M6, 50mm Summicron and more

["Garbutt, Robert" <RGarbutt@ncrpexec.telstra.com.au>]

I'm a newcomer to this group and don't quite have a Leica yet.  I have
been saving for an M6 and 50mm Summicron and am about a month away
thanks to the extension of the $500 rebate till September.  Someone
suggested I become a LUGnut and here I am.

I have 3 questions - the last one not really Leica related . . .

1.  Amongst the bewildering array of M6 lenses, is there a particular
50mm Summicron (or other 50mm) that I should be looking out for?  I have
been told the later the production date the better.

2.  Someone I talked to along the way suggested that I should consider a
35mm lens rather than a 50mm because the 35mm "suits Leica photography".
It was a throw away line I never followed up because the comment didn't
really make sense to me.  Any comments on this?  I'm more a 50/85mm
photographer than a 35mm one - I would have thought it was my style that
mattered not the camera's (whatever that means - is this some Leica
mysticism I have not been initiated into yet?).

3.  This question is off the Leica topic - my apologies but there seem
to be a lot of knowledgeable people on this list who may be able to
clarify something for me.

I am currently in love with a Zeiss-Ikon Nettar with a f/6.3 Novar lens.
It has been my camera of choice since I bought it 4 months ago at a
market.   From using this camera I have learnt that a 'slow' lens does
not necessarily equate to inferior image quality.  I also have a strange
feeling sometimes that this f/6.3 lens is able to render a scene into
more shades of gray than some of my newer and faster lenses.  Is this to
do with the speed of the lens, could it be some other lens
characteristic, or am I imagining this?   There is definitely  something
unique about the images this lens produces compared to modern lenses.
And just to get my money's worth does anyone know somewhere (eg a more
appropriate website)  I can find out more about these cameras?

Thanks for the discussions so far - I have learnt a lot in a short time.

Regards,
Rob Garbutt.