Vanity: My last film camera purchase

[mukul_dube]

<p>The pre-TTL M6 in the photo arrived yesterday. I have named it Bubbles on account of the dermal problem that early versions of this model suffered. Had it not been for a consequent price reduction, I should not have been able to afford it. This, if all goes well, will be the last film camera I buy. I used a couple of pens and a piece of electrician's tape to tone down and cover up what I saw as cosmetic abominations. I now have what I wanted: a somewhat scruffy-looking instrument which works perfectly. When I said to a 30-year-old niece that it was now lean and mean, she responded with, "Uncle, it will complement you -- because you are fat and mean." I've known her since she was a baby and must live with such insulting stuff; but I think that Bubbles will make living worthwhile.</p><div></div>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>Looks like a great user. If they're too clean, you are always worrying about putting a scratch or ding on it. Best of luck with it!</p>

[rgerraty]

Looks great. I always think a black M is like a film star in dark glasses. Such wonder and beauty slipping unnoticed

through the crowds.

[aplumpton]

<p>I remember long ago returning a few month old 35mm Summicron to the Leica distribution centre in Toronto because I noted it had a small bubble in one of its rear elements. Leica said it would make no noticeable difference in performance, but exchanged it for a new one. I never surpassed the quality of the photos I made with the earlier sample which was a great lens.</p>

<p>I am not sure of this but the bubbles caused by metallurgical fabrication of coatings of early M6s probably arose in part due to the recent repatriation of assemvly equipment from their Canadian subsidiary to Germany and the adaptation period for Leica technicians with new top plate materials. Whatever, they have no importance in the making of photographs if the optical and mechanical functions of the camera are up to standard. The camera looks to be in pretty good condition for a camera about 30 years old and having gotten it at a good price no doubt allows you to spend more on the other materials of importance, films and developers. Have fun.</p>

[seanmoran]

<p>May you derive much enjoyment from your new Leica, Mukul. It's good that it has a few blemishes. You won't feel guilty about adding a few more on the Delhi streets in the years ahead All the best, Seán.</p>

[Gus Lazzari]

<p>Mukul, spray or tape up that "Red Dot" with black, then "bubbles" will be a true lady of the night...<br>

Have fun, can't wait to see those wonderful <em>India street shots</em> you take with it... </p>

[seth_lord]

<p>Mukul - we of a certain age can live with the implied insults. They too will attain age, if not wisdom and sympathy.<br>

You will find loading with the tulip a breeze!<br>

http://www.pbase.com/kalkadan/india</p>

[paul_neuthaler]

<p>enjoy it</p>

[charles_stobbs3]

You can always take her portrait (and photoshop her).

[Alex_Es]

<p>You got a good camera. You'll find shooting film an enlightening experience. Like shoot bear with a flintlock. We don't want to miss.</p>

[Alex_Es]

<p>You got a good camera. You'll find shooting film an enlightening experience. Like shoot bear with a flintlock. We don't want to miss.</p>

[john_robison3]

<p>"This, if all goes well, will be the last film camera I buy"</p>

<p>Yeah, keep telling yourself that. I finally gave in and admitted that I just don't know what I'm going to do.<br>

Nevertheless congrats on finding a good deal. I finally decided on a M4-2 but when I had the money in my hot little hands the only available camera at the annual sale and swap I go to was a mint sample so I paid more than I wanted to. Considering the price of Leica lenses the only way I could even dream of a Leica was using Voigtlander optics. Fortunately I had a neighbor who sold me a 21 f4 and 35 f2.5 for a very reasonable price and about 6 months later I found a 90 f4 Elmar in LTM at a good buy-it-now price so now I have a reasonable spread of focal lengths. I actually bought the 21 and 35 a couple of months before I got the body. Got into the system backwards.</p>

<p>ps: The black chrome on M4-2's wears as ugly as everyone says.</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>Thank you, all. Good to have friends who are scattered all over and who have never seen me (except Sean) but who understand what I say and what I do.<br>

Arthur, its serial number says that this unit is from 1995. Don Goldberg bought it for me and said, after his standard inspection, that it had seen little use.<br>

I know I shouldn't act too sure of myself, John, but I really am tired of trying this and then that. I have perhaps another decade of photography in me, and it is time I settled down with something and got to know it inside out. Work matters, tools should not take up time.<br>

Another twelve hours to go before I get the prints of the first roll exposed. I managed to load without trouble and found that the meter's indication (a new kind for me) was not incomprehensible. However, the notorious flaring of the R/F patch became apparent very rapidly indeed. My M3/M2/M3 never did this.</p>

[Dieter Schaefer]

<blockquote>

<p>However, the notorious flaring of the R/F patch became apparent very rapidly indeed.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That's fixable as you are likely aware of - for a price of course.</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>Dieter, I do not propose to spend the $300 or more that a finder upgrade will cost. Well, maybe I don't even have that much money left. Besides, my view is that Leica should not have sold a badly designed finder in the first place. For the present I have put a small rectangle of black tape in the centre of the frame-line illumination window. I find that this makes eye position much less critical than it was. It is dark here, though, and I have yet to test this in daylight. A more elegant solution, but not a virtually free one, is Lutz Konermann's SHADE. I realise that such things are not complete answers.</p>

[leicaglow]

<p>A Leica is no different than a fine exotic sports car. Drive it for awhile until you understand her, then modify only that which does not give you pleasure. Enjoy your new lady.</p>

[david_barts2]

<p>Blemished Leicas make the best users for those not rolling in money because their prices aren't bid up by the collectors who want something to sit in a case and look pretty. Plus you don't have to worry about cutting its value in half the first time you "christen" it with a ding.</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>Michael, I'd say a Leica is no different in its function from any other camera -- that is, it is a tool -- but it is better made than most others. The people who make it make mistakes too. Why else would the finder design of the M3/M2/M4 have been messed up so that the R/F patch flares and becomes unusable.<br>

Quite right, David. Fellows like me wouldn't stand a chance when there's collectors swarming about. But I must say that I do worry about ding-making events for the reason that their effects sometimes are internal as well. The range-finder of the M Leica is notorious for being sensitive to bumps. I used to baby my elderly M3s because I feared the fatal finder black-out.</p>

[Rob F.]

<p>I like "bubbles" already! I have an M6 just like her, minus the bubbles. I sent mine to DAG for the MP finder upgrade and a straight metal MP winding lever.</p>

<p>It is a great camera. Enjoy it!</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>Thank you, Rob F. Know something? My beauteous Bubbles actually works.</p><div></div>

[love4leica]

<p>Congratulations. Now lets see some results, please.<br>

Best wishes<br>

Afzal</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>Thank you, Ansary Sahab. There's one photo just above your post, another in the Pic of the Week thread, and a third in my Photo.Net portfolio.</p>

[Uhooru]

<p>Schweeeeet. Enjoy Mukul!</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>Thank you, Barry. I've been doing similar work with other RFDR cameras, mainly M3 and M2 and screw mount ones: but, as I had expected, the presence of a built-in meter makes for speed and flexibility. The film SLRs I used for over three decades had meters in them.<br>

For some years I have used digital for income earning work and film for friends and family. Film automatically brings the prints which people like and want. Scanning negatives (to get the digital files that buyers want) is not a good option as there is an incredible amount of dust here the removal of which from a single photo can take an hour or more.<br>

This camera -- and the IIIc I am awaiting -- will probably soon begin to be used also in the paid portrait work I am planning. Maybe I can use film for other professional work also as I now have a piece of software which largely automates the process of dust removal. Leicas are smaller and lighter and they allow more control over depth of field than a cropped sensor digital.</p>

[jason]

<p>Enjoy your Leica M6. I purchased mine new, after a trade with my Pentax 6x7,that never saw use. The meter in the M6 is a good thing. Not perfect and here in Canada, with cold weather in Winter, needs extra batteries. Of course as I write, we have no cold weather! I discovered the wondrous rangefinder flare, as I started shooting in Toronto. The next flaw is the viewfinder. I really am less than impressed. Compared to my battered M3 and pristine M2, it's like flying blind.In time one makes adjustments and allowances but one has to question Leica design and less than perfect quality control. Before everybody organizes a lynch mob, hear me out. Bubbles on the body? The lack of QC goes back awhile! My M3 arrived, new in box, 3 signatures of tests at Wetzlar's Big Party day! The fact there was no finished rangefinder..No! I was not given another. assembly finished in South Africa.<br>

So those of us who work with these cameras accept what we have and make do with it! It is still unique and the only camera that has a special quality of another kind.<br>

The photo posted simply wonderful.Good luck Mukul.</p>