New M6 - First Impressions

[ray_moth]

As a fellow new user of the M6 TTL, I'd like to comment on your

impressions.

 

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"- Film loading: what's the big deal? Load it how the manual and

diagram on the bottom show you." I fully agree and I think it's time

this silly myth was knocked on the head! As you say, if you follow

instructions it's very straightforward. Easier and quicker than

loading an R7, for instance but, of course, not as easy as an R8.

 

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"- Rangefinder viewing; What a pleasure!" Isn't it just! The

framelines help me a lot with composition. The only thing lacking is

being able to see depth of field. However, I didn't use this feature

much on SLRs because often the image on the viewing screen became too

dim.

 

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"- Rangefinder focusing; again, many netters would have you believe

that this is a real weakness." It's different from an SLR, that's

for sure, and it can take some getting used to. To me it was not such

a strange experience because my first serious camera, about 30 odd

years ago, was a Yashica Minister D that had a similar parallax-

corrected rangefinder.

 

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"- Inconspicuous: well, I don't know about this Leica myth, I think

that most people are aware of a camera in their midst no matter what

camera it is." I agree, the days when Leicas were far less

conspicuous than other cameras are long gone. P&S cameras are

everywhere and they're smaller and less conspicuous, IMHO.

 

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"- Image quality; I note a subtle but pleasant improvement." So do I

and so does my wife! She says the pictures look "cleaner" than she's

seen with other 35mm cameras.

 

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"Ergonomics; I love it. But I enjoy fiddling with precision

instruments." I do, too. I find it boring and frustrasting if the

camera makes most of the decisions. I had a Leica Mini Zoom P&S and

changed it for a Minox 35GT just so I could at least control the

aperture and focus. The Leica M6 gives excellent control to the user

and it's logically laid out. (I still haven't found the mirror lock-

up though <G>).

 

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One thing you didn't mention is the "spot" meter and viewfinder

information. What do you think of it? I found it easy enough to use

once I got used to it and it seems accurate enough if I use it

properly. Some who are used to modern SLRs don't like the absence of

aperture and shutter speed info in the viewfinder of the M6. I made a

few mistakes at first because of this, such as reducing the shutter

speed too low when I should have been opening up the lens.

[douglas k.]

Re Ray's comments on the M6 viewfinder: I come from the world of

Nikons, with viewfinders that tell you everything you could possibly

want to know and then some. And I like the M6 finder. Set the

exposure once, then ignore just two little red diodes (I guess it's

three diodes on the TTL models), instead of trying to ignore the light

show that goes on in the finders of newer SLRs. And the M6 meter is

great: my negs have never looked more consistent.