downgrading M7 for a M6 TTL ? Im I nuts ? M6TTL users help

[proenca]

Well... I am thinking of downgrading my M7... to trade it for a M6 TTL Titanium.. just holded one the other day and the beast its marvellous.. plus I was offered to buy a 35 1.4 ASPH and a 50 ASPH both Ti at very very reaseanoble prices...

So apart from the A mode ( which I only seldom use ) and the automatic DX coding, is there anything im going to miss going from a M7 to a M6 TTL ?

I never hold a M6 TTL, so one thing puzzles me : when in A mode in a M7, the speed is shown in the viewfinder... but not in full manual mode, just the dots and arrows... in the M6TTL no speed indication at all ? so how do you know what speed you are taking the picture ? you must lower the camera and set it to lets say 1/60 and know if you turn 1 time right its going to be 1/30, of if you turns two times left going to be 1/250 ? no speed figure at all in the viewfinder ?

cheers

[alexz]

Xmm, I'm a newbie into Leica and very fresh and so far excited M6 user, but I already realized that M6 (as probably all pre-M7 Leicas) gets to be used mostly in "shutter priority-like" mode. The shutter dial cannot be controlled by your finger "on the fly" while keeping your camera against your eye in shooting/composing/focusing postion because of being far from the frotn camera edge, pretty stiff to turn (positive stiffness, not something out of the lines). Must admit the dial isn't very comfortable to turn in hurry situations even grasping one with two fingers. That is good ensuring no shutter speed can be altered unintentionally, the weel cannot be easily controlled by one finger as one may get used in high-end SLRs.
All that led me to shoot in kind of "shutter-priority mode", i.e. make exp. measurements for given environment, set the shutter speed ahead and then control the exposure vatiations by aperture - this is as long as you stay within reasonable exposure boundaries (i.e. correct exposure doesn't change a log throughout your shooting environment, say within hald stop to 1 stop). If there are significant exp. differences between shooting situations - stop, take ex. measurements once again, set new shutter speed and start over again with aperture.
In fact, it may sound more scary then in the real life. I found so far in traditional siatuations (daym indoors at home or in constant illuminationa in general, outdoors in daylight or similar), a single exp. asessement is well enough at the beginning, so I set the necessary shutter and shoot controlling the aperture (usually within a half stop or single stop here or there).

[SDK]

M6 TTL does have a larger and forward speed dial, but it stops at OFF and 1/1000s, instead of being continuously turnable. M7 has a quieter and more accurate shutter and many of them have the flare reducing MP optics in the finder. M7 has high speed flash sync with Metz 54MZ flashes, but it's a manual flash mode that reduces flash power a lot.

[ferider]

Originally Posted by alexz

Xmm, I'm a newbie into Leica and very fresh and so far excited M6 user, but I already realized that M6 (as probably all pre-M7 Leicas) gets to be used mostly in "shutter priority-like" mode.

Alex, I 95% go the other way around - set the aperture that I want (knowing I'm in a certain acceptable speed window) and set the speed blind, one or two stops, mostly with the pressure of one sometimes two fingers. Works very well on my 2 M6 bodies.

Roland.

[Flyfisher Tom]

Originally Posted by proenca

So apart from the A mode ( which I only seldom use ) and the automatic DX coding, is there anything im going to miss going from a M7 to a M6 TTL ?

No.

I never hold a M6 TTL, so one thing puzzles me : when in A mode in a M7, the speed is shown in the viewfinder... but not in full manual mode, just the dots and arrows... in the M6TTL no speed indication at all ? so how do you know what speed you are taking the picture ?

You know because you set it in the first place before placing your eye to the viewfinder

you must lower the camera and set it to lets say 1/60 and know if you turn 1 time right its going to be 1/30, of if you turns two times left going to be 1/250 ? no speed figure at all in the viewfinder ?

Yep. If you rarely if ever use the A mode on the M7, just set the speed you prefer to shoot with, then adjust the aperture depending on what the arrows in the VF tell you. Or vice versa, set the aperture, and depending on the arrows, adjust your speed dial. That is the fun of a fully manual camera, it makes you know your aperture steps and speed steps seamlessly

Go for it, the M6TTLs are great cameras.

[Flyfisher Tom]

By the way, it is not a downgrade ... rather a sideshift

[sunsworth]

Originally Posted by alexz

The shutter dial cannot be controlled by your finger "on the fly" while keeping your camera against your eye in shooting/composing/focusing postion because of being far from the frotn camera edge, pretty stiff to turn (positive stiffness, not something out of the lines)

Yes it can. Don't try to grip it with two fingers, use the fleshy part of the last bone of your index finger to push it in the direction you want. I've being doing this for years without a problem.

[dreamsandart]

A bit off topic, but maybe you don't know...
If you want to 'upgrade' in features you can look into 'the best' manual metered Leica, an M5. Continuous light level readout with an analog scale in the finder, shutter speeds in the finder, a more narrow angle meter [ than other M-Leica ] for selective readings and the area defined in the finder, truer lens frame coverage than the newer models, easy to change finger tip adjusting large shutter speed dial while you have your eye at the finder. A very well built camera in the Wetzlar tradition with improvements that unfortunately were not carried over to the next generation of Leica metered cameras.

[proenca]

Thank you all for your messages... unfortunatly they emphasized what I was fearing : I wont miss much

So since I use 99% of the time in my M7 a 35 F2 ASPH, I might just pickup a M6 TTL ti with a 35 1.4 ASPH Ti ... oh I can see my credit card moaning already...

Does anyone know if theres any shop ( UK, USA ) with a 90 F2 Ti ? I can see various 35 F2, F1.4, 50 1.4 are quite popular in the used market but I never seen a 90 F2...

My current kit is a 35 and a 90... to be honest I would prefer a 75, but they dont do it in Ti... So a 90 it is.. but I simply cant find it.. suposedly they were 500 made of each ( 35 x 2 , 90 and 50 ) but I cant simply find any 90... ideas_? ebay search every day ? Bribe camera stores to call me if they receive any ? ( dont ask how the M6 TTL Ti was ofered to me anyway... )