steve deer Posted April 25, 2003 Share Posted April 25, 2003 Hi all Been lurking around here for a couple of weeks now. I'm new to photography, although I'm an art director by trade. I've generally ignored the technical stuff about photography (let the pro's get on wit it) but recently purchased a Nikon Coolpix 5700, which lit my fire! Looking around at the images I admire (mainly b/w), it seems my favourite photographers all seem to use Leica Rangefinders. I walked into a reputable dealer here in my home town (Liverpool UK) and they're selling a 10 year old black M6, in lovely condition, complete with a 35mm f2 lens with hood(?) to fit 35mm and 50mm lens', and a 'grip' , all for £1,250 (about US $1,985). Does that seem a reasonable deal? Is there anything I should look out for? Advice much appreciated. Cheers... Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray . Posted April 25, 2003 Share Posted April 25, 2003 First off is the lens a Summicron, and what serial number? Others will have much more to add... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn_warren Posted April 25, 2003 Share Posted April 25, 2003 Price seems about ok but depends on overall condition of the outfit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david11 Posted April 25, 2003 Share Posted April 25, 2003 In today's market the price seems no better than average, even if the M6 (assume Classic, not TTL) and 35 Summicron are in mint condition. If you have the time to really look and let the deals come to you, you will find better pricing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul hart Posted April 25, 2003 Share Posted April 25, 2003 I live 15 miles or so from you along the East Lancs Road, and am familiar with Leica dealers in the NW. Contact me off forum if you would like a chat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve deer Posted April 25, 2003 Author Share Posted April 25, 2003 Ray Apparently the lens is a Summicron, I don't know the serial number, but I can get it. Does that make a difference? Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ray . Posted April 25, 2003 Share Posted April 25, 2003 Steve, go to cameraquest.com and you'll find lots of the information you need. Value of 35mm Summicrons vary from around $500 for earlier models to $1000 for the latest model Asph, so yes, serial number is important. Unless the camera includes the Asph ($950-$1000) or German made pre-Asph (about $850-$900), the price might be a bit high. If the body is mint it should fetch about $1100 by itself.... If you like the camera get a return policy and have it checked out by a technician to make sure there aren't any problems. A good technician can tell you in 5 minutes if it likely needs anything. Also shoot and develop a roll of film with it while you can still return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johann_fuller Posted April 25, 2003 Share Posted April 25, 2003 Steve, If this is going to be your first film camera I would seriously think about getting a descent all manual SLR - an M is a very specialised tool and very unforgiving of mistakes in focusing and exposure control. A bit like buying a Porsche 911 as your first car - but obviously not life endangering!. Don't take this as Leica snobbery or someone talking down to you - it's just that to use an M properly you need a good understanding of how cameras work - the effects of diferent apertures, focusing points, metering etc - even film loading! A good manual SLR is much more intuative as the image projected onto the screen is what you get and you can play with apertures and focusing and see the effects - WYSIWYG - (what you see is what you get) I have to say - it takes a keen eye to tell the difference between a picture taken on an M and one on an SLR with a fixed lens - I even have pictures taken on a Canon AF with a cheap 28-80 zoom that have a leica 'glow' to them! The price is not nearly enough of a bargin to give it a chance - spend 1/4 of this and spend the rest on film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike dixon Posted April 25, 2003 Share Posted April 25, 2003 My first "real camera" (one on which I could control all the functions) when I was 12 years old was a Japanese-made rangefinder. I suspect that if a preteen can cope with the "difficulties" of learning photography with a rangefinder camera, an adult can probably handle it, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john15 Posted April 25, 2003 Share Posted April 25, 2003 "...an M is a very specialised tool and very unforgiving of mistakes..." how does turning a shutter speed dial, twisting an aperture ring and adjusting a split-image rangefinder make any camera a "specialized and unforgiving tool"? This sort of thing is heard often from manual camera enthusiasts, especially Leica owners, but it just doesn't take much genius to work a camera. Now the ability to "see" photographically is something else again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve deer Posted April 26, 2003 Author Share Posted April 26, 2003 Johann I do appreciate what you're saying... I'm very 'I WANT A LEICA, I WANT ONE NOW... OR I'LL SCREAM AND SCREAM AND SCREAM!!'. Here's some examples of shots taken with my Nikon 5700. Some set to aperture priority, some set to manual. Criticism welcome... http://s.deer.users.btopenworld.com/sam.html http://s.deer.users.btopenworld.com/liverpool.html Regards Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_w. Posted April 26, 2003 Share Posted April 26, 2003 That would be an expensive set-up here or on the auction site. But, when you consider that the price reflects V.A.T (16 or 19%), sound 'bout right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve deer Posted April 27, 2003 Author Share Posted April 27, 2003 steve There's no VAT as it is a private sale from the store's owner. Paul Hart has given me a good contact in London. I want to VAT, as I'm VAT registered and can claim it back. I'm coming to the conclusuion that the deal is not particicularly good... all other suggestions appreciated Regards Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Williams Posted April 27, 2003 Share Posted April 27, 2003 I'm not sure you'll find a much better price at a UK dealer (though you may well do better with a private sale/ebay/imported camera). I haven't seen many M6s below about £800 (for Exc+/Exc++), and those few in the £700-£750 range typically have significant 'zincing' or other signs of wear - check the dealer ads in a recent issue of Amateur Photogorapher for current prices. And if you see a 35 'cron of any description in a UK shop below £400, let me know! I'm not sure you'll be able to recover VAT on a secondhand M6 purchase either - I think dealers tend to use the 'VAT margin' scheme, where the amount of VAT charged is much lower (only charged on the profit margin, and perhaps not recoverable within the EU..?). This might make a new M6(TTL) more attractive to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johann_fuller Posted April 28, 2003 Share Posted April 28, 2003 John - if you cared to read my post properly you will notice I WAS advocating a manual camera - an SLR - where you can see what is going on more easily - especialy with aperture and focus changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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