Rumours from Cologne: M6.2 due out at this year's Photokina?

[msitaraman]

Thanks, Lutz! You just drove up the price of all those used M6TTLs

people are dumping for M7s ;-)

[andy_piper2]

Actually I heard last fall, once the M7 rumors started, that the M6

'classic' would be brought back, leaving ttl to the -7. I can't

remember the source.

 

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I'm certain there will also be a "Fifty years of M" commemorative.

 

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Lut's info sounds kinda like a resurgence of the M6J.

 

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I can also see a revision of the M6 ttl to adopt more parts in common

with the 7 - on-off switch location, double battery stack, new de-

flared RF (if any), maybe HSS flash-sync - but NOT the electronic

shutter.

 

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Put all these rumors in a bag, add a few more yet to come, shake them

all up together - and the result will still probably be wrong.

 

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If they're bringing back a 50/90/135 "M3" finder, I hope they go whole

hog and make it 1.00x 'sted .85 or .91.

[jerry_pfile1]

Charles,

 

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No. Doubt that for what in all probability will be a limited run

commemorative of the M3, they would use the electronically controlled

shutter. Doubt even if they'd use a meter in it

 

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I think they would try just to make a very expensive few that hold to

the original M3 specs wherever possible. Perhaps even to the degree

of bringing back the self timer and the condenser they removed to

save a buck or two that now flares.

 

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They could do it relatively easily. Brass top and bottom covers are

now the norm, CNC capability should handle the top cover engraving

(although I think they have to pay to use the Leica script any time

they use it on a body). They have the body and shutter tooling. I

would guess the they'd use the 0.85 RF assembly though as it already

exists.

 

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Might even box it with a collapsible Summicron 50, with a brass cap

of course.

 

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2500-5000 units, in both chrome or black paint. Change back from

your 10 grand (but not a lot). They'll be sold in a flash, and be

put in the collectors cases.

 

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Best,

 

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Jerry

[dan_brown4]

Interesting, Lutz. Is that "no TTL" as in no TTL flash, or is it "no

TTL" as in no built in meter? I can't believe Leica would produce a

mainstream camera product with no internal (TTL) meter. I can believe

a divergence in the product line with the electronic M7 and a 'more'

mechanical M6 (call it an M3 if you will). Personally, give me the

more mechanical M6. Ditch the TTL flash, ditch all the plastic, and

give me a black paint version, if you please.

[dan_brown4]

You know, we laugh about these high priced commemoritives, but...

 

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I wish I'd have bought an M6J when it was new, and shot with it. A 50

year anniversary M3 might just be the perfect camera, FOR ME. You

only live once and what's the difference between $1900 and $2500 in

the course of a life time. A 1.00 x finder and a redesigned 50mm

Summilux rivalling the 35 ASPH's would be a way cool way to do film

based photography for the rest of my life...

[charles barcellona www.bl]

Jerry, I don't see them using the electronic shutter. M3+batteries

does not an M3 reissue make.

 

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I DO see a .85 finder, frames for 50/90/135 only, M3 style rewind,

chrome or black paint (and precious few black paint ones), M4 film

load, no meter of any sort, M3 style metal trimmings on the

outside, and with motor capability. Brass plates and engraving are a

must. No red dot either.

 

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I'm unsure if they'd put in the self timer, but they probably would.

 

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This would be easily done to the basic M6TTL, even using the 2mm

taller overall size, it would be close enough for a passable reissue.

 

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Also folks.... please remember that all those painstaking tolorances

of the original M3 are more easily kept today. Precision casting

eliminates much machine work. CNC and other soft automation eliminate

much of the tight work.

 

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They'd not HAVE to make it like they made M3's, just make it look and

work like an M3 (more or less) to make it a reasonable reissue.

 

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I wonder if Nikon will do a reissue Nikon F in a few years?

[eliot]

The problem with such rumors is that one really never knows what

Leica will do until they actually do it. I heard rumors about an

auto-exposure M6 about 5 or 6 years ago (to be called M6-AE or M6E-

electronic), then the rumors stopped. Finally, five years later,

Leica decides to release the camera as the M7.

 

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I also heard rumors in the late 1980s about a 28/2.0 Summicron.

Apparently there was one on the drawing board quite a while ago. The

lens they actually released was the 35/1.4 Aspherical in 1990. Then

ten or so later, the 28/2.0 Summicron comes out. So whatever the

rumors, you probably won't be certain until it actually comes out.

[Alex_Es]

Dear Lutz,

 

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Thanks for the info. I am skeptical about the rumors of the M6TTL's

demise. Anyway, hope they are not true. Is it possible that the

M6.2 is non-TTL because it is a return to the "classic" design? I

would look foreward to using my DR 50/2 on it, but would not be to

happy to see the return of the itsy-bitsy shutter speed dial (which,

yeah, I can live with).

 

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At any rate, I hope this not only going to be a limited commenorative

camera like the "J." I also hope it doesn't have an M3-M2 rewind

stick but a regular modern Leica rewind crank.

 

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Well, Lutz, thanks again and keep us informed! We love it!

 

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Best,

 

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Alex

[geddert]

If they are coming out with an M3...with a different badge (M6.2

whatever)... why would anybody buy it (except collectors)... you can

get mint used M3's for a much smaller price - this of course is

assuming leica doesn't change its mind and go "cheap" on us with this

new camera =)

[lutz]

As far as I understood Deep Throat, non-TTL means dropping TTL-flash

capabilities. When I tried to squeeze more details out of him, he

started to become more reserved, saying he already told me things he

was not supposed to pass on. I doubt he had any reason to make himself

interesting by saying so. I just had him triggered by showing him my

full-fledged M6 with all the "S"-goodies I provide...<P>I think, with

all the discussions provoked by the M7 (and previously by the M6 TTL,

and more previously even by dropping the M3 viewfinder!) among

wellcomers and traditionalists, it's a logical consequence to go for

the most complete and "modern" design on one side (actually the M7) and

keep a most traditional, purely mechanical body on the other side, even

if that means stepping back to an older type of finder (which aparently

still has a lot of followers).<P>Collectors as well as traditionalists

among users would embrace such an M6.2 - just read the posts on this

thread alone. <P>Cheers from sunny Cologne. I'm here for work only.

Back to Zürich in a couple of weeks.

[david enzel]

Would the M6.2 have a built in light meter?

[george_b1]

David -

 

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I tend to think that "all mechanical" means no batteries. IMHO, No batteries means no built-in meter, as it really would be a feat to

install selinium cells.