Re: [Leica] M6 HM - rangefinder flare

["Bill Larsen" <ohlen@lightspeed.net>]

Alexey Merz writes:  (with my snips)


|I have an M6 0.85....the rangefinder
|patch can tend to be obscured by flare, especially when the
|camera (and the frameline illuminator window) is in full
|light and I'm shooting into the shadows. I've recently tried
....
|Questions:
|1. Have others had similar experience?


Yes, My M6 0.85 initially did the same thing.  As a temporary fix, I found
that multiple layers of Scotch transparent tape worked better than black tape
(sorry Doc).  I was shooting with the 75/1.4 wide open and could not move my
position since I was focussing on the eyes.  That flare and "patch on -- patch
off -- got old really fast.

|2. Can a good Leica service person "hot rod" such a
|modification into the camera the next time I send it in
|for CLA? Any idea what this would cost?


I sent the camera to Leica NJ (under warranty) and they fixed the problem.  I
don't know what they did (I didn't ask and they didn't tell).  It can still be
a pain to focus under high contrast back-lit conditions, but I used the way
that my M3 operates as the standard.  It is currently much better than the M3
which was CLA'd about a year ago.  In fact now I am thinking of selling the M3
for another M6.

Hope this helps,  Bill Larsen