Leica's M6TTL is the best film Leica ever
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- čas přidán 15. 07. 2024
- Leica's film cameras are all great but the greatest of all was the M6TTL, it's the pinnacle of the modern film rangefinder. Let's review the M6TTL and see how it compares with the MP, the M7 or the M6 Classic.
If you're building a rangefinder system for film photography you might want to review what the options are, but I think you'll agree, the M6TTL is the way to go.
Rob Skeoch is a career photographer, working for five newspapers and wire services before joining the team at Major League Baseball for 17 seasons and the NFL for 14 seasons. Then he was a national manager for the camera group at Sony North America before going back to shooting.
Now he shoots black and white film for gallery shows around the world, mostly portraits and street work. For 35mm shooting he uses a Nikon F3 and a couple M-mount Leica cameras and shoots mostly Ilford film.
Tips for shooting black and white film,
HP5 FP4Pan F Ilford Zeiss ZM Distagon Summaron Biogon Leica Leica R6.2 R6.2 R6 Nikon Nikon F3 Nikon F3T Nikon FM3A Pentax Pentax LX Pentax MX Canon Canon F1 Canon New F1Minolta Minolta X-700 Olympus Olympus OM4 Olympus OM3 Olympus OM4T Olympus OM3T Contax Kodak Fiilmprocessing darkroom black and white b&w developing film at home developing black and white filmdeveloping 35mm filmdeveloping roll film loading film developing reels loading 35mm film on reel loading 35mm film loading 35mm into development tank #blackandwhitephotography, #filmphotography, #blackandwhite, #filmprocessing, #film,, #bw, , #filmisnotdead, #blackandwhitephoto, #filmcamera, #35mmfilm, #leica, #nikon, #darkroom, #darkrooms, #film, #filmcamera, , #leica, #leicasociety, #ilford, #120film, #rolleiflex #rollei, #gitzo #kodak, #streetphotography,, photo, photography, picture, 135mm lens, 35mm film, black and white, rollei, ilford, portrait, #nikon, #canon, #pentax, #zeiss #distagon #18mm #zeisslens #leicaphotography #leica_world #leicaimages #leicalens, #leica_camera #leicam6 #nikonf3 #nikonfm2 #canon_official #minolta #olympus #Leicam6 #Leicam #hp5 #ilfordhp5 - Věda a technologie
Hey Rob, Vic MacBournie here from the old days. Loving your videos. Keep up the good work my friend.
Glad you’re liking them
Excellent video presentation. Not sure I fully agree on the camera choice but it’s certainly a close call. Please continue to post - your experience is much valued.
There really is no best.... each one built for a different purpose.
Appreciate your video, knowledge and opinion. I love my MP having no red dot etc. Black paint of course.
It's a great camera!!
Thanks for the video.
Your rodeo cowboy book looks like a winner. It reminds me of Richard Avedon's American West project.
While I was in college, I used a Leica M1 on a microscope.
When I was shooting for a newspaper, I primarily used Nikon SLR bodies (F, F2, F3, and F4) with a 24/35/85/180mm lens kit.
Later, I purchased a Leica M6 classic with a 21/35/90mm lens kit for the times when I needed to shoot quietly.
Those would be fun systems to use.
Great video! I’ve owned two M6 models. Beautiful cameras!!!
Yeah, they're nice to work with.
Great video. Great history. Thanks 😊
RS. Canada
Glad you liked it.
@@stillshootinginblackandwhite Didn't Leica make the the top-plate on the M6TTL out of zinc instead of brass?
That's a very good question. I'm not sure but I don't think it's brass. A collector would know for sure.
Totally agree. I have an M6 TTL .58 and an M7 with the .72 viewfinder. Good video!
The M6TTL with the 58 viewfinder is perfect.
Great video, very well thought out and descriptive too. I owned a M4 Midland which was black chrome also. You did however forget about the M5. Black Chrome, M4 viewfinder with that incredible light meter showing the shutter speeds in the viewfinder, a shutter speed dial that can be used without taking ones eyes of the viewfinder, esp in the winter with gloves - no confusion with pointing arrows and the like. I agree with the poster that said it is the best M in terms of a photographic tool . I also believe the the engineers who designed it thought it was the very best that they could do. I love mine. I do wish it was more svelt and pretty but, you can't have it all!
Things like the M5, and the M6TTL for that matter, were great cameras and the engineers did a great job, but the market didn't buy into them for some reason.
Hello fellow Ontario photographer! And great video summary of the differences between the M6, M7 and MP. For a second there I was afraid you were going to rant about the M4, as I am the proud owner of one. As long as the shutter speeds are accurate, these days I am glad to shoot with any M camera! :D
When I got out of college in the 1980's I worked for the first year at Burlington Camera. They were a Leica dealer but didn't really stock anything. They did have one 'new-old-stock' black M4 unopened. It was $600 and a guy came into buy it and literally walked around the store all afternoon to think about it because of the high price. lol
@@stillshootinginblackandwhite I have been to Burlington Camera a few times. That's quite a lot for back then but people are paying multiple month's salary for one now so nothing much has changed
Oh, I should have bought it. Of course I should have bought a bunch of houses in Burlington back then too, ... not sure where any of that money would have come from.
Totally agree! You’re the only person I’ve ever known to say it as I found it too. I started with an m6, and then got a 2nd body m6ttl to travel together. Everybody always talked as though the original was better, but it frustrated me how small the speed dial was, and how it would need to turn the wrong way for the exposure arrows. With the TTL version, it was better to handle with dial turning same way as aperture ring and metering arrows. Plus more knowable what speed setting you were at in poor light by feel. Yes, slightly bigger. I think people disliked that it introduced TTL as Leica always viewed as a natural light only camera. Then with the MP they marketed it as quieter, etc but why would they reverse the speed dial direction. Madness. Anyway, using the 2 bodies together messed with my mind so I always tried to use the TTL as main, and M6 as backup.
Anyway, at one time, I travelled through Asia for 6 months, 100s of rolls of slide film, finally developed them at Bangkok to find both rangefinders had knocked out of alignment. Most of my pics all out of focus. That was it for me. I had always assumed indestructible machines. Yes and no. Fragile aspects. Moved to digital Ms and now SL with M lens adaptor so could see the issue without delay. Miss the mechanical feel but better times with their bodies now. So I feel Leica again have slightly pandered to collector reputation rather than ergonomics reprising the M6 classic over the TTL.
Leica did the right thing reissuing the M6, the M6TTL wasn't as popular and is considered the ugly step-sister to the M6. Few would have bought the M6TTL if they came out with it.
Any serious user would service their rangefinder once every few years. Especially if the camera is being brought overseas for a prolonged period.
Yes, you're right.
Still have my M6TTL bought in Japan in 1999. It did very well for many years. Got a few of the magnesium rust bubbles on the top though, which of course does not affect operation. But because it is now very expensive to do film, I eventually stopped using it for digital, and now very happy with a Leica M240MP, which of course takes all my old lenses. I like the electronic visoflex very much as I can use extension tubes for macro work, and I must say the old Summicron 50mm that I have is fantastic for macro. Actually I did for a while re-use my M6 with black and white film and developed myself, scanning the negatives in order to print them, but in the end it became a drudge, and anyway the M240 does great black and white. Best wishes from Japan.
I think if you're going to scan the negs and not actually print them, you're better off shooting digital. Film becomes a hassle.
I agree with you 100%. The M6 TTL with the 0.58x viewfinder is my favorite M body. I like shooting 28mm and 35mm.
Yeah, they are nice to use, especially with the 35mm and one set of framelines.
How many lenses can you use on the M6?
Six without viewfinders, plus any lens that has a viewfinder, so maybe another six.
Never heard that explanation before about Leica’s motivation being influencers. At any rate, I was looking for a good M6 TTL for the reasons you stated, but found a practically new MP for close the same price. I’m pretty happy with it so far, but sure wish the shutter speed dial was the same as my digital.
I'm sure you'll be happy with it. Did you get a chrome or black?
@@stillshootinginblackandwhitechrome and I think the black is in more demand
Have fun with it. It's a great camera.
Yes you have lost your marbles but ... your experience tells me you are right I just have a preference for the M2 because I mainly shoot 35mm lenses and it's perfect for a 35mm lens, never liked the M6 but yes the TTL must be the best of them all considering I use flash. I just never took to it.
Thanks. I like the M2 as well.
Seven years ago I tested a classic M6 but I found the exposure system (the direction of the dial and the two arrows) a bit contra-intuitive. After that I bought an M6TTL and I never looked back ...
Like I said, they are the best.
M3 is the best.
Is you're a single stroke, or a two stroke?
nice video with great historical explanation.
I tend to disagree on the definition of the Leica M6 as the "pinnacle of film cameras". Probably the pinnacle of "Leica cameras" as when it comes to rangefinders, Voigtlander and Contax made quite better, and if we compare to SLR there is no competition. 1/1000s max speed, slow flash sync, no safety mechanism to prevent battery drain or accidental exposure (apart from the M7), no double exposure mechanism, a quite frankly cumbersome metering system (you have to know which lens you have to understand how big the weighing area is - and by the way it's only average-weighted), a very bad close focusing distance...not to mention the price. My Nikon FM2n (just to stay in the pure mechanical cameras) will beat that in every aspect...and with some Zeiss glass I don't think there is much to be missed.
For those who are really in love with rangefinder (and are photographers and not influencers) I would suggest other rangefinders cameras that use M-mount and buy the expennsive (and supposedly better) Leica glass.
That said, as photography is also a love affair with our gear, if someone love their Leicas...fine for me ;-)
Of course there is no best camera. I think the M6TTL is the best of the Leica's, but the best film SLR depends on what features you want. I like the F3 but I owned an F6 in the past and it was far better, with super fast AF. The best camera I ever owned/used was actually the Ebony SV810, a camera that was a joy to shoot, even though few people have heard of it.
Nikon made better cameras than Leica, they also made better lenses than Leica. War photographers love the Nikon and Leica owners love Nikon lenses.
Yeah, the Nikon rangefinders where great to use.
Hi Rob, would you know reputable people to perform a CLA on Leica M in the Toronto area? Btw I really your channel! Best, Arie
I took my M6 to Downtown Camera when it needed service, and they sent it to Leica USA. I think you can also send the gear directly to Leica USA. I don't know of anyone else!!
@@stillshootinginblackandwhite thank you I appreciate your reply. If you are in Bermuda one day, there is some amazing scuba diving to do here!
Thanks for the tip!!!
M-A chrome or black please☺️ Simplicity at its best. Just too expensive for what it is..
They are nice. Similar to the M4-P wouldn't you say. I like to have a mirror in my 35mm cameras, which is funny because I shot 8x10 for years and always used a handheld mirror without thinking about it.
The M3 is best in quality and components. Even the rangefinder design of the M3 is superior to all other M’s that came after it. Leica would not be able to produce it again because of its high cost and complexity.
Yeah, the M3 was a great camera.
Tag Your serial number from stolen camera, let people know what thay have
I think I did at the time, although I'm sure Leica has lost those papers years ago.
Back in the day, after WW2 concluded and Japan began to get back on their feet, Japanese optical companies wanted to get into the camera business. They got their hands on Leica cameras and replicated them. What do you know. Nikon made a better camera than Leica. Nikon made better glass than Leica. Leica is like a coach bag, it's got a name and it's expensive but it's just a bag.
I think one of the best cameras every made was the Pentax Spotmatic F. Here's a camera that can take any M42 screw mount lens. Then Nikon came out with the F and Leica fell down a little in the ranks. Nikon was king with the F and F2 (which I own). Also, a Nikon S rangefinder camera was used to take the world grabbing photo of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald, not a Leica.
Those are good points.
I do nor agree.The most beautifully in my opinion is the MP and the best in terms of a photographic tool is the M5.
Yes, those are nice cameras. Have you had a chance to use the M6TTL?
Agreed. The M5 is the perfect tool. The M6 TTL is comparatively cheap, because Leica changed their manufacturing and materials to save money, making them less reliable. It has bad finder flare in certain light, the light meter isn’t as precise, and the meter electronics are dying now because they’ve reached the end of their lifespan. It’s a decent camera, it’s not on Leica level and definitely not worth what people are asking for it.
It's great that they've made so many models over the years, so we can all be happy with one of them.
@@stillshootinginblackandwhite I’m not the one calling the M6 TTL the best film camera ever here.
I'll have to retry the M5. Haven't used one for a long time.
You got it backwards. The M6 is the rage with all the hipster CZcams influencers. The MP is a mechanically perfected Leica. The M6 has a black chrome coating because the M6 is susceptible to very ugly zinc oxide that blisters all over the top plate. The plastic bits on the sides next to the eyelets get brittle and crack. M2,M3,M4,M4-2, M4-P, MP, and M-A are far and away better photographers cameras than the M6. The M7 has a similar build to the M6. As for GOAT cameras for absolute mechanical perfection for photographers it is the Nikon FM3A
You might be right. And I do like the FM3A.
hexar rf is the best
I think in terms of most advanced m mount made? Absolutely. You’ll never convince me otherwise. In terms of actual Leica? I’d take my MP over everything else.
Now is that the new MP, or the old one? I like mine too, just like the M6TTL better.
No, the best film camera ever is the Nikon F6 as every professional knows…
I owned the F6, and even had the motor drive. Great camera for sure, just too late to the party. By the time the F6 came out most sports photographers had switched to digital already. I used mine for some film documentary stuff but it didn't see much work and I sold it off. Certainly a nice camera, and likely the best of the Nikon film cameras.
I would go for the Cannon 1V, for me the pinnacle of 35mm film cameras.
They were great as well.
@@stillshootinginblackandwhite the FM3A no batteries still werks
I love the FM3, I hope to own one down the road.