweeping statements. Naturally 'QUITE A FEW' is colloquially far, far more than a few, so we are looking forward to a long list. Also describe in that list which are the 'tricks', perhaps something done to overtly to hoodwink a customer, or something they changed that butt hurt you, or a complaint from some guy you once read about on the internet, and how this relates to the majority who just don't give a damn? Talk is cheap, up your game.

Edited September 12, 2023 by 250swb