'Affordable' Black Paint LHSA M6 vs. M7?

[ralph_barker]

The fingerprint problem that John is worried about could easily be solved by getting a box of white cotton lab gloves and dying them all black. Of course the photos you'd make would likely take on a more formal tone. ;-)

[Rob F.]

I think I'd feel so guilty and nervous about exposing the LHSA to risk of harm that it would see very little use. I would like better to find a dinged-up black paint M3 or such at a nice price, and be able to use it freely. Sort of like buying pre-faded blue jeans.

 

Bob Fleischman

[msitaraman]

It's the devil talkin' to you, boy....

[ray_moth]

I'd choose the LHSA M6TTL black paint, while it's still available. If I had the dough, I'd trade in one of my ordinary M6TTLs for it without hesitation. I'm in no rush to get an M7, though.

[eliot]

Stuart. I agree that the M6TTL LHSA black paint is a pretty camera. But at an $ 800 premium over the regular issue TTL it is not worth it, IMO. At the original $ 2700-2800 price it was too expensive, and at 2100-2300 it is still too expensive. This camera might be interesting if it sold at a small premium, but the asking price is just too high for me.

 

If auto exposure doesn't interest you, then a regular issue M6TTL is as good a choice as any.

[paul hart]

Like Marc, I succumbed to the charms of the LHSA black paint (.85) and then the two black paint lenses.

 

I don't regret it. Of course they don't make a scrap of difference to the photographs I take, but they add something to the sheer pleasure of using the camera.

 

I use mine regularly, but carefully. The camera is usually in one of Luigi Crescenzi's leather half cases, which affords some protection to it. The 50 'lux is wonderful - my favourite lens - it has a little wear on the knurled focussing ring, and will hopefully develop more in the years to come.

 

I am holding back from getting an M7 - partly because I'm not convinced I need one, partly because there seem to be one or two bugs that might be sorted, and partly because there will certainly be a black paint one sooner or later...

[brian_dearle]

I dug deep 2 years ago and paid full freight for a .85 LHSA. Damn the expense, I've never been remotely happier, photographically. Its beautiful, its functional, and notwithstanding rational argument that a $100 Canonet takes as good a shot, the images I have gotten with the M6 have been markedly better than with my Canonet, or Minolta CLE. I think the reasons are the quieter shutter, the 1:1 viewing I get with either my Kontur finder or the new 1.25X, and the fact I just like to handle it. I used to think AE was a requirement, but having lost a few shots due to laziness with the CLE, it now collects dust and I am back to all-manual and nothing but. The M7 interests me not a bit.

[stuart d]

I'd forgotten that I hadn't written a postscript to this thread. I wound up buying a great user M3 for $600 in August. I took it on a trip to the UK in September, and after about 20 rolls of Tri-X and APX 100, I realized I was having much more fun with my 50mm Summicron than I could remember. My M2 and 35mm 'cron virtually never came out of the bag. Plus the build quality of the M3 is everything I had heard about. Plain and simple, a great piece of engineering, and a thoroughly satisfying piece of equipment to use on a regular basis. Much more so than my M2. I can't put my finger on the reason why. It just is.

 

With the money I saved on buying an M3 instead of an LHSA .85 M6, I was able to buy a grey market 24mm Elmarit-M and take it on the trip to the UK. Opportunity cost convinced me that a shiny black paint model didn't really need to be in my camera bag. Nor did an aperture-priority body.

 

Just recently I bought a 1.25x magnifier for my .72 M6, so I could take advantage of a higher magnification factor and an internal lightmeter. Lo and behold, it fits the M3 too. Now the 90mm 'cron is almost full frame on the M3 (when I'm wearing spectacles). Suddenly I'm in love with that lens too.

 

As a postscript to my postscript, I CLA'd my M2 and gave it to my wife. I couldn't be happier with an M3 and an M6. Having bounced around different manufacturers and formats for a few years, I have found Leica to be a keeper.

 

Cheers, Stuart