'Affordable' Black Paint LHSA M6 vs. M7?

I'd like to say this question is totally theoretical, but the little

gear demon inside my head seems to be insatiable. When I first laid

eyes on a black paint M, I couldn't get over how <i>purty</i> it

looked. The regular chrome/black bodies seem to pale in comparison.

But the price premium of the LHSA M6s made owning one an

unjustifiable pipe-dream.

 

<p>Then last week I noticed Leica introduced a $500 rebate on these

beauties. All of a sudden they're within a few bucks of a regular

M6, and they're less expensive than an M7. Enter gear demon stage

left, with taunts such as "Sure, you have a perfectly serviceable M2

and .72 M6 TTL, but wouldn't a .85 make the 90mm 'cron that much

easier to focus...?", and "That 1.25x magnifier is just so elusive,

why not spend 11x as much for a higher mag body, just so you can get

it now?"

 

<p>So the question is, if you had $2100 - $2300 spare change right

now, which would you buy as an extra M body? The whiz-bang M7 or the

oh-so-shiny black paint M6? No, I don't really have that kind of

spare change, but where there's a will, maybe there's a way...

 

<p>Cheers,

Stuart

LHSA M6 TTL, since I don't need the features of M7, plus the LHSA looks niiice. Mount a nice 1st version 35 lux aspherical. Dandy.

The sensible answer is neither - I'd rather spend the sum on lenses. :-)

 

BUT indeed the LHSA is gorgeous. It's a nice choice if you really NEED another body AND it has a different finder mag from what you already have.

 

Does AE really worth that much dough? Not to me. Besides, rumour has it that there is a forthcoming, real cure to the still-extant rangefinder flare on the M7, so it makes sense to hold out longer if you must get it.

Maybe this is an off-the-wall idea, but . . . why not take a week or two off work and use those funds for a photo shooting trip to Africa or India or China or . . . any place that's far away and exciting and deserving of your photographic attention? Better yet, why not take off even more time, if possible? In any case, you'll probably find far more satisfaction in putting that money to use, using the cameras you already have.

<p>I'd use the money to buy another regular M6 TTL. Sure, the LHSA looks <i>purty</i> but chances it is too <i>purty</i> to use and could end up in a showcase collecting dust. Odds are that you will tire of looking at it after awhile and put it up on Eb*y for sale. Buy it for its utility. If it were to cost no more than a regular M6 TTL, I will say, go for it, but for the premium, it could pay for a nice regular body and a nice lens.

 

<p> M7 versus M6? Only you can decide if the AE is worth it. As for myself, I have learnt to work with the all manual M6 and find the AE a 'distraction' I do not need. YMMV. Then again, it is a safe bet that prices for the M7 is set to drop within a year of its introduction.</p>

Well, now, since we're talking about other uses for 2k, heck yah vacation time! Macchu Pichu anyone? Maybe Tahiti, New Zealand, or Switzerland? Show me the airport.

Since black paint isn't going to improve my photography I can't

see the attraction in buying a LHSA M6. I can't help but agree that

2300 dollars could be better spent on a holiday or (if you do need

a new body) on a regular M6 *plus* money on/towards a holiday.

If you feel you can live without the passport, Delta have new M6's

from something like 1360 dollars.

I succumbed to the seductive charms of a black paint .072 some

time ago. Not for a collectors piece, but to use (with a little care).

 

I needed it like another hole in the head. But it is sooooo

beautiful, and it's got that bit of extra weight from being brass.

If you are not sure, DO NOT put one in your hands, or all

sensability will flutter out the window along with rational thought.

 

The problem is that the retro black paint 50/1.4 with the

scalloped focus ring also looks sooooo beautiful when attached,

that there is no end to the lunacy, ( I ended up with both black

paint lenses because the 35/2 is also so beautiful ).

 

You have a lot more reasons to go for it than I did. An .085 is a

very useable item, black paint or not. You can always trade up

your M6 for a M7 later, after the 6s price settles, and they fix a

couple of things on the 7 and rebate the price.

I can guarantee you that any user Leica will take better picture

than the special edition Black Paint LHSA version. Vanity and

looks of photographic gear has a direct diminishing return in

terms of getting good pictures.

Henry's absolutely right, it has nothing to do with picture taking.

 

And a Hundi will get you there just as well as a Mercedes.

 

But sometimes there is something to say about the trip. And a

Black Paint is a "trip".

Stuart:

 

I'd go for the Black Paint Millennium edition instead if the price is

comparable as it has an M3/M2 advance lever and a M3/M2 style

film rewind. -- that's if you prefer the classic look.

 

I have handled one of these and they are much heavier than a

standard ttl. Add to this if you buy a black paint lens(es) which

are also heavier -- then you will be in for a shoulder haul. take

that practical consideration into account if you intend on taking

this baby travelling and trekking. you may be cursing the extra

weight half way up a mountain in Nepal or south america, but it

will wear well rubbing on your front or back as you lug it!

 

Each to their own...best wishes in your final decision

Stuart--Have you actually looked at a black paint? Have you handled it? I

liked the concept of the black paint until I actually handled one last year. For

one thing the camera is very shiny. And I do mean shiny. I think it would be

very conspicuous camera to use on the street. Another thing. (Not to get into

personal hygiene, but my hands are clean.) As soon as I touched it there was

a fingerprint. I covered the camera with fingerprints. I don't know how these

cameras are wearing. It's possible after a year or two that it might dull down a

bit. It is a beautiful camera. I'm just not sure I'd want to use it on the street. If

you don't mix-it-up on the street then it would be a fine camera. Just be sure to

carry a polishing cloth with you.

Stuart, It's YOUR money. If you want the camera go for it! But, remember your oh-so-shiny black paint M6 will eventually not be so shiny. It could even look like theses M2s!!http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MUGers/

save the money for lenses and film. If you have anything leftover, use it for a good scanner so that you can post your pics here :-)

If you want a camera that you'll actually feel good about using, one that has the brightest range/viewfinder you can imagine, a camera with buttery smooth film advance and shutter release, get an M3 body. With the $1,000.00+ you save you can buy film, take a vacation, buy a 15mm Voigtlander lens, pay down your credit cards, invest in a mutual fund. Actually you can buy TWO M3 bodies and the 15mm lens for what that new M6 will cost, and feel good about using them. No worries about dings and scratches! Or go to www.cameraleather.com and pick out a nice lizard skin covering for one body and get yourself a good light meter that makes incident readings. Then you can enjoy the most consistant exposures you've ever seen!

Funny, your demon seems to be a close cousin to the one I have (he enters the stage from far right though...)

 

If what you really need is 0.85 - pick up a mint M6TTL at bargain prices right now.

 

If what your really need is AE, on/off button, DX coding - wait for the M7 to come down a bit, perhaps til after photokina in late september to see what the come out with.

 

If what you really need is a collectors piece that you will be afraid to use/scratch and ultimately bring along with you, not to say buy black paint lenses at high mark ups - buy the LHSA. It is people like you who buy high profit margin items/collectors pieces from Leica that makes the company survive so they can offer hard core products to the rest of us :-)

 

Best of luck,

The black paint chips easily at the edges under normal use but that only adds

to its character. At the same time the paint is rather soft and after a month or

so there will be swirls of minute scratches on the paint. If I didn't have one

already I would certainly get one with the $500 rebate. You can buy the M7

anytime but the LHSA is here and now.

Stuart's dilemma was choosing either the LHSA Black paint M6 or the M7. Not so much whether the spare change of $2100-$2300 would be well spent or otherwise. Granted for this money you can buy all the film, a new scanner, dream vacation or a Billingham bag. That seems to be aside the point! The monetary aspect is not to be factored in deciding which of the two is a better purchase. I'd go for the black Paint M6. Indeed it's a luxurious camera to tag along for a shoot that does not guarantee any better pix otherwise taken with some other M6. But it's still one rather exclusive eye-appealing camera that exudes pride of ownership. I cannot say the same for the M7 honestly. Then again it does make sense to give it a second thought. With all that money...

Stuart, You know me, I easily succumb to every whim. However, I try

not to be too foolish with money. You may want to wait before making

any purchase. I suspect the price of an M7, which is still in

production, will drop after the market is saturated. Obviously the

market for the LHSA M6, which is no longer produced, is saturated.

The current rebated USA price may not go lower. Consider purchasing

it overseas where an additional savings of $200-300 may be realized.

A case study is the M6 titanium classic. When first issued, the USA

price was $3200. At the end of production, the price dropped to $2100

with USA passport. It was available in Hong Kong for $1800. On the

used market, they sold for as low as $1400.

It is virtually a given that there will be a black-paint M7 at some point, so if you like both the whiz-bang (I'd call it more like pfft-snap)and the Earl Scheib $99 special, maybe better to save up and wait.

I imagine that there will soon be plenty of M7's, while the number of black paint M6's will remain limited. You could always sell the black paint camera if you didn't find it worth keeping or if you thought you needed the added features of the M7. In all likelihood, you'd easily get enough money from the sale to buy a new or mint used M7. Will the M7 be worth as much in a couple of years as a black paint M6 in good condition such that you could sell the M7 and buy the black paint M6 without an additional outlay of cash? I doubt it.

the bottom line is actually pretty simple. if photography is your passion and you don't have to worry about cash, now or in the future, buy the camera your heart wants. you know which one it is...

Patrick, I opened your file and was suprized to find a white paint

M6 on a white background! One of a kind to be sure. Just

kidding. Nothing was there.

Hmmm - a 10th Mountain Division limited edition M6, perhaps? 8^)

 

<p>Thank you all for your thought-provoking comments. I have a fridge full of film which should be shot before I lay out any more $ on equipment. And I am heading on vacation to Europe in less than 2 weeks, which will prove an excellent opportunity to do so. One of the reasons for getting into Leica was to prevent myself from carrying too much gear...

 

<p>To be honest, the thought of buying an M7 never really entered my mind. It's too early in the product's lifecycle, and I don't need or want the reliance on automation. But I wanted to get others' reactions in an either-or situation.

 

<p>Marc, Henry Ting and others make a great point about willingness to use the LHSA. I know I'm happier to use my M2 than my M6 in certain situations.

 

<p>And John's comments about the black paint attracting fingerprints did not pass me by. I saw a .72 LHSA at my local camera store (Mike's Camera in Boulder, CO) last week. It's been on display for over a year, and by now it has been handled by hundreds of grubby paws. It looked a mess. (Editorial: This is the same outfit that had an Anton Bruckner platinum M6 in a display case for so long that the wooden box cracked. They really don't know what they're doing, and I know the commoditization of digital will be their downfall.)

 

<p>Getting back on track, I would like the higher magnification of the .85 or the .91, but I do miss having an internal meter in my M2, so I think the M3 is out. Which leads me to Ian and Patrick's comments. Maybe I should think about a silver chrome .85 M6 TTL instead. Either way, I'm going to wait a while and enjoy what I have.

 

<p>Thank you all for vanquishing my gear demon, at least in the short term. Marc, you were right on the money with your comment: <i>"I needed it like another hole in the head."</i> Which begs the question - when did you get the first hole in your head? 8^)

 

<p>Cheers,

<br>Stuart

Either an M7 or another lens.