Re: Trouble-free M6

[ATANOVIC@genre.com]

Just to balance the survey, I've had my new M6 for a couple of years now
and it has performed faultlessly.  I treat it with respect but certainly
don't coddle it:  it gets its share of knocks, and has seen quite a bit of
use on three continents, winter, summer, and in the rain.

By way of editorial comment, the M6 production run is now in its, what,
12th year?  There are a lot of very well-used ones out there that have had
several owners and been subjected to god-knows-what kind of treatment and
neglect---not to mention those owned by the "service-it-yourself" types who
fearlessly head in, screwdriver in hand.  You may buy a used one that rates
well cosmetically, but who knows about what's going on inside.  I wouldn't
necessarily blame Leica for that.  A new M6 that doesn't work properly
should of course be returned to the distributor to make right;  many of the
complaints cited by our American friends on the list may have more to do
with Leica USA than with Leica itself.  The two Leica distributors here in
Japan, by contrast, are extremely good in my experience.

I also have six M lenses, all bought new.  There are indeed variations from
item to item both within a batch and between production runs.  Some
"identical" lenses even feel completely different to use.  Personally, I
never buy through mail order, since in that case it seems to me you have
something approaching "Hobson's choice" (i.e. the choice between the one
offered or nothing); sending it back and asking to try another can be a
tedious and argumentative process---plus you have no guarantee that the
next one will be any better than the previous.  I've always gone to a
well-stocked dealer with whom I have built up a relationship and who will
have several examples of each item in stock.  I brought back my first new
35 Asph which had a cleaning scratch on an interior surface;  the scratch
was difficult to see but the dealer exchanged it readily---no questions
asked---for one of several others that were on his shelf, even though one
could truthfully say that such hairline scratches do not impair optical
performance to the point of being out of "tolerance".  Actually, it's the
things you *can't* see which undoubtedly have a greater effect on optical
performance than the things you can see like interior lint, cleaning marks,
etc.  A slight misalignment or de-centering of the elements is obviously
impossible to detect from casual inspection and will have a far greater
impact on your results than almost anything else.  I usually do a few 11x14
enlargements on the Focomat to check out any new lens I get.

I do find the current quality, fit, and finish of Leica's accessories
(caps, hoods, cases, cable-releases, dust covers, etc) not nearly as good
as that of their main items, and that is a shame.  Probably they just farm
all that work out under contract.

Adrian Tanovic
Tokyo