[Leica] M6 Metering Pattern

[Jim Laurel <jplaurel@microsoft.com>]

I'm a relatively new M6 user and also shoot with a Contax G2 and Canon
EOS1n.  I'm finding that metering with the M6 takes alot more thought and
interpretation than with these other cameras.  Will some of you experienced
M6 users read below and comment?  Thanks!

On evenly-lit daylight scenes with the Summilux-M 1:1.4/35, the M6 meter
usually gives me spot-accurate readings.  However, the other day, I was
shooting some portraits of children at wide aperatures with heavy
backlighting.  For the backlit shots, I moved in very close to get a reading
off thier faces.  The G2 and M6 disagreed by about 1 stop and, when the
slides were processed, the G2 exposure was correct while the M6 shots were
underexposed.  I was surprised at this and made doubly sure that the meters
were not being influenced by the backlight.  I then carried out some simple
tests, doing reflected readings with a constant light source off a grey
card.

Result: The G2, EOS, and M6 all agreed exactly.
Conclusion: My M6 meter seems to be working properly.

With the 21mm lens, you have to be really careful.  I have a whole bunch of
slides shot on the Chesapeake Bay last week (sunny day, glistening water,
deep blue sky) that are around 1 stop underexposed.  Others, shot on the
same day of more evenly-lit scenes, are perfectly exposed.  I've shot
similar scenes many times with the G2 and EOS1n and both cameras produced
perfect results.

I'm coming to the conclusion that I have alot to learn in terms of using the
M6 meter, i.e., making it a point to meter off the ground on sunny days so
as not to be thrown off by a bright sky, etc.  I don't think I have an
innacurate meter because all my cameras agree when metering a controlled
light source off a grey card.  It seems to be a matter of just getting used
to the M6s metering pattern.

Have any of you experienced similar behavior?

One other note...  While I was playing around with the cameras, I tried
metering off a computer screen displaying a peice of email (black lettering
on white background).  What happened was strange.  The M6 showed both LEDs
(i.e. proper exposure) at 1/8 sec at ALL APERATURES from f4 to f11!!!  Try
it and you'll see what I mean.  Something in the design of the M6's meter
renders it totally useless for metering CRTs!!  The G2 meter correctly
measured my computer screen at 1/8, f8.  The EOS 1n also agreed with this
reading.

Comments welcome...

- --Jim Laurel