RE: [Leica] The M6 Fugue

[Dave Richards <dprichards@uswest.net>]

You're right.  Up to a point.  In order to take manual control of my N90,
or to change exposure mode, focus mode, metering mode, etc., it's necessary
for me to take the camera down from my eye, fiddle with tiny buttons, turns
wheels, etc.  And then I get the camera back to my eye in time to determine
that I've missed another good shot because I was focusing too much on my
equipment and too little on the subject.

With the M6, the meter reading is a suggestion, since all the meter does is
turn on one or both little l.e.d. pointers.  I can and frequently do
override the meter's suggestion by metering a section of the scene that
isn't the center part of the shot.  I can quickly select a larger or
smaller aperture, a faster or slower shutter speed, or selectively focus,
all without removing the camera from my eye.  And a real plus is that,
since I'm not viewing through the taking lens, I can see what's happening
outside the frame line (except with my 24), so I can quickly shift emphasis
or anticipate something that will happen momentarily.

I design and write computer software.  I have learned that software that
can be understood and used intuitively, rather than relying on
counterintuitive gadgets and gimicks and bulky manuals, is a lot more fun
and makes users much more productive.  Not unlike the M6.

>OK, take the M90 press mode and turn the control wheel, or whatever it is
>called, until the display says M, and You have a fully manual camera.
>
>And funny, but for me its the other way around, when I use the F90 I have to
>think alot, what exposure mode, focus mode, metering mode and so on,
>with the M6 I just take pictures.
>
>/Anders Nygren
>
>
>