Leica M6 TTL .58 35mm Rangefinder Camera

Pros: A nearly intuitive, rugged picture-taking machine
Cons: lack of bells and whistles may annoy amateurs

THE LEGENDARY LEICA M6

By Frank Van Riper
Professional photographer, author and photography columnist for <Washingtonpost.com>

The current incarnation of the legendary Leica rangefinder camera—the TTL M6—may be the...

Pros: Build quality, classic all-manual RF camera, unbeatable optics, large bright viewfinder.
Cons: Difficult to operate for the beginner, high prices for camera and lenses.

INTRODUCTION

The M6TTL is the last Leica rangefinder camera with a mechanically timed shutter. It's a handsome, compact camera which is surprisingly heavy (1/2 kilogram). It's very solidly built and workmanship is first class. The basic model...

Pros: Rugged, Accurate, Compact, Quiet, etc
Cons: Expensive

I have just returned from an incredible day of wandering around the countryside in search of unusual or interesting people and places. I meandered along an old and mostly unused state highway, stopping in at country stores and filling stations, yard...

Pros: Beautiful, romantic, sexy.
Cons: Expensive, heavy, old-fashioned, slow, awkward...

Why buy Omega Speedmaster Watch and not a Casio Quartz? Because of it's classic looks, the romantic blabla, it's uniqueness etc. A timepiece, not a watch...yeah and about 10 times as expensive. So why do people buy expensive things with less...

Pros: Compact, nearly silent, fantastic lenses
Cons: Expensive, can be awkward to use.

After reading and hearing all sorts of fantastic things about the legendary Leica, I decided to take it for a test drive. One of the photographers I work for loaned me his M6 TTL for a week, and I took it with me everywhere I went.

First of...

Pros: Superb piece of hardware; food for your dreams; owning a style.
Cons: Hard payoff matrix; dependent of your abilities like a baby.

Let me say from the start: I love Leicas; I love the "mirrorless", candid and silent concept of a rangefinder and I do not bother about the alleged limitations of the M series in the face of modern SLRs (not even the clumsy film loading). I miss my M3...

Pros: Mechanical reliability, creative simplicity, great optics, small, light
Cons: Over-priced, over-collected, difficult film loading

I loved using my Leica. There's something about it that really just feels good- I can't put it into words, but there is certainly an intangible quality that is likely the real reason why this over-priced simple camera still sells.

I find that...

Pros: No electronics making decisions for you.
Cons: Have to take the entire camera bottom off to load film.

Leica cameras are known for having fine quality and precision mechanics. As well as having some spectacular lenses that also have a high degree of build quality. But, Leica cameras and lenses are extremely expensive. In fact, if you are considering...

Pros: A true classic camera, pure, uncluttered, a beautiful piece of machinery
Cons: not good for macro or wildlife photography, but great for everything else.

I'm going to make this review as simple and to the point as possible.



-the very first portable 35mm camera ever was a Leica rangefinder-the Leica rangefinder tradition goes way back to the beginnings of photography.
-the M6...

Pros: Completely Manual Camera Body only dependent on batteries for the Light meter's LEDs
Cons: None Worth Mentioning

Having had my Leica M6 of twelve years stolen on a recent trip to Spain, my insurance company and I replaced it all with the M6 TTL.
My photographic background goes back a couple of decades working as the regional photographer for United Press...

Pros: good optics
Cons: poor value

As you read comments about the M-series cameras you will see a love it or hate it pattern. If you can live with the system limitations and money is no object the Leica maybe a good choice for you. If on the other hand money is a concern and value...

Pros: 4
Cons: 4

One of the biggest questions before the camera arrived was "How Good is the Finish?"  After all, it has been decades since Leica produced a black paint camera.   

The new black finish is bit shinier than the old, but this probably...

This is the best camera on the market. The only negative thing I can say (even if you want to call it a negative) is that it is sometimes difficult to load film. Other than that, it has all the features you want and the quality in a professional camera.