Re: [Leica] M2 vs M4 vs M6 - Newbie Q

["4Season" <4Season@boulder.net>]

Skip,

The M6 meter is nothing fancy, but it's definitely very handy, and I feel
that it makes the M6 overall, the nicest to use.

Seeing two framelines in the 0.72X finder simultaneously does not bother me,
and in fact, I think the 35mm framelines in the M6 finder are positioned
exactly right, and the 50 is good too. I wish they had corners rather than
sides though. The 90mm lines are thin and the corner gaps are especially
big, but it's useable. It seems to me that the M6 rangefinder patch and
framelines do wash out more readily in harsh lighting, but for the most
part, photos taken under these conditions are already flaring pretty badly.
I usually wear glasses and think it's hard to see the entire 28mm frame at
once, but it's better than no frame at all. I plan to skip it and go for a
15mm lens, which needs a separate finder no matter which M it's used with
(15, 35, 50, 90--and 2x tele extender??)

The M6 lens release button has a finger guard and a flat top, so accidental
lens releasing is very unlikely. Considering that the lenses twist off in
just 1/8th turn, this is no small matter! On my M4, I must've accidently
grabbed it's (unprotected) release button as I removed the camera from the
bag, because not long afterwards, I heard my new 50 mm smack the pavement
with a dull "thud". If I still owned the M4, I'd have an M3-type finger
guard added and probably have the lensmount spring and lens release spring
replaced, as both were a good deal weaker than those in my newish M6, which
hasn't dropped a lens yet!

Leica was trying to eliminate some lathe and milling operations when they
redesigned the rewind knob on the M6, and the little plastic spinner has a
too-small gripping area. The M4's metal piece was much larger and easier to
grasp. the M6 piece is adequate, but if you can find a NOS chrome M4 part,
send me a private email :-) A minor annoyance, given that they clearly know
how to do better.

The M4, M4-2, M4-P and M6 can be rapidly fired with ease, and you do not
need to remove all finger pressure from the shutter release as you wind the
camera. With the M3 (and presumably, the M2) you do, and it's real annoying.
If I owned one of these older M cameras, I'd certainly look into getting it
modified.

The M6 eyepiece is rubberized and does not mar acrylic eyeglasses and
sunglasses.  I guess when the M3 was designed, eyeglasses were made of
harder stuff, because an aluminum eyepiece is not too kind on today's
stuff.. It should be possible to retrofit the newer part onto older cameras.

Finally, the vulcanite leatherette covering of the M4 and earlier bodies has
it's devotees, but to me, it smells faintly like a car tire, it can leave
black marks when something wipes against it, and at this late date, tends to
be brittle and crack off, sometimes in largish chips. Will today's stick-on
coverings do as well 40 years from now? Who can say, but for the here and
now, I'll go with the modern stuff. Yes, the older gear can be very
appealing in it's own right, but I've confined my opinions to operational
differences.

Jeff


- -----Original Message-----
From: Skip Williams <skipwilliams@pobox.com>
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Date: Wednesday, May 19, 1999 8:54 AM
Subject: [Leica] M2 vs M4 vs M6 - Newbie Q


>Sorry for this kind of post, but I've been contemplating the purchase of
>one of these bodies for my first M Leica.   I have several books that
>describe the mechanical differences between them, so I don't need that kind
>of response, but I'd like some practical advice.
>
>Any significant handling differences?