And there my M6 meter died.

[NAvalanche]

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My M6 Classic meter just died. I changed to a new battery and still dead.

So what options do I have now? Guess its Leica Germany with 12 months service time and €2 000, if its even possible.

I want to swear but I guess its not allowed. 🙂

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[madNbad]

Buy a hand held meter and continue to enjoy your M6. Leica made an announcement about the possibility of having the parts to replace the meters on older cameras and you could contact Leica service and see if they are actually doing it but you are correct, it will be neither fast or inexpensive.

A Gossen Digisix would be a good choice. Small with plenty of features and it has an incident dome.

[Anbaric]

58 minutes ago, NAvalanche said:

My M6 Classic meter just died. I changed to a new battery and still dead.

So what options do I have now? Guess its Leica Germany with 12 months service time and €2 000, if its even possible.

I want to swear but I guess its not allowed. 🙂

Depends on the fault. Even Leica can't replace a dead circuit board at the moment (this might change next year) but not every failure is that. You might try one of the well-known independent Leica experts first (in the UK I'd go to Cameraworks-UK - I'm sure you'll get other recommendations if you let us know where you are).

[dpitt]

Your M6 is now just a bit better than a M4. I often use an app on my iPhone as lightmeter, or the digital camera if I have one with me. If you need a meter on the M6, maybe look at this or a similar one ( can be much cheaper too, but I am not sure how good these are)

 

Voigtlander light meter

[250swb]

2 hours ago, NAvalanche said:

My M6 Classic meter just died. I changed to a new battery and still dead.

So what options do I have now? Guess its Leica Germany with 12 months service time and €2 000, if its even possible.

I want to swear but I guess its not allowed. 🙂

Clean the contacts and try another new battery, not the same make or same source unless you have a multimeter to check the voltage with.

[NAvalanche]

I can draw images or paint instead of taking photos, but the camera is still broken. 

[LocalHero1953]

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34 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

It may seem harsh hearing this but if you cannot meter via the sunny 16 rule (I hate that rule, it is wrong) any time of the day you should not use film cameras.
 

How does one start to learn to use a film camera then? It sounds a bit chicken and egg. 

[Beresford]

I have just sent my old M6 to Wetzlar because the meter ceased working. If it is any encouragement they said the wait time was about 6 months rather than a year. (6 months is good: it will give me a bit of time to save up for the repair!) My M6 was in dire need of an overhaul as well as a meter repair, so I am content with the cost and the wait.

It is strange, but I had become fond (is that reasonable for an inanimate object?) of my M6. It fits my hands and gives me pleasure. I look forward to getting it back.

[Matlock]

1 hour ago, Al Brown said:

We should NEVER normalize 6 months repair time. Ever.

True but some of the independent workshops take even longer.

[NAvalanche]

8 hours ago, Beresford said:

I have just sent my old M6 to Wetzlar because the meter ceased working. If it is any encouragement they said the wait time was about 6 months rather than a year. (6 months is good: it will give me a bit of time to save up for the repair!) My M6 was in dire need of an overhaul as well as a meter repair, so I am content with the cost and the wait.

It is strange, but I had become fond (is that reasonable for an inanimate object?) of my M6. It fits my hands and gives me pleasure. I look forward to getting it back.

Interesting. Did they confirm they could fix the meter before you sent it?

[Borna]

Did it just die by itself or for example, moist, water etc? Have you tried once again another new battery? Perhaps the second battery was flat. 

[grahamc]

Definitely try another set of “new” batteries because it is possible to have a battery straight out of the packet DOA. Happened to me with (N)ever Readys bought for my M6

Edited September 22, 2023 by grahamc

[jensthoes]

vor 19 Stunden schrieb NAvalanche:

My M6 Classic meter just died. I changed to a new battery and still dead.

So what options do I have now? Guess its Leica Germany with 12 months service time and €2 000, if its even possible.

I want to swear but I guess its not allowed. 🙂

...same to my M6 classic 5 years ago (2018).

The estimate for the Leica service was 1.167,15 €.

I didn't accept that service costs - and since ths time, my M6 is laying in the box and I'm using my Leica M3 (no electrics - no problems).

Best reagrds,

Jens

 

Edited September 22, 2023 by jensthoes

[Huss]

9 hours ago, Matlock said:

True but some of the independent workshops take even longer.

This independent shops are a one man show, so that is understandable.  Leica is a corporation, it is sad that they run their service department like a one man show.

In comparison Nikon just had a recall with their Z8.  The way they handled it was to create a site where you could enter your serial # and see if your camera was in the affected range.  If it was you could then print out a claim form with shipping label to send your camera in.  The turnaround time for the repair was one week.

This tells you Leica does not care about after sales service.

[Matlock]

5 minutes ago, Huss said:

This independent shops are a one man show, so that is understandable.  Leica is a corporation, it is sad that they run their service department like a one man show.

In comparison Nikon just had a recall with their Z8.  The way they handled it was to create a site where you could enter your serial # and see if your camera was in the affected range.  If it was you could then print out a claim form with shipping label to send your camera in.  The turnaround time for the repair was one week.

This tells you Leica does not care about after sales service.

I am not arguing with you, just stating a fact. Please don't get so defensive when most of us are, in fact, agreeing with you (well with one well known exception).

[Huss]

1 hour ago, Matlock said:

I am not arguing with you, just stating a fact. Please don't get so defensive when most of us are, in fact, agreeing with you (well with one well known exception).

Didn't mean to come over as defensive.  

It's just an issue that Leica could so easily fix.  But choose not to because they have normalized 6+ month wait times.

[madNbad]

It's surprising no independent shop has is making replacement meter boards for the M6. When Leica was overloaded with M9 sensor replacements, there were a few that started offering their own version. There are varying reports on how well some of them worked but it shows with some effort, replacement electronics can be fabricated. The major problem may be that the meters in the M6 don't fail often enough for someone to put out the effort. Every one of the M9's were affected, ensuring the cost of development could be recouped. If a few dozen M6's have meter failure each year, it's devastating to the owner but is it worth the investment to make and store replacement parts? Leica continues to make a small number of film cameras each year and finally admitted many of the reported problems could be traced to contracted parts. Somewhere in one of the many threads, it was announced there would be replacements for failed meters. Do they have the parts on hand or are they ordered on a by case basis? 

Leica is primarily a manufacturer of digital cameras. The fact that they still build and service film cameras should be applauded but as others have pointed out, a litte customer service can go a long way. 

[69xchange]

18 hours ago, Beresford said:

I have just sent my old M6 to Wetzlar because the meter ceased working. If it is any encouragement they said the wait time was about 6 months rather than a year. (6 months is good: it will give me a bit of time to save up for the repair!) My M6 was in dire need of an overhaul as well as a meter repair, so I am content with the cost and the wait.

It is strange, but I had become fond (is that reasonable for an inanimate object?) of my M6. It fits my hands and gives me pleasure. I look forward to getting it back.

6 months?! What? They told me 8 months in Aug and another member here 11 months.  Maybe these “wait times” are to let warranty expire so they don’t have to guarantee anything. 😂

Edited September 22, 2023 by 69xchange

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[Huss]

Check your state's lemon laws for new products.  In California you can demand your money back if they cannot repair in a reasonable time.  6 months would not be considered reasonable.

Lemon laws do not only apply to vehicles.  This only applies to new of course!  Not a 30 year old M6...

Edited September 22, 2023 by Huss

[Beresford]

14 hours ago, NAvalanche said:

Interesting. Did they confirm they could fix the meter before you sent it?

Oh dear! I never asked. Wetzlar are quoting quite a lot of money to fix the meter, and suggested on top of that that it would be a good idea to have the camera serviced. I am not very good at asking the sort of questions which put someone 'on the spot'. I trust Leica, and am sure they will do the best for me that they can. I will be satisfied with that.