Leica M5 or M6?

Between these two, put me in the M5 camp. I like the M5's needle metering better then diodes, and the 50mm frame line has better accuracy.

From a practical standpoint today, certain parts for the M5 are drying up and it may become harder, if not impossible to keep one fully functional down the road, while M6's should remain fully repairable for quite some time.

 

I don't know why Leica made the decision to set the frame lines up to be more accurate at 1 meter with the M6 (and later with the digital M9) instead of two meters. The guide to framing on page 45 of the M9 manual goes a long way towards being able to "know" what the framing actually is when using an M6...

 

Leica M9 Instructions Manual (Page 45 of 92)

 

Fortunately, with the newer digital models, including my M Type 262, Leica went back to setting the frame line accuracy at 2 meters, making it much more accurate without having to think about.

If you like the M5 why wouldn't you get it? Especially if you liked the ergonomics and the way it looked, who cares who thinks it's ugly and/or big.

The M5 was the last Leica camera produced by Leitz. Very well constructed, much brighter viewfinder and, unlike M6, no plastic interior parts prone to wear. For me match needle is much easier and faster than fiddlely matching diodes. My wife bought an M5 the week camera was put on the market and it is her favorite camera. I stuck with my M4s but several years ago bought an M5 for myself. But really, as others have already said, the best camera is the one that you feel comfortable with, which is why there are so many models to choose from.

The Leica M5 uses a Mercury battery for the meter which is no longer produced. This will add a problem that you will need to solve. There are solutions. Personally, I prefer the M6. It has all the framelines and batteries for the meter are readily available and inexpensive and long lasting. The M6 are easily repaired if necessary.. Only the M6ttl 0.85 has a flare issue which is corrected with the MP viewfinder replacement.

The M6 is essentially an M4-P with a meter - easy to use and simple.

 

But if you must have 'funky' - there is the M5.

 

It's true the M5 isn't large - especially by today standards - but it is compared to any other M. It definitely has quirks (the funky swing-out meter arm and the match-needle metering, for example) that don't exist in any other Leica M camera (we'll, besides the CL).

 

And another thing to consider - I've never heard of a Leica repair person who actually likes working on an M5.

The M5 was the last Leica camera produced by Leitz.

Not exactly true, the initial run of the M6 was produced by Leitz in Wetzlar, before the move to Solms. Those M6 bodies still have the red dot with Leitz in them (instead of the later versions that say Leica).

Only the M6ttl 0.85 has a flare issue which is corrected with the MP viewfinder replacement

Nope, all the M6 bodies are affected (and not only those); the issue was just slightly worse on the M6TTL 0.85x. Mine in the image above certainly did flare.

If you need to shoot with a camera without worrying about the light and measuring then you can use M6 with less worry not having to think about light metering ( which allow the technical worry to think about lighting and how to use it focusing 80% on your shooting ) When I use my m6 it is just like a point and shoot camera and I am very fast in shooting. If you are good at composing and focusing this camera has lot of potentials than any other Autofocus camera too. I think Apf priority is all you want on a manual camera. So m5 is not for me.

@cyril....you may be thinking of the M7? M6 doesn't have aperture priority, M7, with its electronic activated shutter does.

 

Leica M5 with Carl Zeiss Biogon 21mm

My son bought a Leica M6 from Bellamy Hunt this year and it's a beautiful camera and works as new. The transaction went off without a hitch. I have used it some and I think it is awesome. No experience with the M5.