Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/10/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I guess there can always be a lemon & that's what your M4 sounds like, although we have no real way of knowing what it was subjected to before you bought it. Mine from 1970 looks almost as it did out of the box, with the exception a previous owner had the M4-P viewfinder installed, so it has all six frames. I thought about having it re-converted back to the original system, but decided to keep it, figuring I'd own a 28 or 75 one day. It has a few bright marks, but nothing else. I thought my M6's controls were smooth as butter. The M4's controls are as smooth as WHIPPED butter! I'm going on a cruise next month & I figure it'll take that long to decide which body to take, the M6 or M4. It would be too much weight to take everything, both bodies & 5 lenses, of which 2 are 50's, a current model & 50 DR. I'm not taking flash equipment (Olympus Stylus Epic for that) & have decided on the 21, 35 2.0 ASPH, and either one of the 50's (probably DR for the closer focus) or 90 Elmarit-M. What the hell, I'll probably take it all! Greg - -----Original Message----- From: thibault collin [mailto:tc-lnc@u-picardie.fr] Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 1999 12:54 PM To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us Subject: Re: [Leica] M4 vs M6 Stephen wrote : ...I urge you to compare a clean M4 to a clean M6 and make up your own mind - --- don't depend upon anyone else's opinion. Well that's what I'm doing. I have both of them and not in mint conditions. At the finish quality level, the M4 is better. It has beautiful engraving, nice chrome finish...great stuff. The M6 doesn't look so proud. At the usage level, both of them are equal to the point I feel their mechanics. My M4 (which has been cla'd) is not particularly smooth (my M2 is better). The exposure meter in the M6 is definitely wonderful and that's why I bought it. At the overall quality level, they are about the same. I've had and still have problems with the M4 : low speed problem (corrected by CLA), rangefinder accuracy (corrected by CLA), self timer problems (not corrected by CLA), frame problems (only corrected the second time I re-sent the camera to Leica France), film rewind very hard (partially corrected by CLA) and irregular film advance (not corrected by CLA). By the way, my M4 is not a battered one, it looks really fine... I just have an second hand M6 for two weeks when I now lost a strap protector leaving the little part of the rivet inside the camera...It also has a rangefinder accuracy problem...so it will be on its way to CLA... My conclusion is : M4 or M6 = same crap...but I love them... Thib.