[Leica] New member intro & some questions

[Nathan Wajsman <nathan.wajsman@euronet.be>]

Greetings,

I just joined this list a few days ago, in preparation of the arrival
from the UK of my first Leica ever, a second-hand, mint-condition M6. I
have been what the magazines call an "advanced amateur" since about
1986. I have shot mainly 35mm Pentax, although I have also owned a
Hasselblad 501, sold earlier this year. I decided to buy a Leica because
I wanted the absolute best in lenses; I was also attracted by the
simple, non-electronic, non-autofocus nature of the beast. It arrived
yesterday, and it is such a pleasure just to hold it and look at it! The
first objects to be honored by being photographed with it were some
sheep on a field in the Netherlands yesterday afternoon. Today I will
shoot a test roll to check that everything (shutter, exposure metering)
works properly.

I have some questions for the list:

1. Is there a way to tell from the serial number exactly when the camera
was made? I know it is from the 90s, but would like to know the exact
year.

2. I have the Summicron 2/35 lens on it. I think that my next lens
purchase will be a 90 mm lens. There seem to be several incarnations of
that one. Any advice on which ones are good and which aren't?

3. And the eternal lens question: do you use UV filters to protect the
lens? I have always done it with my SLRs, and certainly the price of
Leica lenses calls for protection. On the other hand, the very reason
for getting into Leica is the quality of the optics, so I am a bit
ambivalent about adding a piece of glass in front.

Thanks for any feedback.

Nathan Wajsman
Belgium